3/27
EASTER 2016
And this is our Easter, 2016…
We enter into our newly
remade Chapel and marvel at the work that has been done. It started with Jean
and her volunteer crew from Sacramento. Then continued with West-Park
volunteers. Don and his last team were here late last night until we were all ready.
And Pat and Leila came early this morning to decorate. It has truly been a
labor of love. And Leila and I have, as usual, dyed eggs to share with people.
And so our Easter reflection…
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleulia!
And so we begin our Easter in
2016. As Christians have for milennia. I remember when I worked in Pittsburgh,
my neighbor Greek Orthodox priest throughout the whole season of Easter would
greet me with a handshake and those words..Christ
is risen…and I would respond Christ
is risen indeed …
What do you remember? Of your
childhood Easters? I remember I never enjoyed Easter as much as Christmas. Two
many brooding hours in church the week before. Maundy Thursday. An endless 3
hour 7 last words service… But the
word Easter brings images of cool
spring to my mind. (And even the day in
Pittsburgh it snowed!) Church. Always a glorious choir and special anthems. At
home, an Easter egg hunt for the plastic eggs, filled with treats, my parents
had hidden around our yard. A custom my
sister has continued.
There would be lunch…a ham,
always….and augratin potatoes….we each
received an Easter basket with the two largest items a chocolate Easter bunny
and a giant egg, from the famous Sarris
candymakers down the road. And in our earliest years at the old house with a
half an acre and room for a garden behind the chicken coop, special child sized
garden tools so we could participate in the
gardening. So a feeling of warmth….what images come to your mind? I will confess, the Easter bunny left me long
before Santa Claus.
Before I go on…look
around…let this be an image for Easter 2016…a restored chapel….do you remember
when we first returned? The ruins? A roof with exposed lath? The last two weeks
have all but finished the process of bringing this place back to life…
 |
| Don at work... |
Keep this picture in your
mind…as well as thanks for all who have made this happen….and some very long
hours…
 |
| When Don's crew finished.... |
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
It’s a statement…not a question.
In a few short words, the why of our
presence here…
These are our witnesses…
Mary Magdalene
Peter
The one Jesus loved…..
Mary goes because of love.
She hadn’t run away from the crucifixion scene like the others, the
men had. She finds the stone rolled away. Stop a minute…..why was the stolen rolled away? To let
Jesus out? Or to let the disciples in? She assumes he’s been taken away. (Not an illogical idea…he was
only in Simon’s tomb temporarily)
Peter and the other go running…the one gets there
first…sees but does not go in..Peter arrives,
pushes him aside and with his typical lack of impulse control, rushes
in. And then the other comes too…and believed…what did he believe? Other
than that Jesus was not there?
Then they go home…what? Why?
Mary is there again. Weeping.
She sees two angels …why did they not appear to the men? Were they waiting for
her?
And then, my favorite scene,
where she mistakes Jesus for the
gardener…Note…there is no halo, no shining robes, maybe blue jean (green jean?)
overalls…like the simplest humblest of people…
She doesn’t recognize him
until she hears his voice. Hears her name in a way only he said it. And then
she knows. (When you hear your name being called, whose voice is it? A parent? A lover? Whose voice?) It’s a scene almost as intimate
as the anointment and the washing of feet with her hair…only John gives us this
intimacy…
She wants to hold onto him,
but she can’t….
And so she goes. And
announces to the disciples, and so she becomes the first witness…
Resurrection….you know 20-40%
of people who lose someone very close
report an appearance of the one who has died…maybe it’s not so remarkable…..
In Latin America, when names
of martyrs are read the people respond, Presente!.....present…here
with us even now..
In the end, not about
evidence, or proof or persuasion…no external verification…no twitter feeds,
face book posts, snapchat or instagram…..
But a witness to what we have
experienced…and there will be no
other poof…
Have you seen the Lord? What can
you proclaim? Each of us must find
our own resurrection. Standing together in solidarity but in the end, find our own.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
And this is our Easter, 2016…
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