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Love on the Loose

Date: April 16, 2017 Easter Festival Service
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

When you hear the name Serena Williams, one thing comes to mind, right? Tennis. She is known for being one of the premier tennis players in the world.

Bill Nye is famous for, of course, science. I bet he’ll be at the science march in Washington, D.C. next Saturday.

If you follow soccer, then of course you know Cristiano Ronaldo, forward for Real Madrid and the Portuguese National Team.

Michelle Obama is famous for being first lady. She won the hearts of people the world over and she promoted healthy eating and exercise.

J. K. Rowling was unknown, until Harry Potter. Now she is famous for the world of wizarding that she created in her books.

Stephen Hawking has brought theoretical physics into mainstream thought and conversation. That is what he is famous for.

Jamie Foxx is famous for being an actor and comedian.

When we hear of Malala Yousafzai, we know she is famous for promoting education, especially education for girls around the world. And for being the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Different people are famous for different things.

So, each Sunday we come to church and we talk about Jesus. We remember him more than 2000 years after he lived. Why is Jesus famous? What is he known for?

Jesus is known as a teacher who taught people about God and life and being good. We are told that he healed people. He is famous for that. There are stories that tell us that Jesus fed people. So, Jesus is famous for that. Jesus was crucified, as were thousands of other people, but he is certainly famous for that. There are stories that tell us of Jesus being raised from the dead so Jesus is known for the resurrection. All of these different things are important. Maybe keeping all of these things in mind, we could say that Jesus is famous for being loving. He is known for his love for God, for his family, for his friends, and maybe what makes him really famous is that he is known for loving those who did not like him or did not agree with him. He is known for loving his enemies and opponents. He is even known for loving and forgiving the people who were responsible for his death. So, I think we can say that Jesus is famous for his extraordinary commitment to love.

We are told that after Jesus died, his body was put in a tomb, like a cave, with a large rock in front of the opening. People thought that was the end of Jesus. It was all over. It was the end of all of that love that he was famous for. Finished. But the Bible stories tell us that the stone was rolled away from the opening of the tomb. The tomb was empty. The love got out. It was released back into the world. God’s love can’t be stopped.

Jesus’ friends and followers thought Jesus was dead and gone and his love with him. But they got together and talked about Jesus. The reminded themselves of their experiences with him. Remember when he did this . . . I’ll never forget the time he did that . . . And they kept up doing what they had done with him: Taking care of each other, praying, healing, sharing stories, and they recognized that the love was still there. It was among them. It was within them. It was in the world. Jesus’ love wasn’t dead and buried. It was still a powerful force in the world. In fact, it even seemed like it was getting stronger.

Easter is a celebration of the Divine Love that is stronger than death; love that cannot be killed and buried. Easter is held in the spring because this is the time, especially in places where there is a very cold winter, that the plants come back to life, and leaves come back onto the once bare trees, and flowers appear from the cold, hard, ground. The new life of spring emerging from winter is a powerful image of life emerging from death. Love may be dormant but it is never dead and gone.

Jesus, famous for his loving, changed the world. And love is still changing the world today. Love inspires people to work together for peace even in the most difficult situations. Love is at work for healing in the world. Love is making things more fair for everyone. Love is helping us learn to take better care of the Earth. The power of love seeps in through even the smallest crack. Love invades with the force of thousands of voices raised. Love can always find a way. The power of love is loose in the world; it cannot be stopped.
It isn’t fading. It isn’t evaporating. It can’t be gathered up and put away. It can’t be deleted. It can’t be erased. It can’t be contained and buried and stored. Even in a remote location. It will get out. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. There is simply no stopping God’s love. Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

“From Fear to Courage”

Date: Easter Sunrise April 16, 2017
Scripture: Luke 24:1-12
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

We are told that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them made their way to the burial place of the body of Jesus. The women are not only afraid, but we are told that they were “terrified.”

Some think the women may have been afraid for their safety. Their beloved teacher, Jesus, had just been killed. Were their lives in danger? Would the soldiers guarding the tomb arrest them?

When a traitor or a rebel was involved in an armed attack on the Roman Empire, the leader and all the followers were killed. In the case of Jesus, only Jesus was killed. His followers were left alone. So we know that his challenge to the authorities was not violent, and his followers were not at risk of being put to death.

We are also told that the women stayed with Jesus during the crucifixion, unlike the men who fled. In Matthew we read: “Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matt. 27:55-56) If the women were wanted by the law, they could have been arrested at the cross. And they weren’t.

Yet we are told the women were afraid. The women were coming to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with herbs and spices. They were there to carry out the proper burial rites. Even the Romans had respect for the dead. And these were women. No one much cared what they did. The woman were afraid but probably not for their personal safety. It doesn’t appear they were risking their lives by going to the grave to tend to the body of Jesus.

And yet they were afraid; not just grief-stricken and distraught but terrified.

Why were they afraid? Maybe they were afraid that it all was meaningless. That what they had experienced with Jesus was over. That everything would just go back to the old normal. I think they were afraid about the future. They had left home, family, social ties, religious community, to be part of this new experimental movement led by Jesus. The commitment and devotion were all-encompassing. Was it all over? What were they to do? How were they to go on?

It had been so intense. So strong. They had been so sure. And now? Were they afraid because their hopes had been shattered? Were they utterly despairing of the future?

In the story, the women go and tell the other disciples of their experience at the tomb. They tell the disciples that the presence of Jesus is still with them. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Matt. 27:5) It’s not over. But their story is labeled an “idle tale.” Their witness is not taken seriously. Why should they bother? We can imagine that they are afraid – of being laughed at, mocked, ridiculed, ineffectual and ignored.

So, it takes courage for these women to face their fears. To examine their hearts. And then to find the courage within themselves to proceed. The way the resurrection stories are told, if it were not for the courage of the women, going and telling, we might not be here this morning or any Sunday morning. They were very brave making a witness for their truth, for an alternative reality, for a different future for themselves and for the world. They trusted their experience and overcame their fears.

We need the inspiration of these women. We live in fearful times. We know what it is to be afraid. Our faith is calling us to be witnesses to the alternative reality shown to us by Jesus; to live not for ourselves but for the common good. We are needed to embody and enact the commonwealth of God. We are needed to speak the truth of love, compassion, and justice. Our voices are needed to confront greed, ignorance, hatred, fear, lust for power, violence, and self absorption, just as Jesus did. Like the women, we need to speak out in spite of the resistance we encounter. And that takes courage. We need to be brave and take risks so that the realm of heaven may be experienced among us, here on Earth, as it was by the women who went to the tomb.

This morning we reflect on the Easter pilgrimage from fear to courage and new life. We think about our call to share our experience of Jesus. Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.