Passage: John 20:19-29    

  Description: This is a powerfully charged spiritual season—these days post-Easter. Words fail, somehow. But the resurrection stories, filled with images and metaphors, transformation and mystery fly straight to the human heart. They do. And when we sit with the depth of conviction that rests at the foot of an empty cross, at the entrance of an empty tomb, and numerous encounters with the risen Christ, especially at meal-times we cannot help but be touched by this story of hope where in the words of Diana Butler-Bass, “Gratefulness banishes fear and thanksgiving replaces grief.” (RNS, religioinnnews.com/2018/04/11 Doubting-Thomas…) That’s what this story is about. It is generally assumed that on the day of resurrection, the first day of the week, the disciples are back in the dining room of the house “where they had met” the Thursday before. It’s their safe house. What we know is that in times of fear and trauma, human beings want to be together—the relationship matters more than anything else. It’s really tense. There is comfort in huddling together around the table. Then, Jesus appears. Ok, this is weird. What are we to make of this? Our modern minds more than likely go straight to science and reason. We try to explain. We try to wrap our heads around a transaction that seems more paranormal than anything. My invitation is to let that thinking go. Let it go. Because this narrative is trying to rouse a deeper knowing, a wider awareness, a sense of gratefulness and thanksgiving. The gospel of John is drawing our attention to something more compelling than the physicality of nail wounds or the mental state of fear. The gospel is signalling the real presence of the risen Christ. It is proclaiming peace. It is portraying the dawn of a new age emerging around the upper room table.

Passage: Luke 24:36-48 & Acts 3:12-19    

  Description: A photographer visited Jasper Park. He was up early and stopped at a roadside parking lot near an open field where wild buffalo graze. The parking lot was lined with explicit warning signs. Buffalo are dangerous. Visitors should not leave their cars. Never enter the field on foot. As he was taking snapshots with a telephoto lens, a car from Quebec pulled in and a man got out, walking toward the buffalo. The photographer called his attention to the warning signs but he said that nothing that big could catch him, and he walked to within a few meters of the huge beasts, and began taking pictures. The bull charged. Buffalo can run 50 km/p/h for short distances, but the man from Quebec realized he was in trouble and got back to his car, got in and closed the door just in time ahead of the angry animal. However, his car wasn’t so fortunate in escaping the buffalo's attention and was rammed repeatedly, sustaining significant damage. Park Rangers arrived expecting a bloody mess, but the man and his wife survived with little more than glass cuts and some suspected staining in their underwear. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I want to talk to you about courage; not the stupid kind of courage like our Buffalo friend but of the right kind of courage.

Passage: John 20:1-18    

  Description: An empty tomb! That’s what the disciples, the men and women who had faithfully followed Jesus for the three years of his ministry, found on that Sunday morning almost 2,000 years ago. An empty tomb! According to the account in the gospel of John, Mary Magdalene arrived first and discovered the stone, used to block the entrance to the tomb, had been rolled away. That was strange enough, since it would have been a stone too large for any one person to move. Then she peeked in, with a bit of trepidation I imagine, and saw that Jesus’ body was gone. Immediately, Mary ran back to tell Simon Peter and the others. An empty tomb! That’s what Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved – that’s what they discovered after their foot race to the tomb – Peter lost that race, but was the first to actually enter the tomb. An empty tomb! But, we are told, the linen wrappings that would have been wound around Jesus’ body were still there, as well as the burial cloth that had covered his head. And, just so we get the fact that this a very intentional and purpose-filled moment, we are told that the linens have been neatly folded up, that the cloth covering the head was placed separately from the other linens. An empty tomb! This is no joke. This is no set-up by the disciples to make it look as if Jesus had risen from the dead. This is no arrangement by the Romans to play games with Jesus’ disciples. Something amazing, miraculous, intentional, and astounding has happened here. That’s the point of the story. An empty tomb! It is quite easy to be caught and held in place by this empty tomb.

Passage: Colossians 3:12-17    

  Description: Why bother with worship? Psalm 100: 2-3 says, Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God. It is God who has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. (Ps. 100: 2-3) This is why we worship. We are designed to worship God. It’s in our DNA. It’s rooted in our tradition. Our theology of worship is grounded in ancient wisdom that affirms a special, intimate relationship with the One who has made us; the One who claims us as his beloved—his people, and the sheep of his pasture. I mention Psalm 100 because it lies at the very foundation of everything that follows into the time of Jesus and Paul as we consider prayer and public worship. The collective wisdom of our Judeo-Christian roots proclaims that we pray and worship not because of want but, need. Our greatest purpose as human beings, according to the wisdom of our faith is to offer God our gratitude, praise, and worship. Consider prayer for a moment. In the Muslim Tradition, prayer is offered 5 times a day. In the Jewish Tradition, it’s 3 times a day. In the Christian Tradition, according to the rule of St. Benedict and earlier (4th – 6th centuries), prayer is still offered 8 times a day in monastic settings. These prayers are called the liturgy of the hours. In the Middle East where all the Abrahamic traditions intermingle, the call to prayer is proclaimed from the minaret, by the time on the clock and/or the place of the sun in the sky. In every case the call to prayer is meant to be an interruption in the day. Work stops. Tasks cease. Room is created to pray. What I appreciate is the notion that prayer interrupts. Prayer is designed to get in the way of the many things that serve to keep bread on the table, keep others happy, keep things operating. Worship and Prayer go together. They exist to get in the way of the many things we deem important or that otherwise serve as distractions from tending to our soul’s need to commune with God. The intent of prayer and worship is to get at the very center of our life in order that we may be reminded again and again about who and Who’s we are.

Passage: Luke 11:1-9    

  Description: I love to pray. I can’t imagine life without praying. Prayer weaves in and out of my day, part of the fabric of my life. Yet, even though prayer is so much a part of who I am, it is not easy to explain what prayer is. Let me start by saying what prayer is not! Prayer is not like giving a wish list to Santa or a to-do list to a spouse. It is not saying, Okay, here God, these are the things I need done; now get busy. God is not our personal robot, or our servant. Too often, I hear people say that prayer doesn’t work and that God doesn’t answer prayer. That is rooted in this kind of thinking – that if I pray it, God should just do it. However, there are some things I’ve prayed for that I am now very glad that God didn’t just do. So prayer is not a to-do list or wish list for God. Prayer is not magic. It is not saying, “Abracadabra” and having something appear. It is not about saying the right words so that your prayer is answered, and trying different formulations of words until you get the result you hope for. God is not a genie in a bottle ready to grant us three wishes Prayer is not negotiation. There are times when we will find ourselves praying, okay God, I’ll do this, if you’ll do that. Or I promise never again to do that, if just once you do this. It’s natural to pray this way. It comes from the deep emotions we may be feeling, but that is not how prayer works. We don’t negotiate with God or bargain with God. God loves us. God is working with us. Prayer is not manipulation. Prayer isn’t about doing & saying the right things so that we can back God into our corner, into our way of seeing things. We don’t have to be the best defense lawyer in the world, pleading our case before God. It isn’t about trying to trick God into believing what we are saying. God loves us.