Easter Sunday

Matthew (28:1–10)

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel’s appearance was like lightning, with garments white as snow. The guards shook with fear and fell as though they were dead.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, with awe and great joy, and ran to carry the good news to the disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Shalom,” he said. They came to him, embraced his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell the disciples to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”


Reflection -- by Zelda Kennedy

Last year, a member of our community invited me to the Crystal Cathedral to experience their Easter pageant performance. It was grand! Yet, it wasn’t the first time I experienced a major production of Easter with people dressed in period costumes and with real animals. In North Carolina it’s done on an outside stage. The reenactment of the crucifixion seems so real that, for some, it is almost unbearable to witness. However, for me, it was always just a performance.

Therefore, as I watched the performance at the Crystal Cathedral, my reaction to the story surprised me. I was surprised by my emotions, which were traumatic. During the crucifixion, while listening to the performer sing, “Were you there, when they crucified my Lord,” a profound sadness that seemed to reach the core of my being, overpowered me. It was an experience that continued to haunt me during my ministry. While reading Trauma and Grace, by Dr. Serene Jones, I learned that “trauma is an act of overwhelming violence that is visceral.” Finally, I had words to help me understand my feelings. I could also imagine what the followers of Jesus might have felt at Calvary, and the days following.

Therefore, I want you to visualize Mary Magdalene and the other Mary on their way to the tomb with trauma still fresh in their minds and bodies. I want you imagine their sadness and perhaps confusion. I want you to visualize them wondering just what were they going to do at the tomb? They certainly could not enter the tomb because guards and a large stone blocked the door.

The scripture tells us they were met by an angel, who reported that Jesus, who was so horribly crucified, was gone – resurrected and, while that is the Easter message, this scripture tells us much more. It tells us that the very women, who were on the margins of their society, were now at the center of the gospel message. Jesus, still radical and countercultural, chose them to be the bearers of the good news! Jesus chose them to disclose the message of Easter.

One of my colleagues once preached, “Easter is not bunnies and butterflies. Easter is about a body that somehow got loose. . . Easter is about a Jesus, who while alive was so radical, so countercultural that the prevailing culture killed him. He is not flow, he’s counterflow. Easter is about a Jesus, who spoke about forgiving one’s enemies as a condition of being forgiven ourselves, so that we may be made whole . . . of treating everyone with respect. Easter is about continuing the ministry of Jesus – feeding the hungry, helping the poor, visiting the sick, caring for and protecting the children and others in need.”

We shout at the Easter vigil, “Alleluia, the Lord is risen; the Lord is risen indeed,” because the Jesus, who was radical, countercultural and risen, invites us to be the same. So, I ask you to experience this Easter as a time of promise and great expectation as we live into our resurrection and offer the following excerpt from the Franciscan Blessing.

May God bless you that you remember
we are all called
to continue Jesus’ redemptive work
of love, forgiveness and healing
in God’s place, in and through God’s name,
in God’s Spirit, continually creating
and breathing new life and grace
Into everything and everyone we touch.

During Holy week, consider one or all of the following:

¨ Be more kind to family and friends.

¨ Forgive - yourself and others.

¨ Work toward helping to shape this community, city, nation.

¨ Prepare for an amazing Easter!

Maundy Thursday

John (13:1–15)

Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus realized that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to God. He had always loved his own in this world, but now he showed how perfect this love was. The Devil had already convinced Judas Iscariot, begot of Simon, to betray Jesus. So during supper, Jesus – knowing that God had put all things into his own hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God – rose from the table, took off his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and dry them with the towel around his waist. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Rabbi, you are not going to wash my feet, are you?”

Jesus answered, “You do not realize what I am doing right now, but later you will understand.” Peter replied, “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus answered, “If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with me.” Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Then, Rabbi, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus said, “One who has bathed is clean all over and only need to wash their feet – and you are clean, though not every one of you.” For Jesus knew who was to betray him. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After washing their feet, Jesus put his clothes back on and returned to the table. He said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher,’ and ‘Sovereign’ – and rightly, for so I am. If I then – your Teacher and Sovereign – have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

Reflection by Susan Russell

So what’s up with the footwashing?

One commentary I read reaches this conclusion: “Jesus was showing us that we are all equal when we gather around the table of the Lord. If the Creator could wash the feet of the created, should not the creatures wash the feet of one another in equality? And if Jesus saw himself in his creatures, shouldn’t we see him in each other?”

Does that mean we’re supposed to REALLY wash each other’s feet? Well, let’s look again at our criteria for primary sacraments in the church: We do it because Jesus told us to. (“given by Christ to His Church” in the loftier words of the catechism)

Baptism in Matthew 28: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Eucharist in Luke 22: And he took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying, “This is my body which is given for you. DO THIS in remembrance of me.”

And in Footwashing in today's gospel: John 13: So, then, if I — your Lord and teacher — have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.

Could it be that part of the reason the “kingdom” hasn’t come yet is that the church missed the boat on what Jesus intended to be another primary sacrament “given by Christ to his Church”: the sacrament of servanthood? Sadly, examples are all too easy to find -- such as a newspaper article about a church edict forbidding women and children to participate in ceremonial foot washings on Maundy Thursday. It declared that the act of foot washing was symbolic of Jesus choosing an all male priesthood — therefore the ceremony would consist of twelve men from any congregation — no women and no children.

Can you imagine our Lord saying to his disciples gathered on the night before he was handed over to suffering and death: “A new commandment I give you: exclude women and children.”

I can’t imagine that – instead I imagine Jesus reading that news report, shaking his head in discouragement and saying, “What part of love one another don’t you understand?”

The priesthood of all the faithful: that’s the calling we ALL gather on Maundy Thursday to celebrate as we share with each other the bread and wine made holy. The priesthood of all the faithful — ALL the beloved people of God: not just the ones with white plastic around their necks and seminary degrees hanging on their walls.

And the more we remember that the closer we come to the kingdom.

During the week:

Can we – in this “out-of-the-ordinary” week – dare to claim that extraordinary calling?

Can we – each and every one of us – believe that God will give us the grace to obey this New Commandment – to walk in love as He loved us and gave Himself for us?

Can we even imagine what the church would look like if the “sacrament of servanthood” became a reality?