March 31, 2018 / April 1, 2018       Easter
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8                                                                                                             
 
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen.  Psalm 19:14
 
Alleluia. Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!​
 
Isn’t it grand to be able to say “Alleluia!” again? 
 
1.      Some of you know me, but for those who don’t, I am Mother Darlene Kuhn, Rector at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Albion.  Thank you so much for inviting us to worship with you tonight for the first service of the Easter season. 
2.     Last night I preached at the Easter Vigil at Trinity Marshall.
Although a cradle Anglican I did not grow up with this service.  I probably attended my first Easter Vigil about ten years ago.  I enjoy the pageantry, the kindling of the fire and the gradual lighting of the candles throughout the church, the retelling of the familiar Bible stories like we do for Christmas Lessons and Carols, the excitement of Baptism and the first Eucharist of the Easter season.  I am so glad that you are able to join us for worship this evening / morning.
Mark 16:1-8  When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
 
Mark’s Easter story is very different from what we expect.  It is very short, only eight verses.  Although the tomb is empty, Mark has no resurrection appearances of Jesus.  A young man, that we assume is an angel, tells the women that Jesus has been raised and will meet them in Galilee where he first met them. The women flee in terror and say nothing about what they have seen or heard and yet the author of Mark tells us what we need to know.  Jesus is alive and Jesus is Lord.  This is the meaning of the empty tomb.[1]
Alleluia. Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
 
Jesus told his disciples three times that he would be arrested in Jerusalem and killed, but that he would rise on the third day.  Jesus’ disciples never understood what it meant for Jesus to rise from the dead and were afraid to ask him.  Shortly after Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus told his disciples for the first time that he would be arrested, killed and rise again.  Peter rebuked Jesus for even suggesting this, this is not what Peter wanted to hear and Peter was in turn rebuked by Jesus.  Peter did not understand what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah, he did not understand that Jesus’ Messiah is a humble servant of the Kingdom of God advocating for justice for the sick, the poor and the marginalized, even if it leads to death on a cross.
After Jesus foretold his death a second time, we learn that the disciples have been arguing amongst themselves as to who is the greatest.  They do not understand that the Kingdom of God is not about power and wealth and violence as exhibited by the Roman Empire, but is about love and justice for all. 
When Jesus foretold his passion for a third time, James and John came to him and asked for a favor.  They asked if they might sit one at his right hand and one at his left hand in his glory.  They did not know that Jesus would be crucified with two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  This is certainly not what they were imagining.
The disciples and Jesus’ followers did not believe Jesus when he said that he would be arrested and crucified, not until his arrest at Gethsemane, did they finally understand and they fled in terror.  Not everyone deserted Jesus though.  Mark tells us that some women watched Jesus be crucified and his death from a distance and saw where the body was laid.  Joseph of Arimathea requested Jesus’ body from Pilate and laid it in a tomb.
So on this first Easter morning the women come to the tomb to complete the burial ritual fully expecting to find a dead body.  When the young man tells them that the one who was crucified has been raised from the dead, the women finally run in terror.  They do not know what it means to be raised from the dead, but the possibility of a ghost is just too much for them and they run.  But we the listeners of Mark’s story know from the very first sentence who Jesus is. When the angel tells them to go to Galilee he is sending them to the beginning of the story where we heard, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  The tomb is empty and we know that Jesus has been resurrected and that Jesus lives—he lives today, not just two thousand years ago.[2]
The soldiers mocked Jesus.  The religious leaders mocked Jesus on the cross.  The passersby mocked Jesus saying “save yourself, and come down from the cross.”  Even the bandits mocked Jesus, but Jesus is Lord—one with God, raised to God’s right hand, vindicated by God as both Lord and Christ, and thus vindicated against the powers that put him to death.[3]  
“What does the story of the empty tomb mean?”  Jesus is alive and Jesus is Lord.  This is the meaning of the empty tomb.
Alleluia. Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
 


[1]     Marcus J. Borg, Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Mark, p 108, Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg-New York, 2009.
 

[2]      Ibid.

[3]      Ibid.

Mark 11:1-11; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
 
This gospel reading from Mark is very important.  Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is significant.  Jesus is a rebel and a thorn in the side of the religious authorities.  Earlier Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the long expected one.  Mary anoints Jesus’ feet and Jesus appreciates it as his anointing for his death, but kings are also anointed with oil.  It was Passover and many visitors would come to Jerusalem and it was probably a tradition to welcome the visitors with palm branches, but people also spread their cloaks on the road before Jesus.  It was a tradition to do this when the King visited.  Mark does not mention it, but John’s gospel refers to the Old Testament quote from Zechariah 9:9, “Your King will come, riding on a colt of a donkey”.  Jesus is entering Jerusalem like a king.  This is a treasonous act.  The religious leaders and authorities know this because Pilate has his crime, “King of the Jews” posted on his cross at his crucifixion.  They get it.
While Jesus’ followers and the crowd shout “Hosanna!” as Jesus enters Jerusalem, I doubt their sincerity because we know by the end of the week his disciples and followers flee and the crowd turns on Jesus at the encouragement of the religious leaders and demand that Jesus be “Crucified!”
Jesus’ actions contradict those expected of the Messiah and a king.  Jesus has not come as a powerful warrior king to overthrow the Roman conquerors, but as a humble shepherd who defies the authority of the temple.  Today Jesus arrives at the temple and looks around but we know that tomorrow he will come and overturn the moneychangers’ tables and drive the livestock out of the temple.  Jesus does not do away with the law, but expects even more.
So remember as you join the procession from our Parish Hall to the Sanctuary that we are counter-cultural rebels fighting against the status quo.  We stand up for the poor and the marginalized; we reach out to transgender and the prostitute and welcome them; we heal the sick and feed the hungry; we fight injustice in our society and our community; we follow Jesus Christ the rebel king even to the cross.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, our strength, and our redeemer. Psalm 19:14
So what do you think of snakes?  Do you have any good snake stories?
Black water snakes, garter snakes, milk snakes, massasauga rattlesnake
Snake in the hen house, snakes warming themselves on the warm tar of the road at night
Snakes play a valuable role in the control of rodents, lizards and insects, but we seem to have an instinctive built in aversion to snakes.  Look to the Bible, Genesis Chapter 3 has the talking snake who encourages Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  Clearly our aversion to snakes goes away back.  In today’s reading from Numbers the Israelites encounter poisonous serpents that bite many people and they die.  The people assume this is God’s retaliation for all the complaining they are doing against Moses, Aaron and God.  The Israelites beg Moses to talk to God and ask him to take away the serpents.  God tells Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a stake.  Whenever anyone is bitten they should look upon the snake and they will live.
I am surprised that we are reading this story today.  It sounds like magical thinking to me.  And doesn’t God command that they not make graven images?  This fear for idol worship is confirmed in 2 Kings when Hezekiah breaks the bronze serpent into many pieces since the people are worshipping it and burning incense to it.  Do these fiery flying serpents even exist?  One writer on Google thinks that the snake was probably an Israeli Saw-Scale Viper, an irritable, aggressive copper (brown, gray and orange) colored snake that is 1-3 feet in length and its scales produce a hissing sound to warn off predators.  It is quick to strike and its bite is deadly and dangerous.  It hides in the grass and springs up out of the grass to catch sparrows.  Its bite causes a burning sensation at the site of the wound.  It does not cause immediate death or paralysis but rather acts as a blood thinner that can result in bleeding to death.  Where it is found it probably causes more deaths than all other snakes combined.  This sounds like a horrible little snake!
So why is this story even in our lectionary!  I would totally ignore it except that when we read today’s gospel the first line is a reference to this very story.  Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  Really?!?  Why didn’t the lectionary committee skip this reference to Moses and the bronze serpent and start the Gospel reading with the beloved passage John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave His Only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
The story of Moses and the bronze serpent is considered a “TYPE” foreshadowing Jesus on the Cross and Jesus in Heaven.  The dictionary defines “type” as “a person or thing symbolizing or exemplifying the ideal or defining characteristics of something”.   In the story from Numbers, if someone was bitten then if they looked up at the bronze snake they would live.  In the Christian story if someone sick from sin looks up to Jesus then they will have not just life, but eternal life, life without end as found in God.
This story is a reminder that when you are sick or in distress that you should look up to God for relief and life, eternal life.  So the next time you see a snake, perhaps an innocuous garter snake, let it serve as a reminder to look up to God for eternal life.  Amen. 
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