The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for April 8, 2007

Texts: Isaiah 50:4-9a/

Psalm 118:1-2,14-24/Luke 24:1-12

Title: “Mind Opening”

              Each one of us comes to worship with expectations, viewing the proceedings here as an opportunity to connect with God, to experience the fellowship of the Christian household, to give praise to God through the music we sing, or perhaps give rest to our spirits after the stresses and tedium of the week.  Expectations in worship vary.  Shall I say it? Some arrive in houses of worship expecting to be bored, and sadly sometimes that expectation is fulfilled. 

              Each one of us come to the worship experience with certain expectations, and individually take from the service different things.  The worship experience is highly individualistic, though we, as the apostle Paul so pointedly reminded us, [we] gather as the “body of Christ.”

              “Body of Christ,” is a metaphor with which we Christian folk have become accustomed.  As we acknowledge our unity as the body of Christ on this transcendent day of celebration, we at Lakeview recognize that the body of Christ of which we are apart extends to the ends of the earth beyond these four walls. And what a diverse body it is.  With the great hymn so many of us grew up we are “we are red, we are yellow, we are black, and we are white,” each one of us precious in God’s sight. Yes, indeed, “God loves all the little children of the world.” New Delhi, Melbourne, Moose Jaw, Ontario, East Chicago, Illinois, at all points of the compass other members of Christ’s body are gathering, have gathered, or will gather this Easter to worship God.  They will gather in churches like this one, in storefronts, in serene mountain meadows, or in spectacular cathedrals.

              There is great diversity represented within the Body of Christ. We represent many different cultures.  We speak many different languages. We express our adoration for God in many different ways. Yet despite our different languages, cultures, or worship styles we unite today to proclaim “He is Risen.”

              Diverse the body most assuredly is, but we hold certain expectations in common when we gather for worship.  Among the prominent expectations that you and I hold is that at some point during our time together we will recite the Lord’s Prayer, and recite one of the creeds or confessions of the church, most commonly in our case, the Apostles’ Creed.      

              The creeds and confessions of the church emerged out of a peoples’ encounter with God in particular places and circumstances where the church challenged itself, or was challenged by events in which it was enmeshed, to state clearly what it believed. The Apostles’ Creed represents an attempt by Christians living in the first century to concisely state its convictions about a self-disclosing God who had revealed himself to the world in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

              It was the latter half of the first century and Jesus’ life and ministry, the extraordinary events surrounding his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection were still fresh. Many companions of Jesus were still alive and comparing notes, three of the four gospels in the biblical canon were beginning to take shape, with a fourth soon to come. It was time for Christians to sort out and state what they believed regarding their God whom they believed had come to earth in the flesh.

              Though the Apostles’ Creed would not reach the form in which we have it today until centuries later, there were three things those appearing in the creed that the first Christians could regard as completely factual, namely Jesus was the son of Mary, that he had suffered under the Roman official Pontius Pilate, “that he [had been] crucified, dead and buried.” These things were facts, completely verifiable by people who had known Jesus in the flesh, may well have witnessed his death on the cross, and watched as his body had been carried away to its final resting place.

              Born of Mary, “suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead, and buried.”  Whoever composed those words in the Apostles’ Creed could draw upon incontrovertible evidence to support his, or her, declaration.

              Born to Mary, suffered, crucified, dead, and buried, all part of the public record, but the authors of the Apostles’ Creed didn’t stop there.  With the declaration “he descended into hell,” the authors moved beyond that which any witness living or dead could verify.  In fact, “descended into hell” is absent in some versions of the creed.

              “He descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead.”  [repeat] Those last nine words, of course, form the meat of the declaration.  “The third day he arose again from the dead.”  So central is this affirmation to the Christian faith that we hear the Apostle Paul declare to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.”

              I would say the resurrection was pretty important for our brother Paul, wouldn’t you?  Centuries later, the resurrection continues to be the center pole that supports this great tent overspreading Christendom.

              Center pole, yet aside from some witnesses who encountered the risen Jesus, more about them later, the fact that Jesus was raised was and is, by all generally accepted methods of verification, impossible to prove. What we have are four gospels certifying the one fact that was certainly verifiable---the tomb where Jesus body was laid was discovered empty.   

              Early dawn the first day of the week, Luke tells us, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, show up at the tomb only to find the stone rolled away, and the body missing.  What happened?  The women didn’t remain in suspense very long.  Two men in “dazzling clothes” are there to remind them of what Jesus told them when he was still with them.  Namely, “The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

              Despite having been told by Jesus ahead of time that he would die and rise again, somehow the disciples and Jesus’ other close followers forgot. So when the women excitedly ran to Peter and the disciples to relate their experience at the tomb, they received a cold reception, in fact, their news was dismissed out of hand as no more than an “idle tale.”  How about that?

              “Idle tale” or not, Luke has Peter going to the tomb for a “look see” himself. Just a side note here: the fact that Peter made the trip is a matter of debate. Some ancient authorities fail to mention that visit. The verse containing that detail may well have been added to enhance Peter’s reputation.

              That the tomb was empty and Jesus raised initially reached the ears of the eleven and other believers as “raw data,” information that could not be verified. In time, however, the fact that the tomb was empty would be physically verified. Yet what about the body? Where was the body?  Could Jesus actually have been raised from the dead?      

              Again, in the hands of the disciples, and the other faithful, the information that Jesus was raised amounted initially to no more than “raw data” that could be dismissed as an idle tale concocted by three delusional women who only thought they saw two men in dazzling white. But other conclusions could have been drawn from the raw data the women brought. Perhaps the authorities had moved Jesus’ body to another secret location to prevent the tomb from being converted into a shrine of some sort. Perhaps some among Jesus’ followers had removed the body to prevent his executioners from tampering with his resting place.

              The tomb was empty, raw data, information that easily lent itself to interpretation.  You and I process raw data all the time.  People we know share information or opinions we are in no position to personally verify. We are challenged to draw whatever conclusions we can based on the credibility of those who dispense that information.

              The women at the tomb were dismissed as women possessing no credibility. End of story.  Yet, as it would turn out their “idle tale” had legs. You see, later on the same day that the women discovered the empty tomb, two in Jesus’ circle of believers were traveling to a village called Emmaus. Luke tells us the resurrected Jesus “came near and went with them,” only the two didn’t recognize that it was Jesus. The two were overheard processing raw data as he approached, the raw data being the report of the tomb and the angels in white. Could Jesus really be alive?

              Jesus, impatient that two of his followers were processing data, when they could have been on the road boldly witnessing to the resurrection, chided the two, “Oh how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared.”

              Amazingly, even as they were chided by the Lord they still failed to recognize him. Could it be that his very presence was “raw data” yet to be processed by their uncomprehending hearts?  

              “Raw data,” the two men didn’t recognize Jesus, until, that is, they were at the table.  Luke reporting, “When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him,” only to see him vanish from their sight at that instant.

              “Their eyes were opened.” Eyes opened, the pair returned to Jerusalem to report their experience to the disciples and the other followers of Jesus.  Breathless to tell their news, wouldn’t you know that Jesus showed up again.  Luke tells us that at the gathering, Jesus’ disciples, and other followers were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.  More raw data to process.  It couldn’t be Jesus.  No way.

              Was it Jesus?  Everyone in the room was terrified. A spell cast over the room where Jesus and his disciples were gathered, Jesus broke the spell, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Look at my hands and my feet; see that I am myself.  Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 

               No longer unverified raw data yet to be processed, this was Jesus in the flesh. Imagine the impression Jesus must have made on his followers.  Jesus, however, was not content merely to prove that he had risen.  So what did he do next? Luke tells us “he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” law of Moses, prophets, psalms, the whole shebang.

             “He opened their minds”? To what? “He opened their minds” to the history of salvation, explaining precisely where he fit into that history.

               We gather today to worship a risen Savior, and the fact that he is risen is news that is being reported throughout the world today as it has been century upon century.  The fact that he is risen is news, however, it becomes, gospel good news only when minds are open, not merely to the one or two pages where the resurrection is reported, but to the history that supports it.

                The message of the resurrection is that God in Christ has taken onto himself all of the pain and suffering that all of our accumulated acts of sin and disobedience from the beginning of time have created it, and through the resurrection, vanquished it.

                 Resurrection is a mind opening event, a precious glimpse into the heart of God to witness there a history of wars, travail, and travesties, death and destruction all undone.

Jesus stood with his followers and opened their minds to reality that remains for us mortals virtually impossible to grasp, namely, “the past is finished and gone, behold, everything is fresh and new. And who made it new?  The risen Jesus made it new.

PRAYER

              O Christ, risen, ascended, reigning, we herald you on this Easter morning as the world’s savior, but also our personal intercessor and advocate before our Father in heaven. We would bid you to come to us, but you assure us through Word and Spirit that you have already come, a real presence in the word read and proclaimed, and the sacraments shared.  Renew the minds and hearts of each one gathered here that we might more assuredly perceive you in the word and in the sacrament. Where doubt fogs our vision, there be to grant us sure footing to a place where we can see more clearly.

              O Lord, we are humbled by the faithfulness and ardor of those who carried word of your resurrection into the world. The women were the first to report the good news, to be followed by the disciples who, acting upon new found courage, boldly announced that you had risen. They would not be silenced even in the face of persecution and death threats. Called to be ambassadors of good news today, may we who have been baptized in your name gain assurance from their example and be bearers of glad tidings to the world, starting from this block at Canal and Brooks.

              The “body of Christ,” was the metaphor the Apostle Paul used in describing the universal church, and what a diverse church we are, what power we possess, O God, to bring Christ to the world.  We pray for this church, one small cell in the body of Christ. We pray that our size and resource base not discourage us from living into the vision you maintain for us. Called to equip servants of the Lord, may we do so as your Spirit directs, ever seeking to follow the path of servanthood Christ established. Where we are tentative, or become distracted there be a light to guide us, O God, a sure arm to strengthen us.

              On this glad day, O Lord, we acknowledge your sovereign power that created all that is, even as we accept stewardship responsibility for preserving our planet.  Faced with the threat of global warming, we know the assumptions we maintained about our life on this planet must be revised.  Grant us the will to make those revisions, the courage to do what is necessary that the life on this planet may be sustained for coming generations. Even as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, O God, we pray for the renewal of hearts and minds that, placing defeatism and negativity behind us, people of good will may work to restore that which the agents of sin and death in our world seek to destroy.

              Preserve those who face danger in this hour, O God. We pray for our own, our fellow countrymen who serve in harms way, but we pray for all innocent persons around this world who live under the threat of violence and death. O God, be with peacemakers, missionaries, medical personnel, teachers, and technicians who labor to provide the least in your kingdom with a better quality of life.

              We rejoice in the generosity of those who have supported this church in our time of need, and we rejoice that through our One Great Hour of Sharing offering we will receive today, we are privileged to give back. Abide with those whose responsibility is to disperse aid, that the monies they allocate may bring hope and build confidence among the recipients of those funds.

              We pray for our partners in ministry in the greater church.  We pray for Jean Marie and Allan who serve in our presbytery. We pray for Judy and her staff in the synod offices.  We pray for Linda and Cliff in the offices of the General Assembly.

              We pray for the churches of greater New Orleans, and those they have chosen to lead them.

              For the gift of this day, and the privilege of gathering with friends and families, we give our thanks, O Lord, praying that lives may be renewed in hope, old debts canceled, consciences relieved, and sorrow healed. In Christ’s name we pray.