Date: 20 March 2002
Time: 16:43:13
Anyone ready to tackle Easter yet?
Paula in Florida
Date: 21 March 2002
Time: 07:31:12
OK, Paula, let's go. I've used John's story for several years, now, and think I'd like to look at the resurrection through Matthew's eyes this year. That's as far as I've gotten, though. Max in NC
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 04:41:48
Max
Matthew is different from the other gospels. Matthew emphasizes earthquakes. When Jesus dies (end of ch.27) there is an earthquake with dead people walking around. In the easter story there is another earthquake signifing that Christ is risen. The earthquke is God's way of getting everyone's attention. An earthquake has a way of reordering priorities --which ties in with Easter. Life will never again be the same now that Christ is risen. THe disciples turned apostles would soon discover this truth.
Paula, in sunny Florida.
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 11:14:02
I'm starting early this week, because I'm terrified of Easter. It is such a difficult subject, but yet so central.
Thanks for getting us started, Paula. I'm thinking, what does God have to do to get our attention? It's not easy for God, given that we are so distracted by our own business. Fear works well. Look at all the people who went to church after 9/11. But are we still paying attention?
Not sure this will make a theme... still looking around. DGinNYC
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 18:49:16
I like a couple of things Craig Barnes said in The Christian Century (Mar 13-20) that fit with what both of you have said...1) "No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she hasspent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen." and 2)"What we long for, what we miss and beg God to give back, is dead. Easter doesn't change that. So we cannot cling to the hope that Jesus will take us back to the way it was." Both of these statements seem to be right on the mark. For the most part, it seems that we have to hit rock bottom one way or another before Easter has a significant impact on us. And even when we hit rock bottom, we often long for the past (Whether real or imagined), so when resurrection leads to change, we can't quite see what a miracle it is..... maybe that mixture of fear and joy. Joy at seeing the risen Christ, and fear of the changes . Max
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 18:50:26
I like a couple of things Craig Barnes said in The Christian Century (Mar 13-20) that fit with what both of you have said...1) "No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she hasspent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen." and 2)"What we long for, what we miss and beg God to give back, is dead. Easter doesn't change that. So we cannot cling to the hope that Jesus will take us back to the way it was." Both of these statements seem to be right on the mark. For the most part, it seems that we have to hit rock bottom one way or another before Easter has a significant impact on us. And even when we hit rock bottom, we often long for the past (Whether real or imagined), so when resurrection leads to change, we can't quite see what a miracle it is..... maybe that mixture of fear and joy. Joy at seeing the risen Christ, and fear of the changes coming for us . Max
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 18:51:15
I like a couple of things Craig Barnes said in The Christian Century (Mar 13-20) that fit with what both of you have said...1) "No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she hasspent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen." and 2)"What we long for, what we miss and beg God to give back, is dead. Easter doesn't change that. So we cannot cling to the hope that Jesus will take us back to the way it was." Both of these statements seem to be right on the mark. For the most part, it seems that we have to hit rock bottom one way or another before Easter has a significant impact on us. And even when we hit rock bottom, we often long for the past (Whether real or imagined), so when resurrection leads to change, we can't quite see what a miracle it is..... maybe that mixture of fear and joy. Joy at seeing the risen Christ, and fear of the changes coming for us . Max
Date: 23 March 2002
Time: 18:54:33
Oops. Sorry for the multiple posts.... Max in NC
Date: 24 March 2002
Time: 16:06:55
Thanks Max for the great quotes, I think I'll go to the library tomorrow and copy that article from the Christian Century.
Paula, in sunny Florida
Date: 25 March 2002
Time: 04:06:21
I am thinking of my ole buddy Nicodemus, how at first he didn't want to be seen with Jesus. Now he helps Joseph take the body to the tomb. I wonder what that first Easter was like for him. I fill quite sure now that he is born-again everyday is Easter. I wonder what ole Nick did with the rest of his life? Just thinking? Harrell in Texas
Date: 25 March 2002
Time: 07:29:42
Tim in NY: Matthew likes the earthquake metaphor. On Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the city was in "turmoil". I think las week someone pointed out that the root of that word is "seimos" as in earthquake; that is the city was "rocked to its foundations by his presence." Also, this is the only gospel where the opening of the tomb was witnessed. Matthew seems to be addressing the explanation that someone could have taken the body out during the night, 28:11-15. Note that Jesus is gone, but no one witnesses his leaving. Matthew is he more concerned that no one could enter the tomb than with how Jesus got out.
Date: 25 March 2002
Time: 19:55:25
Easter is soooo BIG a subject - in that it is THE central subject for us, that preaching on it, with the C & E folks and lively kids in worship has seemed daunting to me some years. What I keep having to remember is to just pick one aspect of the whole. The sermon is a flower, or maybe a small bouquet - not the whole bloomin' garden at once. With that in mind, thanks for the comment someone made that with Easter comes something new, that it means we can't go back to the way things were. When Jesus rises, the disciples don't get to go back to the good old days when they went barnstorming around the countryside. This is what new life, resurrection means. It both thrills us and scares us too. Anyway, early thoughts. Jim in CT.
Date: 26 March 2002
Time: 06:53:35
I find it intresting how fear is mentioned in this passage. The guards shook and became like dead men, the women left the tomb with fear and great joy, the angel and Jesus tell the women to not be afraid. Fear touched every human being that saw this miracle of the resurrection. Even today people still fear the resurrection. We were not eye-witnesses but we know what it implies to those who believe there is a new life beyond what we are living. An empty tomb shakes my world and makes me see my life as more. Gallilee is mentioned twice. The angel tells the women to go there with the disciples and so does Jesus. Jesus will be there waiting for them. I wonder is it time to go back home and get ready for the next wave of ministry the disciples would soon set the world on fire for Christ with? This will preach... shake up your home with the new life there is in Jesus Christ. Don't fear... hold on to the great joy and you will see Jesus when you get home.
KB
Date: 26 March 2002
Time: 08:25:09
I feel a little dumb saying this, but there is something I noticed for the first time. (My only excuse is that I have I have seen one too many overwrought Easter cantatas where a backlit Jesus stretches forth from the tomb after the stone has been rolled away)When the stone is rolled away in Matthew, Jesus is already gone. The rolling of the stone is not to let Jesus out, but to let us in "Come, see the place where he lay" Something about this reminds me of that great line in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" where the military tries to keep the landing site secure from civilians, and the project director looks around at this ragtag (remember Richard Dreyfuss and his mashed potato mound) mob and says "They were invited". Well, we are invited to the Resurrrection party.
Another image that keeps going through my mind is the final scene in Faye Kellerman's novel "The Ritual Bath" The novel is set in a yeshiva, a place set aside for the study of the Torah. Evil has invaded the place (sexual assault) but the person responsible has been caught and has been taken away. The men of the yeshiva gather together to celebrate, and the rabbi invited the police detective to celebrate with them."Tomorrow, who knows," says the wise old man, "but tonight, we dance!" The detective looks at the newspaper reporters and Tv crews, then turns back to the Rabbi and says,"Show me how to dance."
Just thinking out loud RevGilmer in Texarkana
Date: 26 March 2002
Time: 08:42:12
Hi Everyone:
On March 16/17, I took my Confirmation Class of 9th graders to spend time inside St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero. Our purpose in going there was to give physical reality to the love shown by the suffering Jesus and to the hope of life eternal that "lives" via the resurrection. As I read through your comments, and the DPS sermon by Thomas Hall, I am reminded of how people (like Mary) came to "look at" the tomb...people came/come to "look at" Ground Zero. I think I am being drawn to the ideas previously shared that the world isn't the same because of the risen Christ (after the events of Holy Week/and 9/11...), that we must go through the darkness before seeing the dawn of Easter (Craig Barnes in Christian Century) and the idea that we are being invited into the tomb (the loving sanctuary of St. Paul's was physical example of how the church of Christ "can be" because of the risen Christ...) I'm obviously deep into feeling and thinking my way through the meaning of the Matthew passage. Thanks for your contributions to the process! Peace and grace to all of you! Warblings in NJ
Date: 26 March 2002
Time: 09:51:57
You can find the Christian Century article by Craig Barnes online at: http://www.christiancentury.org/livingbytheword.html .
TxRev
Date: 26 March 2002
Time: 12:24:39
Warblings in NJ said "the world is not the same." THANKS! You've given me a sermon title: "It's just not the same!"
Only, I'd add, yes it is, in many ways. The world, despite the earthquakes, IS the same - OUR UNDERSTANDING of the world and our relation to it is what is not the same. And it's confusing, and it'll take time for the news to sink in (Doubting Thomas sermons always follow Easter), and yes - we'll be afraid.
My mom & dad elected to be entombed rather than buried, and if I were to open his tomb, on the third row, next -to-last from the right, and find his body not in there I'd be scared out of my wits! I'd be mad, I'd presume the cemetery people someohow pulled a fast one. My first thought wouldn't be, "Oh, that must mean he was the Messiah"
So - no WONDER it's hard to preach Easter sermons. I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who has difficulty. Also, I know there'll be people here who only come a couple times a year and I'll want to give an evangelistic message. This is a lot to do when the adult choir is doing extra music, the children's choir is doing a piece, and I still have to be done at 12 NOon or get turned into a pumpkin.
Soimeone mentioned to focus on ONE thing: what about focusing on our understanding, our hope in the resurrection - despite our fears and confusion?
Every bit as dazed and confused and worshiping on a time limit (sheesh)...
Sally in gA
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 04:52:07
RevGilmer, What a wonderful insight! Like you, I have seen "Jesus" arise from a lot of tombs in Easter plays and just thought that someone had to move the stone to let Him out but the stone was never there to keep Him in. The authorities knew that Jesus was dead. The stone was sealed into place to keep the disciples, and others, out. Then, like the curtain of the Holy of Holies, it was taken out of the way so that those who had once been denied access could go in. There are all kinds of possibilities here. Through the crucifixion and the resurrection, was not the Law also "rolled away" so that "not so good" people might come? In the same way, don't we claim that the Jewish requirement was rolled away so that the Gentiles might have access to God? So much rolling away so that all may come to the party!
I'm going to have to see where this goes but I think I've got a direction on my sermon.
Mike in SD,TN
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 09:25:43
Here's some mid week thoughts to contemplate. Since Easter comes remarkably early this year and lands within the month of March I am reminded of the old weather adage about March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb. I am struck by the imagery of that last phrase "Out like a Lamb" in reference to the resurrection of Jesus. I am thinking of building my sermon around it. What do you think?
MK in Indy
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 12:26:43
TxRev, Thanks so much for leading us to the site for "The Christian Century." What struck me in that article, in addition to what others have said on this site is that Jesus tells Mary not to cling to him. Barnes expounds on that. If we attempt to grab hold of the risen Jesus, we are stuck. We have to "not cling" in order that we can be led into new Easters in our lives. Not sure that is incredibly clear yet, but I think I will center in on, "Don't Cling to Me." Thanks, again!
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 12:27:46
oops! I didn't sign off on that! lp in CO
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 15:44:18
It t'was the week before Easter and all through the house, dread and despare were hung in the air. Another Easter message to prepare. I have not had a pastor's heart for this year's message, I'm still putting away Christmas! But you have, once again melted my heart and opened my eyes to Jesus. The analogy to St. Paul's is touching, in North Carolina the flooding from Hurricane Floyd is still fresh, there may be a closer and similar message. This fear thing is also good. Well, I don't submit often but read faithfully, so as your sister in ministry I want to send my prayers to all of you for a spiritally renewing, life sustaining Easter event. God bless, Lmb in NC
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 17:18:54
The history of the resurrection can't be documented with any accuracy at all...there are gapping inconsistencies between the gospels and Pauline scriptures....the only consistency is that a community of faith formed which was very different than when Jesus was walking around as his fleshy self. The formation of people around the innaugeration of a new age is the most exciting perspective, for me, to see the ressurection...the EFFECT of the risen Christ among people...forming them in a way which made clearer Jesus'vision and promise of a new order....which means change/conversion....over and over again, because as people of faith we forget the vision so quickly.
I think about the " Easter Story " as a beautifully wrapped package which has to be opened, unpacked and taken into our communal lives...it's what is inside the package that's most transformative.
The living Christ today is more an " us " story than a " me " story. Kaiross
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 17:24:23
The image of March comin'in like a lion and leavin' like a lamb really struck me....a great Kingdom image of lion laying down with the lamb!
I guess we see the signs of Easter when we find places where lions are laying with lambs...not a whole lot of places...maybe that's why Easter preaching (...all year ) is so important.
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 20:43:29
Congrats to Frank and the rest of you...
You've made the big time...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/2002/03/27/ncguest1.htm
Date: 27 March 2002
Time: 21:42:05
Thanks for your thoughts on the Matthew text. Am I alone in lamenting the fact that this text must be preached for the Easter crowd?
I find so much delicious humor and irony in this passage that I cannot possibly convey to the unfamiliar Easter congregation: The angel, after descending and rolling away the stone, "sat on it" - as if to say, "So there."
Jesus greeting the women on the way as though the encounter were perfectly ordinary.
The angel offering the obligatory angelic greeting, "Do not be afraid" to the women, when there is no indication that the women were afraid, although we are told the guards shook and became like dead men. Jesus, too says, "Do not be afraid" right after the women have fallen to his feet to worship him. Did he THINK that they were afraid? Would they have fallen down to worship if they had been afraid?
Just a few musings...I'll stick to "With fear and great joy" and try to connect the fear and great joy at the empty tomb with the fear and great joy that accompany many of life's significant moments: parenthood, childbirth, etc.
Blessings to all, Desert Dweller
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 06:43:11
Thanks for helping me think about the role of fear in this passage --fear is mentioned four times. It has been a fearful year;the colors of the rainbow are now a new system to alert us to levels of terrorist threats....
I too love that the angel rolled away the stone and SAT on it---as if to say "So There !" I also thought about how casual the angel is in the face of this life or death traumatic event (for the disciples). In the face of such events we weep and wail and are overcome by anxiety. In the face of this event the angel sits back--relaxed--a heavenly perspective on the trials of this world. How can we find that ?
The guards became like "dead men" ? How will we reeact to God's presence and action in our lives and in the world--will we respond, rejoice, open ourselves to resurrecting power, or are too like "dead men" ? In what ways are we like dead men ?
"I know that you are looking for Jesus.." Are we looking for Jesus this Easter ? Where do we see evidence of this hunger for God in 2002 ?
Jesus has gone on before the disciples---as He goes before us. Even US in the preaching and leading of worship (and getting three kids ready for Easter and baskets and food and finally a blessed nap in the afternoon !)
Know matter how many Easters--I do this--I almost always feel frantic. Five services for me between today and Easter. Glad not to be alone in it all ! I too will pray for all of us. VMRT in CT
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 06:51:34
TC in NY I am somewhat struck by Jesus repetition of the angel's message to go to Galilee, and there they will see him. Richard Jensen writes that Galilee is a metaphor for all the places Jesus promises to meet us, such as wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, where the story is told, etc. Is not this where Matthew's gospel begins, "they shall call him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." The resurrection is not only the climax of the gospel, but expands the understanding of God's presence. Note Matthew's last verse for emphasis, "I will be with always until the close of the age."
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 08:04:48
MK in Indy, Perhaps you could reverse the phrase thusly: "In like a lamb (sacrificial imagery, Passover, etc.), and out like a lion (lion of Judah, victorious, vigorous, ALIVE! Puts me in mind of C.S. Lewis' Aslan).
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 08:05:56
MK in Indy, Perhaps you could reverse the phrase thusly: "In like a lamb (sacrificial imagery, Passover, etc.), and out like a lion (lion of Judah, victorious, vigorous, ALIVE! Puts me in mind of C.S. Lewis' Aslan).
Rabb_eye in IL
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 09:35:26
I have read some helpful comments here today. I especially like the referral to misunderstanding of the resurrection displayed by plays showing Jesus "lifte" up by a trapese.
Matthew is clear that the stone was rolled away not for Jesus to come out. He was already out. The stone was rolled away for us to go in. When we go in and see he is not there, then we remember to meet him in Galilee, on the road of ministry.
Some of the greatest fears I have had in ministry have been those comments that go something like this: "Well, they are really upset about this. There are some people that are against this." You ask who "they" are, and no one can tell you.
Back in high school, some friends and I went to a local lake just being filled for the first time. We went at night with frog grabs and .22 rifles (yes I am a redneck). 'We walked out into the knee deep water shining the light in the grass looking for the eyes of the frog.
That is when we noticed at our feet, a large water mocasin. I held the light on him near my feet. My friend unloaded his gun on the snake...and missed. The snake went under and we could not see him. We froze.
Life is full of experiences like that: fear of the unseen possibility, what bad things might happen, what dark powers lurk right at our feet. It is enough sometimes to make disciples go back and lock themselves in the upper rooms of life.
But the Easter message says that there is another out there in the dark, unseen but very present. He sees all and knows all and is victorious over all. Knowing this, the angle could sit on the stone and say to darkness and fear, "take this!"
Date: 28 March 2002
Time: 15:43:24
I am finding help from the contributions this week. The comments on fear and darkness are especially helpful.
Darkness comes in so many forms. The darkness of secrecy or stealth in which the religious leaders had sought to get rid of Jesus. There is the darkness of fear that paralyzes so many. There is the sick darkness in many churches where disenfranchised members create gossip, often referring to the unnamed "they" in order to gain power. Sometimes their values are good but the function in times of fear has a way of creating darkness and sabotoging trust.
When I was in high shcool I went frog gigging with friends late one night. We waded out in knee deep water with flashlights and guns. It wasn't long before I noticed a large water mocasin at my feet. My friend emptied his gun on the snake as I held the light...and he missed. The snake went under water, invisible. We all froze. We were in the dark, terrified of something we could not see, afraid to move for the possibility of getting bit. The disciples might have been in the same way, Jesus having alread been "bit." But the Easter message is that there is one who is out there in the places we consider dark, places like Galilee or wherever the road of ministry calls us. The risen Jesus has overcome darkness and death. Just ask the angel who sits on the stone. The stone was not rolled away for Jesus to come out, but for us to go in and look and see that Jesus is not there. Then we will remember to meet him in Galilee, in the place of ministry. With the risen Christ going before us, and the power of the resurrection with us, we can move forward, burning out the darkness of the world with the message of the good news of the gospel.
Fred in LA
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 06:43:03
Sally you will look very nice in orange even if it is a "fall" color! I hate time limits! Nancy-Wi
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 12:24:02
Help! I just found out that my offer to give a brief breakfast devotional for the members of a DC marina and the crew of the visiting tall ship Amistad has not only been accepted, but advertised as a "brief non-denominational service" aboard the Amistad itself. I've been on leave of absence for the past three years while cruising with my family in our sailboat so I have little in the way of resources. I used to check in here often when I was preaching weekly. Can anyone give me some really quick ideas. Amistad was of course the slave ship where the slaves fought for freedom, took over the ship and eventually gained their freedom back to Africa. Music will be a problem, no instruments and I can't sing well enough to carry it off. I cannot believe that I have been given three days notice. Talk about a desperate preacher. Fay aboard S/V Camelot.
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 16:02:33
Fay -
Take heart; it IS listed as "brief." I wouldn't worry about music unless you can recruit someone you can communicate with who CAN lead a cappella.
What Scripture? I use a well-worn sermon, abbreviated and altered to suit the occasion. Can you "recycle" well enough from memory, an old Easter sermon, perhaps?
I'm curious to know about your 3-year-long cruise with your family on the sailboat! Wow! Your life sure sounds a lot more interesting than mine!
Nancy -
LOL. But my color season is "summer" Pink, red, blue, & lavender for me! If I go over, I go over. It's happened before, but I just have to realize I'll hear about it from "Bubba." Most everyone else will be too polite to complain to my face, especially since I DO try to be done by noon.
Sally in GA
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 18:05:44
It seems to me that angels just about always begin with: "Fear not." But I am thinking that, after all, God got the last word. Perhaps Pilate thought he got the last word, or those who mocked him, or even that Jesus got the last word when he said, "it is finished" -- (yes, I know, Jesus is God). But anyhow, what a big surprise, a joke on all those who thought they had control of the situation. Perhaps a joke on satan most of all, God stepped right in and said, "Ta-Da!!!" The last word is not death, but rather life.
HW in HI
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 18:12:31
Fay-
My 2 bits: Everyone knows Amazing Grace (author was a former slave ship captain) and they will be able to carry it -- almost like happy birthday. Also, everyone knows the Lord's Prayer. Finally, the Easter story just about speaks for itself. One thought: walk slowly through the scripture: as the women walked quietly, as the sun comes up things take shape and form, fear receeds, angels show up, amazement and unbelief are replaced with hope and joy. My prayers will be with you.
HW in HI
Date: 29 March 2002
Time: 22:55:37
I was struck by the first word Jesus utters to the startled women, "Greetings" which is sort of akin to saying good morning. That is what I'm calling my sermon-"Good morning" I'm going to use some lines from Maya Angelou's poem, "On the pulse of the morning" which ends with the wonderful lines, "here on the pulse of this new day, You may have the grace to look up and out And into your sister's eyes and into your brothers face, your country And say simply Very simply With hope Good morning." Isn't looking and really seeing our brothers and sisters, their hopes, their dreams, their needs, what Easter is really about. Because Jesus brought life, we can offer it to and receive it from others. An IL preacher
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 07:34:54
Maybe it's too late to contribute anything meaningful, but did anybody notice that the angel told the women to "tell his disciples," but Jesus told them to "tell my brothers?" (See Hebrews 2:11-12)
The women had to "come and see" before they could "go and tell." We tell what we know. We know from what eyewitnesses here tell us and what we ourselves have seen.
I was once asked by a skeptic, "What is the most compelling reason you have for believing in God." I told him it was my personal experience with Him. He responded that my reasons weren't very objective. I said, "True, but you asked for what reasons *I* have. You asked for a subjective answer." He conceded, and we went on to more objective reasoning.
The empty tomb provides an objective reason to believe in the risen Christ. The women had a subjective experience with it and told. We must bring both to bear on a world that needs to know that He is risen indeed.
JG in WI
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 08:31:59
noted with curious interest the text in which Jesus says "Greetings"... at first it actually sounds a little folksy doesn't it? like Jesus saying " Howdy!" "Hi friend",, or "Hey what's up?" After a while it sounds real friendly and down right warm, and unlike most liturgies... in which formula responses "Lord be with you" etc are less friendly and more wooden....
How about tomorrow on Easter saying " Howdy" response "Howdy to you" " The Risen Christ says "Howdy to you and your spirit" response And a big Howdy from the Lord to you as well.
"Lord, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we lift our Howdys to you"
OK... so we'll work on the poetic rhythm a bit..
don hoff, elmira, ny donaldhoff@aol.com
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 09:56:23
Fay, There is a short Dramatic Reading for 2 voices developed for Amistad Sunday by the UCC. If you want me to send you the PDF (you need Adobe Acrobat to read it), I can send it to you. UCCrev in NJ
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 09:58:18
Fay, I also just realized I also have a whole service prepared for last year with call to worship, etc. I can send you that also. UCCrev in NJ
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 11:09:07
I'm reminded, in my meditations, of a line from Alice Walker (don't know which of her writings; she was quoted in an article I read).
"This could be our revolution, to love what is plentiful as much as what is scarce."
In our demoralized, declined congregation, I'm trying to focus on the hope, the pollyanna silver lining, the angels & resurrection rather than the emptiness of the tomb. What's not the same is that it's more natural for our eyes to fall on the empty tomb rather than on the angel sitting on the rock, more natural to see the emptiness of the tomb and wrapings than the fullness of a life of victory that Jesus issued in in his resurrection. A simple not only is the "glass-half-full" message, but that Christ fills it up to overflowing again.
Thinking out loud - and later than I wish I were (I messed up the bulletins and had to call all around to find new ones to buy - this is the ONLY day of the year we buy special ones, and I messed 'em up! Aaaagggghhhh!!!)
Hope you all stay tuned in; I'm really desperate at this point and will need all the help I can get.
Fay - How's it coming? I'm praying fo ryou!
Sally in GA
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 11:19:51
Still working on the fear theme... fear that immobilizes (the guards), and fear that drives people into life (the women). It helps when it is mixed with joy.
Our fear after 9/ll showed how much faith we placed in our security systems and our modern medicine (anthrax scare). It would be good to keep some of that fear. Our security systems and medicine are only temporary triumphs over death. Eventually we will face death. Better to have faith in God.
God is good. You all are such a help. DGinNYC
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 11:48:59
For all those who like me are still working - in quiet desperation as the clock ticks away - for something to say to those who hear only two messages a year and those who are somewhat present the year through...
I will problably focus on the message to Come & See so that we can Go & Tell. Looking at the individual reactions to the events of that first Easter morning -we see the same reactions today. I'm going to talk about the need for the disciples and our own need to look into the empty tomb. There is a lot in that empty tomb!
Thanks for all the contributions this week! They've been really helpful -
Mitcavis
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 12:02:44
Thanks to for all the support, sugguestions and offers of help. With the short time that I have had to put this together, I will keep the liturgy and the message simple. The song "Amazing Grace" does seem to be a natural, especially with the history of the Amistad, the theme here in DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival of the fight against slavery and for freedom, and it's Captain, Bill Pickney-who was the first African-American (and only 4th) man to circumnavigate the world alone in around the horns in a small sailboat. Any sailor would agree with L. Francis Herreshoff (yacht designer and author)"If you spend the night alone in an open boat in a thunderstorm, it will bring you closer to God than going to church forty Sundays."
It is only grace viewed from this side of the cross, that gives the hope of freedom and redemption both to those enslaved AND to those who have done the enslaving.
Fay aboard s/v Camelot
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 12:59:13
Fay- it struck me- any way to compare/contrast your cruise with your family in a sailboat with the Amistead journey, which took place with people first stripped from family, then in a way finding new family here in those who fought for their freedom? The Africans found new life, not the life they left with their freedom- also a tie in with one of the themes mentioned above. Good luck and God Bless. Pastor Deb in Bangor
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 13:00:13
Fay- it struck me- any way to compare/contrast your cruise with your family in a sailboat with the Amistead journey, which took place with people first stripped from family, then in a way finding new family here in those who fought for their freedom? The Africans found new life, not the life they left with their freedom- also a tie in with one of the themes mentioned above. Good luck and God Bless. Pastor Deb in Bangor
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 13:56:28
Sally in GA,
You raised some interesting points when you talked about how natural it is for our eyes to see the emptiness of the tomb instead of the angel on the rock. You also mentioned that you are trying to preach hope to a demoralized, declined congregation. I know that feeling. I'm a parttime local with a 150 year old congregation in north Georgia. It's hard for a member of a congregation to feel excited about an empty tomb when you feel you are part of an empty church. I would like to suggest that maybe the tomb wasn't empty. It was just a case of the person who was expected to be there wasn't there. There wasn't anyone dead there. The tomb and the area all around it was filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, with the presence of God. It was there when Jesus arose and left the tomb. It was there when the angel rolled back the stone and the soldiers were filled with fear and awe. It was there when the angel spoke to the women and was the source of their great joy. It was most definitely there when they found Jesus and fell at his feet for how can there be worship without the presence of the Spirit. The same is true in my church. Twenty to twenty-five in attendance on Sunday morning means that there is a lot of empty space but when the message somehow breaks through, usually in spite of me, that God is in this place as well, worship begins and the sanctuary isn't nearly as empty.
Just some ramblings as I try to put everything together for Sunday morning.
God bless all of you on this most blessed of days.
Mike in SD,TN
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 14:47:50
Mike in SD, TN
Where in N. GA, if you don't mind me asking? You're in my conference, if you're UM!!! SD -- All these months I've been knowin' ya, I thought you were from South Dakota!
Anyways, what you said is EXACTLY what I mean!!! I hope to point towards the fullness of life - how our lives are changed by the Resurrection, in that we are now offered hope, we're offered victory "Where, O Death, now is thy sting? A-a-a-a-a-a-le-e-u-u-ia!"
My current church is only 30-some years old (it's younger than me). Its main growth occurred when the members of other area churches joined because their previous churches - uh - changed demographically. It was once a medium-to-large-size church (400 members, 150 in worship), and my lay leader just said she'd be praising to have 50 tomorrow.
I'm stuck where I ALWAYS get stuck - getting a good intro that isn't one of my usual 3 or 4 styles of entering into the subject. Any ideas?
I know my redeemer lives! Sally in GA
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 15:09:20
I offer this to brothers and sisters Wounded Earth There is a wound in the earth from which it will never recover. People from all over this country, and other countries have gone to NYC to see the great hole there called ground zero. We have all seen pictures of the heroic efforts to save people trapped by the destruction of the twin towers in NYC. We have applauded the fire fighters, the police, and the shore patrol. They have come to many places all over the country to be recognized for their services and heroic efforts. The search for the bodies of those who were buried there continues. The nation has mourned. Memorial services have been held. Monuments have been planned. And still the recovery effort goes on. The rebuilding will take even longer. That drastic and devastating day of 9/11 will long be remembered. The grief will remain.
But that is not the wound I am talking about. It is the one on a hillside outside of Jerusalem. The tomb whose stone was rolled away by an earthquake, or an angel, and whose empty space will never be filled. For the one who was put there had left the tomb! The forces of evil thought that they had silenced the voice of God and the voice of love. But he has risen!2 and he still lives. For nearly two thousand years, his followers have worked to make this a better world. To make life better for all people. To bring others into a relationship with God that will last beyond this lifetime into eternity. There are many monuments to the life and death of that man who was not found in the empty tomb. Believe me there was a search for that body too. For there were many reports that people had seen him. And there were lots of folk who had wanted him dead, and they sure did want to stamp out the idea that he had risen from the dead. He was a troublemaker for lots of folk in power when he was alive, those who oppressed others and those who took advantage of their position and wealth. They sure didn’t want him to gain any greater following than he already had. But over the centuries, his followers have fed more hungry, healed more sick, clothed more naked, and helped more people to earn a decent living, than any other group in history. Those who saw him alive again, could not at first believe their eyes, or their ears. But when they did come to believe, they told everyone they could about it. Often they proclaimed the message of the resurrection at the cost of their own lives. But they continued to tell it, and they continued to live the lives that Christ had called them to live in the world around them. How did they do this? He told them that he was going to the Father, His Father and theirs, and that he would send Another, who would go along side them to help them and to give them the gifts they needed to become his body alive in the whole world. We who have gathered here, and those who gather throughout the world this day, are part of that body.
Christ has Died. Christ Has Risen! Christ Will Come Again!
wd in WNC [UMC]
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 15:41:18
Mike -
Or are you WAY up North in GA, and you're in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee?
Sally
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 16:00:24
Sally in GA,
I serve a church on Lookout Mountain in Walker County, GA that's just inside of the Lower edge of the Holston Conf, UMC but I'm in Course of Study with a bunch of the North Georgia Conf. folks. It's my first appointment and I've been there almost 2 years but just started doing lectionary about a month ago. I guess it took me that long to realize that there was a lot of Bible I needed to be preaching from besides what I was using. This has been a good place to learn about it.
SD,TN means Soddy Daisy, TN, which is where I live. That's just north of Chattanooga. After my first couple of posts, I got too lazy to write out the whole thing. I did local pastor's in WNC Conf where I've got a brother that's a full elder and I ended up with the nickname Soddy. Some of my classmates might be out here.
I grew up in a start-up church in NC and was part of the lay leadership in another in TN before the Lord reminded me that I had wasted 20 years before answering His call. Your church is just a little younger than the one I grew up in. New churches can get sidetracked real easy. They see all growth as exciting until they realize that it means they have to change. Sometimes they fight the change and fail to reach out. Then they don't grow. Sometimes, when the growth is too fast, they get confused and lose their foundations, getting caught in programs instead of ministries. When that happens, they burn out and can't keep up the pace. The growth disappears and they feel like failures when all they have done is go back to where they have chance to regroup and try again, more slowly and perhaps more intentionally this time.
Maybe there's an Easter message there. The disciples were tied up in one way of thinking. When it didn't work the way they thought it should (Jesus was crucified), they were scared and discouraged. God had other plans, though, and when they learned to get on that program, look what happened. The tomb ended their plans but not God's plans for them.
I'll be praying for you.
Mike in SD(Soddy Daisy), TN
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 16:35:13
The late Neil Hamilton (Drew University) used to close his study of this passage reading "Meet me in Galilee" His take was that Galilee represented the real world in which we live, and after the high holy experience in Jerusalem, Jesus was sending the disciples to live out their faith in the real world. Sounds like a good Easter sermon to me - even the once a year worshiper can go out the dorr to minister in their every day lives. OgreMTB in PA.
Date: 30 March 2002
Time: 17:55:52
wd in WNC [UMC] I think you wrote a wonderful piece, I have been struggling for hours. I am dead tired and lifeless. My church is moving so quickly and they are so filled with the spirit that I can hardly keep up. Your piece says more than all my ramblings, I am getting really desperate! Nancy-WI