When I was a lad, in the last century–h’rumph!–Easter was a really big deal. There were lilies by the truckload, outsized corsages for mothers, and some kid in the jr. choir who threw up in the middle of the sermon because he’d already plundered his Easter basket. The sanctuary was full of strangers, and some locals who wouldn’t be caught dead there on any other day…. Probably not this Easter. Wonderful music, to be sure, and cousins from Peoria; but there’s a new seriousness, now…an awareness of Death and the possibility of coming out the other side?
Isaiah 65:17-25 is an apocalyptic vision of End Times, comparable to the final chapters of Revelation in the New Testament. The prophet speaks of fairness and restoration in a tormented world, an act which can come only from God. We struggle to appreciate things not yet realized, yet Easter demands a renewal from the deadly order of greed & anger. Optimists, we dare to believe that the Spirit of God still blows over the waters of chaos, and that Death doesn’t have the final word.
Acts 10 tells of a high and holy moment in Peter’s spiritual understanding: hungry, he had a three-fold vision of animals being let down from heaven in a “sheet”. To his amazement, there were “unclean” creatures among the “clean”! “Why then do you call ‘unclean’ what I have created?” said a Voice. And at that moment, some Gentiles appeared to ask his presence at the home of Cornelius the Centurion–a place no practicing Jew would consider entering. In today’s text, vv. 34-43, we and they receive God’s message of salvation to ALL persons–at this moment, The Way went from Hebrew cult to World Religion. As Lauren Winner says, “What seemed absurd before Easter is now a real possibility.” (FEASTING on the WORD, C 2:368) THAT’s why these people are in Church today!
The Easter Story, as always, is the account of John (the Beloved Disciple?) 20:1-18. Too many will get lost in the romance of it all and neglect the amazement of the three who were met with the obviation of the Resurrection. After the dew is off the roses, will the enormity of Life after Death sink in? Did Peter run because he was eager to confess his shortcomings? Maybe he sensed that there was something amazing even for him, after his disappointing encounter with the rooster… Don’t shortchange verse 17, where Mary Magdalene and those who come after are commissioned to announce Jesus’ heavenly journey.
And so it’s a New Day. The People of God’s Creation have been gathered, designed and re-designed, and now empowered to announce that Death is not the final word. Even when the news is so bleak. Even though we’re often shackled by our cultural discernment. Even though we must die in order to be found by Life. These are world-changing terms, and few will return next weekend to find out what’s happening. Still, the Lord is Risen! Indeed.
God Bless Us, Every One. Horace Brown King
My close encounters with lectionary passages for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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