We
are an Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song.
The reality of Jesus’ declaration was cemented in my heart on an
unseasonably cold January day in Melbourne some twenty-five years ago. I
remember the morning, a bit of frost covered the ground in the early hours. It
remained cold throughout the funeral but my dad, my brother, my grandfather,
and I, along with aunts and uncles, cousins and friends – we stood watch at my
mother’s grave awaiting the final words. The comfort expressed by Jesus to
Martha rang out as, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me
will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never
die.”
Easter people are those who live in the resurrection
story every day. They are those people who know that death does not have the
final victory.
You know, despite Jesus
invitation and despite Thomas protestations, Thomas never does place his hands
in his Lord's wounds. No. Though most likely filled with fear and anger and
shame that comes from knowing that he not only doubted but also deserted his
friend, when Thomas is confronted by the risen Lord, when he is greeted by the
forgiveness and grace embodied in the words "Peace be with you," he
instantly believes and makes the great confession of John's gospel: "My
Lord and my God!"
In a heartbeat Thomas knows
that he is in the presence of God, has been saved and redeemed by that God, and
that he will never be the same again. This story, then, is not about Thomas'
doubt at all; rather, it is about an encounter with the grace of God which has
come down from heaven and been embodied in Jesus Christ. Thomas was Easter
people and “Alleluia” became his song.
For
many years, I kept a note card on my refrigerator that proclaimed the message:
"We are an Easter people." I received the note from a parishioner, a
mother of 13, grandmother of many more, who was living with an advanced stage
breast cancer at the time the card was written. In the week after Easter, Bernadette
and some of her grandchildren had scripted this pink magic-marker message on a
variety of note cards. They sent one to me.
I
remember opening the Easter greeting and reading it several times. No,
"Happy Easter." No, "Rejoice, the Lord is risen." It said,
simply, "We are an Easter people." The message bore a profound faith.
As her death approached, Bernadette wanted everyone to know that the power of
faith transforms even death. Bernadette was Easter people and “Alleluia” was
her song.
Easter people are those who live in the resurrection
story every day. Through their lives they are an example of the unconditional
love of Jesus. They are unselfish in their willingness to serve their fellow
man.
From
the record of those early days, a modus operandi begins to emerge for the
church. Within the early community, "there was no needy person among
them" (Acts 4:34). Those who had more property and wealth liquidated their
assets and gave the money to the apostles to distribute to those in need. This may
be startling information to 21st-century capitalism; but, it is nonetheless
true. They were an Easter people and “Alleluia” was their song.
We are an Easter people. We are a people transformed
by the resurrection. We are a people healed and made whole. We are people given
to in our need. So how do make “Alleluia” our
song. Here are five simple ways to come out Easter People.
Cling to the people who love you. When times get tough,
we Americans have the tendency to go try to go it alone. We think that our
history of rugged individualism must extend to times when we really need
someone to lean on. But this will be our undoing. It's only after we've come
through the darkness that we realize that others were there, urging us on,
reminding us to mind our step.
This Easter season, find joy in those who traveled
through your Lent (literal and figurative) with you.
Remember who you are. Remember that you are
already redeemed. Remember that you are part of the Body of Christ. Remember
that you are Christ’s own forever. Remember that you are precious and beautiful
and unique because you are created in the image of God and that is the source
of joy and redemption for anyone walking a difficult road.
Don't wait for the other shoe to drop. One of the thing
about counting on hardship is that you'll never be wrong. So don’t count on it.
Do wait for something to go wrong. Just don’t. But more, when things go right,
when they have improved, when days are good, when the stone has been rolled
back from the tomb, celebrate. When things are good, celebrate them. When life
is blissfully boring, celebrate it. That way, when trouble finds you again, at
least you're not treating it as though it never left.
Bring joy to the world. Convert your happiness
into joy for others. Easter People share their hope. And they share it
outwardly, lifting up those around them. Break free of the obsessive
preoccupation with "me." Even after Jesus' anguish in the Garden of
Gethsemane, Luke's Gospel shows him practicing compassion and a desire to
protect those he loves from harm. Even on his road to the cross, Jesus comforts
the women of Jerusalem. Even with his dying breath, Jesus makes space for his
mother and the disciple whom he loved.
Breathe in the Holy Spirit. After Jesus'
resurrection, he returns to his disciples, and their mission (and ours) takes
on the new dimension of sharing the good news. In John's Gospel, Jesus greets
the disciples by saying, "Peace be with you." He repeats himself and
then breathes on them, bestowing on them the Holy Spirit and sending them out
to carry on his work.
Many Episcopalians hear the word "evangelism"
and shrink. It's gotten a bad rap. But the simple fact is that Easter People
can learn a lot from that short passage. Jesus' tidings of peace are a call for
us to bring about peace in our world. His victory over death is the embodiment
of our faith and the reason we are called to spread his word. He grants us the
power - perhaps even the obligation - to forgive. A bit later, he commands his
disciples to tend, shepherd and take care of his sheep. That's evangelizing.
That's being an Easter People. Living in the example of Jesus, everyday for
everyone.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. There is nothing more that
need be sung – ALLELUIA, sing praise to God. We are an Easter people and “Alleluia”
is our song.
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