Pastor: Christ is risen! Congregation: Indeed, He is risen!
Pastor: Hallelujah! Congregation: Indeed, He is risen! Hallelujah!
Responsive Easter Litany:
Pastor: When everything was dark, and it seemed that the sun would never shine again, the love of God broke through. A love too strong, too wide, too deep for death to hold.
Gracious God, we praise you for the light of new life made possible through Jesus. We praise you for the light of new life that shone on the first witnesses of the resurrection. We praise you for the light of new life that continues to shine in our hearts today.
We pray that the Easter light of life, hope, and joy, will live in us each day; and that we will be bearers of that light into the lives of others.
Yes, we do believe and today we confess:
Pastor: Christ is Risen!
Congregation: Indeed, He is Risen!
Pastor: Hallelujah!
Congregation: Indeed, He is Risen! Hallelujah!
Gospel Mark 16.1-8
16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 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. 7 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.’ 8 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.
The Stones that Block our Faith.
How I love this story. This short earthshattering story told by Mark about the women coming to the tomb om Easter Morning.
How I love this story as it moves and shatters the stone that blocked their faith and might move and shatter all the stones that block our faith today.
“Very Early on the first day of the week, when the sun has risen, they went.” Like the women, we have come here very early on the first day of the week, when the sun has risen. They came grieving and alone to the grave. We come joyously and together to the church that was built on that mysterious message of the empty tomb that first Easter Morning.
How I love this story. For so many reasons.
I do love it as the center of my faith.
I do love it as the center of our Christian Church.
I do love it as the promise that darkness does not last; light always conquers darkness.
And as a woman and a female pastor, - I do love it as it was the women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome who came first to the grave. The women were the first witnesses to the mystery. Not only was Jesus carried in the womb of a young woman for nine months, he was born into the world by this young woman, but even women witnessed the greatest most mysterious earth-shattering moment first. I love that Christianity lets the women be prominent parts of the greatest story ever told!
I do love it as it makes us gather here on Easter Morning and shout these old words out with joy and faith: Indeed, he is risen. Hallelujah!
I do love it as we do come, again and again, Easter after Easter, back to church, back to the story, because we do believe that life is more mysterious than our calculations, our knowledge and our fears.
I do love this story as it gives me hope. Despite everything I might fear and despite every stone that might block my faith.
What stones might block our faith?
The stone of grief.
The grief we have experienced, the losses we have endured. The lack of meaning when life has been hard and hopeless.
The stone of proof.
I do not believe unless I see it myself, like Thomas later said. I do not believe it unless I have proof. But how can you prove hope? How can you prove love? How can tangible limited elements of proof prove the mystery of God?
Isn’t the concept of faith exactly faith and hope for what we cannot see or proof, but still believe to be real?
The questions of science are when, where and how – but the questions of faith are why? And the answer this Easter Sunday is Love and Light.
The stone of proof. The stone of grief. Or the stone of science. The stones of normalcy and common sense.
Claiming that there is no scientific proof for this mysterious encounter the first Easter Morning, there is no proof that it was not just delusional women talking and hallucinations of faith?
Which reminds me of one of my favorite jokes: The husband looked at his wife with disbelief and dismay when she was getting ready to go to church on Easter Morning and exclaimed: “My intelligence hinders my ability to believe!” And the wife said: “Well then my dear, that is a small hindrance!”
But we are here today, aren’t we?
Because we do believe that life is bigger, bolder, more mysterious and gracious than we can phantom, as we do witness this mystery in glimpse of grace and hope.
We come here as Spring is truly giving new life and new hope to Nature and us. Green rolling hills, yellow mustard plants, orange puppies, blue … and proud hopeful daffodils of faith. Green lawns and new leaves budding on trees. Birds singing in the trees and roaming the skies.
Have you ever encountered a small hummingbird in spring: busy, aggressive, flying just in your face and daring to believe in that mystery of life itself? Such a small creature – gives us so much hope.
You might know the wonderful story about the Hummingbird told by Kenyan activist and women’s rights advocate and Nobel peace Prize laurate Professor Wangari Maathai:
The story of the hummingbird is about this huge forest being consumed by a fire.
All the animals in the forest come out and they are transfixed as they watch the forest burning and they feel very overwhelmed, very powerless, except this little hummingbird.
It says, ‘I’m going to do something about the fire!’ So, it flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop of water. It puts it on the fire, and goes up and down, up and down, up and down, as fast as it can.
In the meantime, all the other animals, much bigger animals like the elephant with a big trunk that could bring much more water, they are standing there helpless. And they are saying to the hummingbird, ‘What do you think you can do? You are too little. This fire is too big. Your wings are too little, and your beak is so small that you can only bring a small drop of water at a time.’
But as they continue to discourage it, it turns to them without wasting any time and it tells them, ‘I am doing the best I can.’
We should try to be hummingbirds of hope. We may be overwhelmed, alarmed and even afraid, but we still believe the best we can. We still fly with hope and persistence to try to still the fire of fear burning in us… and we drop small drops of faith, hope and love on the big fire of hopelessness.
Doubt and discouragement might ask us: For what do you think you can hope? Your faith is too weak. Your wings are too little, and your faith is so small that you can bring any hope or light into the world.”
Be a hummingbird of hope today.
Push away the stones that might block your faith, hope and love.
Believe in the mystery of this life and this God, who send his son to the world not to condemn the world but to save us… to bring us light, to bring us hope, to bring us faith.
Look beyond. Look ahead. Look up.
And shout with joy and hope as once again:
Christ is risen! Indeed, he is risen. Hallelujah! Amen