Still Pondering Easter

 

There is a mystery to the marvel of resurrection.  There is an unknowing-ness that we cannot fully understand; we are called to stand under.  No sermon can capture, no hymn fully expresses, no matter how many times we celebrate Easter, we keep coming back with curiosity.  We say to Easter, “Tell me more”.  Listen to these insights from Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor on Easter:

 

The resurrection is the one and only event in Jesus’ life that was entirely between him and God. There were no witnesses whatsoever. No one on earth can say what happened inside that tomb, because no one was there. They all arrived after the fact. Two of them saw clothes. One of them saw angels. Most of them saw nothing at all because they were still in bed that morning, but as it turned out, that did not matter because the empty tomb was not the point. In the end, that is the only evidence we have to offer those who ask us how we can possibly believe. Because we live, that is why. Because we have found, to our surprise, that we are not alone. Because we never know where he will turn up next. Here is one thing that helps: never get so focused on the empty tomb that you forget to speak to the gardener.  Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor

 

What did you witness on Easter morning?  Note this may not have been with your eyes, but with your nose, ears, sacred imagination, or shy soul.  Rewind and remember what you felt and carried out of Easter service.  Remember, I asked you the question, what are you searching for?  Has there been any glimmer or glimpse of an insight in response to that question?  What you witnessed might be different than what I observed and absorbed on Easter morning.  Maybe I was struck by the beauty of the sunlight that warms all the earth, regardless of whether the person can produce a baptismal card or pass a theological test.  Maybe I was amazed by the peacefulness I felt, or the color of the flowers, or the joy of singing in harmony for a few fleeting seconds.  Maybe this Easter didn’t stir your soul, maybe, like the disciples, you felt less amazed than last year or angsty because of the world.  Maybe the sermon wasn’t up to par, or the Peeps tasted different.  The truth is, every Easter is different because you are different every Easter.  Jesus doesn’t have to appear at 9 am and 11 am just because that conforms to our worship schedule.  This isn’t some play where Jesus misses his cue if you leave the building on Easter a little less enthusiastically.  Maybe the Resurrected One appears in the restaurant or at coffee with a friend or sitting outside today, letting the sun baptize your face.  The truth is, Mary initially wasn’t plotting and planning a resurrection…she was attending a funeral.  Sometimes God upends our expectations in beautifully baffling ways.  Maybe it is your lawn crew today who shows you the face of Christ, or the fellow volunteer, or a red robin pecking at the seed you left there.  Remember, you can’t predict resurrection; you simply are asked to hold the promise of God’s possibility that brokenness is never the last word.  Alleluia and Amen.