Sermons
Stones Speak To Stones
Easter 2006 Sermon
The Rev. Rob McCann
Interim Rector, St, Matthew's Episcopal Church
The Holy Land is a place of gleaming limestone - a natural whiteness that fills the eyes of every inhabitant and visitor.
It is also a land of caves.
Caves to be born in.
Caves to live in.
Caves to run to when the occasional rain storm hits and at mid-day when the sun strikes unmercifully.
Caves to be buried in.
The are not only a natural part of the landscape -
but also a part of the fabric of daily living.
These cavities serve as silent sentinels from birth to death - and to Christians they have a special poignancy when they point to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
It is a land in which stones speak to stones. For they have a faith history to tell.
If you will remember there was the cave in Bethlehem mentioned as the birthplace of Jesus, and within the past decades, excavators have found a cave in Nazareth convent that has a claim to being the home of Jesus; there is some scientific evidence that this very spot became a gathering place for worship; and then, of course, there is the burial cave in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem that adds understanding to this Great Week.
Easter is the feast that celebrates a certain emptiness. Emptiness, however, pregnant with the mystery and fullness of new life.
The empty tomb gives us moments for pause and Reflection.
PEOPLE TALK TO PEOPLE
If someone ever asks you - Why are you a Christian? And you are caught flabbergasted by the in-your-face question, take a deep breath, excuse yourself for a moment and return armed with the Book of Common Prayer.
Move to the Vigil of Easter service. Read the words that are sung for the blessing of the Easter Candle.
There you will find bold images with which to express yourself
There you will find some powerful stories to build hope on There you will find some traditional prayers to pray with.
Out of the image of darkness and light you can paint a portrait of where the people of God have been and where they want to be.
Out of a succession of stories from the dignity of creation to a sense of sin to a profound restoration in Christ one can touch the common themes that are present and hoped for in every life.
TELL THE STORY
A few years ago I received a phone call during Holy Week from one of the Bay Area's religion editors. It's that time of the year that each of them has to come up with an Easter story.
I remember his words very well -
"I'm looking for a new slant on Easter."
Now why did that strike me as funny. - My first thought was to say - Aren't the Easter bunnies interesting anymore? (But I bit my tongue and leaned into the phone to listen carefully.)
He continued - "I want a human interest story, but not so much about Jesus." (Imagine - Take a holy day and make it only a holiday. Drain the day of its deepest spiritual message.
But in the twinkling of an eye, a new approach came to mind.
Easter is not only about Jesus - but how that event continues to touch our lives personally.
Today, as always the question is not just a past Question, but a present one also -
"Was the resurrection real?"- and
"Is the resurrection real?"
Does that act of God in Christ still have the power to make a difference in our lives?
The test is not so much - "Did it happen to Jesus" -
but in an extended way - "Does it continue to happen for us?"
The resurrection power of Jesus is not just an after -
death experience but also a during - life experience.
The added interest story is how does Jesus' being raised up change my life NOW?
What happened in the tomb 2000 years ago was entirely between Jesus and God.
For the rest of us, our Easter began the moment the gardener called Mary Magdalen by name and she knew who it was - and how her life was changed.
That is the joy for us - when faith becomes personal - not in the tomb - but in the encounter.
In the end, that is the powerful evidence we have to offer those who ask us how we can possibly believe. We believe because we continue to experience God in Christ in our lives.
Easter calls forth a variety of belief and experience. The river of interpretation is wide. But there is one thing all of us have in common. One preacher I know suggests that Easter is a call to arms - a declaration of war, a protest on behalf of new life. Easter is the enemy of all that would dehumanize. Economic forces (the market mentality) tend to reduce human life to the disposable and insignificant.
The poets make "resurrection" into a verb with the prayer that God may "easter" in us.
Wendell Berry suggests that doing the unpredictable might bring Easter into your lives.
So friends, every day do something that won't compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing on occasion.
Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.
Be like the fox "Who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction."
There is a faith story in all we do - like stones speaking to stones, our stories of faith speak to others.
Practice resurrection
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