When I was in elementary school, we lived in Northeast Harbor, Maine. My father was the rector of St. Mary’s by the Sea. St. Mary’s had an interesting tradition on Easter Sunday. They had this four foot cross on a Christmas tree stand that was covered in chicken wire. To say this was hideous was an understatement. It was a pretty stark reminder that we come to Easter by way of Good Friday.
This cross was out in front of the church, and children would bring flowers. In my backyard now I have a couple of lonely daffodils that have bloomed. In Maine this time of year, we might have had a crocus or two poking up through patches in the snow, so all these flowers in Northeast Harbor were bought.
There would be a big bucket with assorted flowers for people who had not brought any. We had more fun decorating that cross than you would believe. By the time the service started, the cross would be full of flowers and just as beautif
ul as it had been ugly just an hour before.
This is the story of redemption in some ways. Something ugly is transformed into a beautiful thing through grace and Christ’s resurrection. This is a key concept in understanding Easter, and it is part of understanding the Christian faith. But there is more to it than flowers on a cross. I will explain.
T.S. Eliot said that April is the cruelest month. This statement has been interpreted in lots of ways, and I hesitate to think of all the dialogue on this topic over the years. So here we are just days away from April, and I am thinking what makes it so cruel? It could be that taxes are due. It could be the April Fool’s Day pranks.
At the risk of adding to the dubious scholarship on Eliot, I am going to suggest just why April is so cruel. We see flowers coming up. We see chicks in the farmyard and lambs in the fields. After the cold and the long nights, the days are getting longer. Things are warming up. Leaves are coming out on trees. We see the world around us springing to life, and we don’t feel so lively.
Easter is the reminder to us that we also will live again. Christ has risen from the dead and he has redeemed us. That is the message today. It is not just about this life and being a good neighbor. It is not just about flowers on the cross today. It is about the next life as well. Paul writes in this morning’s Epistle that “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Hold that thought.
We live in a culture with a lot of noise and talking heads yelling at us. How do we know which ones are important and which ones to ignore? They say you learn from experience and you get experience by making mistakes. The reason that teachers and doctors do internships and machinists work as apprentices is that some things are learned over time. It requires a certain familiarity to get right.
In today’s Gospel reading. Mary sees a man and thinks He is the gardener. She says to him “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus replies with one word – her name. Mary instantly recognizes Jesus when He speaks. Mary recognized that voice because she knew Jesus. She had worked with him and eaten with him. Mary recognized the voice of Jesus because she was in relationship with our Lord. Jesus was not a stranger to her. Mary got it right.
Jesus then makes Mary the apostle to the apostles. He tells her to “go” and “say.” Mary is the first person to be a witness to the Resurrection. The reading says ‘Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.’
Now here are the three points in my sermon. I am going to identify them and give you some challenges to go with them.
First, Jesus takes the ugly cross and makes it beautiful by making it a source of life and beauty and abundance. We are redeemed and have eternal life because of this. We too will live again.
Second, we will only recognize Jesus when he speaks to us if we are in relationship with Him. Mary would have left the tomb thinking that that man was the gardener and the body of Jesus had just disappeared if she had not been a follower. She had heard the words of Jesus many times, and so he was familiar to her.
Third, Jesus will give us work to do for the Kingdom. He sent Mary out to give the Good News to the disciples. He has called me to ministry at St. Thomas. Each of you has a call as well.
Now the challenges are these.
First, are we living as Christians for this life only? Are we looking for fellowship and an identity? Is it that we are comfortable identifying ourselves as Christians and letting the trappings of our faith decorate our lives and fade like those flowers in Northeast Harbor, Maine? St. Thomas is here because we believe that our hope is eternal.
The second challenge to be in relationship with Jesus. We have to know Him or we may not recognize his voice when the gardener speaks. I talked on Maundy Thursday about walking with Jesus, and that is what I am talking about here. If we don’t know Jesus, we may not recognize His call to ministry and witness.
The third challenge is to discern what Jesus is calling you to. We are not all Mary. Not all of us are called to be apostles, but all of us have been baptized into the Body of Christ and we have all been given gifts for ministry. I can’t tell you what you have been called to. That is for you to prayerfully figure out, but I am here to help.
I may not be able to tell you exactly what you have been called to, but I do know this – I am blessed to be here with you today as you live out your baptismal promises.
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth
March 27, 2016; Easter Sunday