Transcript
Brothers and sisters, let us join together in prayer. Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death and crowned him Lord of all. We confess that we have not bowed before him or acknowledged his rule in our lives. We remain captive to doubt and fear, deaf to the cries of the oppressed, indifferent to calls for peace. Forgive us and raise us from sin, that we may be your faithful people.
By your Spirit, lift us from doubt and despair, and set our feet in Christ's holy way, that our lives may be signs of his life, and all we have may show forth his love. Praise and glory, honor and thanksgiving be to you, our God, forever and ever. Amen. The first of the scripture readings this morning comes from the Book of Acts, chapter 11, beginning with the first verse. Hear now the word of God. Now the apostles
and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them? Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from
heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely, I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, Get up, Peter, kill and eat. But I replied, By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth. But a second time the voice answered from heaven, What God has made clean you must
not call profane. This happened three times. Then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, Send to
Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter. He will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, John, baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave them the same gift that he
gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God? When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life. The second reading comes from John chapter 13. When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in
him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you, Where I am going, you cannot come. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Fill us with the power and the presence of your Spirit, our God, that upon hearing your word, read from scripture and preach, we may believe, and in our believing know that you are the one true living God, who has called us to life, who has called us to faith, who has called us to love, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. We got to the Presbyterian Church early that Easter morning. Our first Easter morning as, shall we say, spouse and spouse. We wanted good seats. We had chosen the church out of reputation, since we did not yet have a church to call our own. When I was in the PhD program, we were relatively new to the area, so we got there early, we wanted good seats, and we did not want to miss
that all-important first hymn, never miss the first hymn on Easter morning. We got to that Presbyterian Church early, along with my Baptist husband's Baptist family. His brother and his brother's family from Connecticut. Now, others had gotten there before us. There was one couple there to hand us a worship folder as we went in, so we knew that they were having church today, but the church was dark. The lights were still off, the level or blinds
had been lowered in the windows or were still lowered, and they'd been turned to let in very little light into God's house that morning. There was not a flower in sight. There was not even the hint of the aroma of spring, and over the cross was draped the black cloth. Now, as a pastor type, all I could think was, boy did they blow it. The committee forgot to get there on time to get the church ready
for Easter, and our own hearts and our own minds to absorb the meaning of the moment when my brother-in-law, my down-to-the-bone marrow, died in the wool, Baptist brother-in-law, leaned over to me and said, is this the way Presbyterians always celebrate Easter? Well, I was mortified. What could I say? Never in my lifelong years as a Presbyterian did we celebrate Easter in the dark and without enough pollen to drive the
allergy sufferers out of doors. So, we continued to sit as more and more people came in looking as surprised as we, and as we looked through the worship folder, my heart sank, and I knew it was coming. That first all-important hymn wasn't there. Not only was it not the first hymn, it wasn't there at all. My brother-in-law leaned over to me again and he said, don't Presbyterians sing Jesus Christ is Risen Today on
Easter morning? Never in my lifelong years as a Presbyterian in all the churches in which I had worshipped had we not sung, at least somewhere in the service, Jesus Christ is Risen Today on Easter morning? Well, nevertheless, the church filled as much with surprise as with people. And then the music began, finally. It began slowly and dirge-like and deep and in minor keys, but slowly the volume came up and the brighter stops were opened and
the music began to lift us a little bit. And feeling more what was happening than actually seeing it, the lights were turned on and the blinds were raised. And then I finally realized that the people streaming down the aisles were not coming to find a pew, they were actually a procession carrying the potted plants. And when they were done, they had built a pyramid of flowers at the front of the church, so we finally had the
pollen for which we came to church. And the darkness and the hopelessness and the lifelessness and the despair of that church, the darkness of the tomb was transformed before us into the brightness and the light of Resurrection Day. And I confess, it was thrilling, if not a bit shocking. Well we finally began to sing that first hymn, it was a brand new blue Presbyterian hymn book, and I decided then I wouldn't like it if it didn't
have Jesus Christ is risen today in it. And the first hymn was set to Beethoven's Ode to Joy, so I thought well here's a little redeeming moment in the service, my brother-in-law would recognize the tune anyway. But the third verse held for us this marvelous surprise, Christ is risen, earth and heaven never more shall be the same. Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain. Tell its grim demonic chorus,
Christ is risen, get you gone, God the first and last is with us, sing Hosanna everyone. Now, Jesus stood in that place where the grim demonic forces would have stripped him bare, would have snatched him away at the time of his greatest visibility, ended his public and controversial ministry in the greatest of humiliation, and in the darkness of that impending defeat, Jesus said to his disciples, now is the son of man glorified. You will look for
me, where I am going you cannot come. Love one another as I have loved you, just when we think we know. Just when we think we know what Jesus is asking us, let me wash you, we discover his call is to greater commitment, love one another. Just when we submit to Jesus washing all of us so that we may have a part of him, we find ourselves capable of painful denial. Just when we think we know
what the gospel is about and who it is for, we are confronted with the reality that there is a new people, a new least of these, a new unwashed and unclean whom Jesus wants to reach through us. Just about the time we are able to confess, we will follow you anywhere. We are told that where he is going, we cannot come. Just when we think we know what the right kind of Easter is about, we find
ourselves in a dark church. The world is still dark. People are still hungry, people are lonely, they are in pain, they suffer abuse at the hands of loved ones, people still bend from the burden of systemic discrimination, from oppression and injustice, the world is still dark. We remain cruel to each other in countless ways. The world is still dark. Even those of us who confess our complicity in the darkness of the world, even while we profess
our commitment to Christ, even we ourselves turn our backs on those whom Jesus called us to love and we pretend not to see those whom Jesus called us to serve. But in the night, a vision comes. In the darkness, there is a dream. It's confusing at first because we do not understand what it has to do with us. And then we realize it doesn't have to do with us. It has to do with God. It has
to do with a God who is love, and this God has to do with us. Go to those you would otherwise despise and love them even as you have loved me. Then you will have a part of me. Peter's vision at Joppa is our challenge. Love one another as Christ has loved us, for in this is Christ glorified. And in the glory of God reflected in us, we will see the radiance of the crucified and the
risen Lord. And then we saw a new heaven and a new earth. The old had passed away. In the new heaven and the new earth, there would be no tears. There would be no betrayal, no more misguided zeal, no more denial, no more exclusion based on social and cultural and racial realities. There will be glory. There will be radiance, for then we will see the one who is seated on the throne, and he will say, it
is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen. On the evening of the first day of the week, the same day on which our Lord Jesus rose from the dead, when he was at a table with two of his disciples, he took bread. And when he had blessed it, he broke it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened. And they knew him. Beloved, this is the Lord's table.
Our Savior invites all those who put their trust in him to come and share this wonderful feast, which he has so graciously prepared for us. Let us return our thanksgiving with grateful thanks. Let us pray. Almighty and gracious God, creator of heaven and earth, we praise you, we worship you, we glorify you, for you alone are God. We bless you for creating the whole world, for your promises to your people Israel, and for the life we
know in Jesus Christ your Son. Born of Mary, he shares our life. Eating with sinners, he welcomes us. Leading his followers, he guides us. Dying on the cross, he rescues us. Risen from the dead, he gives us new life. With thanksgiving, we take this bread and this cup and proclaim his death and resurrection, receive our sacrifice of praise. Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit on us, and on these your gifts of bread and wine. That
in eating this bread and in drinking this cup, we may know the presence of Christ and be made one with him and one with all who come to his table. Remember, Lord God, all who suffer. Our loved ones who are ill, those who even at the promise of spring feel desperate. Remember those who are without food, without home, without hope in the world. Be merciful to those suffering in Kosovo and at Gordos. Bless us, the nations
of the world, and all who lead with a hunger for justice and peace and truth and righteousness. Remember, Lord God, all who suffer for your name. Reveal the unity of the church. Guard its faith and preserve its peace. Remember those who have gone before. Grant that we may find our inheritance with all the saints who have found faith with you in ages past. We praise you in union with them and give you glory through your son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, with Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, Almighty God, now and forever. Amen. On the night in which our Lord Jesus was betrayed, he took a breath. And when he had given thanks as has been done in his name, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body which is for you. Do this and remember the suffering.
In the same way also after suffering, he took the cup. And he gave it to his disciples, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink of it, do it in remembrance of me. For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we do proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. The gifts of God for the people of God. Come, let us share the gifts.
[Communion observed; music]