Easter Sunday 2021
April 4, 2021
St. Alban’s Church
Pastor Jim Stickney
Christ did not die and rise from the dead only to make bad people into good people. Christ died and rose to make dying people truly alive!
Today we celebrate the heart of Christian faith, that death is not the end of the story.
Today we rejoice that we share in the new life of Christ Jesus beyond death.
Today we proclaim our freedom from any fear of being imprisoned in this world
of such swift economic changes — we know where true joys are to be found.
Last Sunday we waved joyful palms to celebrate the easy way of being believers —
following Jesus in fair weather, when there’s a crowd cheering all of us on.
Then we shifted and became a mob crying for this one man to die for the people.
On Good Friday, in our own quiet way, we kept vigil for divinity seeming to die,
trying to be faithful, when bring a believer is the hardest thing to do.
And today we celebrate new life, risen life in which we all can share.
Christ did not die and rise from the dead only to make bad people into good people.
Christ died and rose to make dying people truly alive!
It’s a joy to be asked to return to St. Alban’s, where I spent most of my active ministry.
I must have preached close to 20 Easter sermons, and I must have used
a personal Easter story back then. I’m going to repeat it for you now — and for those
who were not members back then, it will be something new for you.
When I was about ten, I caught a bad cold just before Easter. Mom and Dad debated, then decided I was old enough that they could just leave me home alone
while they and the younger children went to church that Easter morning without me.
As an incentive, they gave me my Easter basket early before they left.
I remember feeling, not sick and abandoned, but happy that they trusted me.
I had a fine time alone on Easter, eating some candy, and finding a license plate
in my basket with “Jim” on it which I taped to my bicycle before they returned.
Most of all, I remember feeling that God was with me in my heart,
even though I wasn’t in church. Not going to church that day helped me find God.
God took what could have been sadness for me, and transformed it.
That story takes on new meaning during this time of pandemic, when our leaders,
both in church and in society, are pleading with us to keep social distance.
And compared to last year, our churches have proved to be resilient and innovative —
just consider the new skills we’ve developed in order to sustain community.
We’ve accomplished a kind of resurrection right in the middle of a crisis.
Christ did not die and rise from the dead only to make bad people into good people.
Christ died and rose to make dying people truly alive!
I’d like to speak to our skeptical side for a moment, to the doubts within us.
Does the Bible try to trick us with clever rhetoric and exaggerated Easter claims?
It’s quite the opposite! The record of the Gospel writers is brutally honest.
No one claimed to see the moment of Resurrection. They weren’t even expecting it.
What they were expecting was to prepare a corpse for burial. That’s it!
Imagine a creepy scene in a horror movie. The music gets quiet for that tense moment
when someone turns a corner, opens a door, sees some dead body, and screams.
This morning’s Gospel story of Easter gives us the exact opposite of a horror movie.
The trauma, the horror and tragedy, was three days past, at the crucifixion.
Instead, a few women with ointments and perfumes are prepared to find that dead body.
What they weren’t ready for was the appearance of radiant angelic beings
posing a lovely rhetorical question to them: Why do you seek the living among the dead?
In his Easter message, Bishop Marc referred to this little group as a “pod.”
I rather like the idea of a small bubble of disciples now infected by faith in Jesus!
Yes, death will come for each of us, but death is no longer the final chapter of life.
And not only does that mean a new start in the life to come, but it also
breaks the cycle of despair and hopelessness in which so too people live lives
of quiet desperation — hungry for a fresh start, but unsure how to make it.
By our sharing in Christ’s risen life, we can always make a new start — right now!
Christ did not die and rise from the dead only to make bad people into good people.
Christ died and rose to make dying people truly alive!
It was difficult for the women who went to the tomb to open their hearts again
to the love they felt for Jesus. It’s difficult for us to break out of the tombs and traps
of our fond past memories, look around at the changed circumstances
of our life today, and find Jesus there. And yet, we’ve managed to stay faithful!
And in tough times, we know that we are invited to celebrate the true riches,
and hold fast to the realities that will not fluctuate like infection rates from Covid 19.
Some may try to paste last years leaves on the tree and then call that Spring.
Instead, look at your life this day! This moment Christ Jesus wants to live in you!
The new life just won’t be the same as the old — God intends to do a new thing.
Christ did not die and rise from the dead only to make bad people into good people.
Christ died and rose to make dying people truly alive!
