April 24, 2011

Clay Nelson

Easter Day

Video available on YouTube, Facebook

This morning I’d like to share some insider information about preachers. We are very ambivalent about Easter. Sure, we are happy so many of you came. And yes, we know this is the most important day in the Christian calendar. The problem is you already know the story and what you believe about it. That leaves us scrambling to find something new to say. Even those of us who are progressive eventually run out of new material to challenge your assumptions and certainties. For instance, if you were here last year, you know I have already broken the news that there was no physical bodily resurrection that first Easter. If you weren’t here, it’s on our website.

So you may wonder what do preachers do besides panicking that we won’t have anything to say on the one Sunday we know we will have a full church? The answer is that we troll the Internet hoping to catch some new angle, some fresh insight; some new story that will inspire and transform; give hope and direction.

So I began this sermon by going to Google and typing in “For God’s sake, help me!” Amongst the millions of hits I came across, this reflection was on a number of sites. The first place I found it was in a Wikipedia article by an Australian New Testament scholar, Greg Jenks. It goes like this:

It occurs to me that it is in the finding, not the seeking that religions go awry. No one turns in a family member for the capital crime of converting if they still have questions. No one who denies a fellow pilgrim a voice because of her different gender is still looking. No one ostracizes a six-year old at school because her mother doesn’t want her to attend religious assemblies at a public school unless they are blessed with the arrogance of certainty. No one blows himself or herself up for Allah if they are in doubt.

As Christians prepare for Easter, it occurs to me that what is remarkable about this holiest of days is that it celebrates the God that was not there. They came looking, but the tomb was empty.

At this time of year I long to turn the TV on and see this paraphrase of a controversial Australian tourism ad:

The cross has been taken down.

We've rolled away the stone.

The tomb is vacant.

So, where the bloody hell are you?

It concludes this way:

Empty tombs foster faith – not certainty. Empty tombs do not mark the end of the chase, only the beginning. An empty tomb invites compassion born of empathy for those still looking. An empty tomb proclaims God is out of the box and not to be possessed. An empty tomb suggests that God is elsewhere. It is Easter. Hunt God as well as eggs. Eggs you may find, but pray for your sake and the sake of the world, that God will continue to elude you.

This sounded promising. It could be useful for my sermon but it was vaguely familiar. I checked the footnote to see who wrote it. It seems I did… in 2006.

Five years later, I’m happy to say I’m still chasing God. It is what stirs my blood and drags me out of bed in the morning. It is a thrilling chase where I occasionally catch glimpses of the divine just ahead around the next bend or is it just the morning mist playing tricks on my eyes. Each Easter morning, in spite of my love of the hunt, I am relieved that the tomb is still empty. 

However, an empty tomb presents a danger. Like nature, religion abhors a vacuum. Over the millennia lots of meanings have been offered to make sense of Easter. Ever since Mary found no one there, the church has been intent on filling the tomb back up with a god suitable to its purposes.

A group of friends of various religious persuasions were seated in a Mt Eden cafe discussing the true meaning of Easter over their flat whites and tall blacks when the Baptist said: "I believe we place too much emphasis on hot cross buns, chocolate bunnies, and coloured Easter eggs instead of the spiritual aspects, which is the real meaning of Easter. That's what I believe," said the Baptist. "Me too," said the Methodist. "Me too," said the Presbyterian. "Me too," said the Catholic. "Me too," said the Nazarene. – And the Progressive Christian was silent.

"I believe the real meaning of Easter is that Christ died on the Cross for our sins," said the Methodist. "Me too," said the Nazarene. "Me too," said the Catholic. "Me too," said the Baptist. "Me too," said the Presbyterian. – And the Progressive Christian was silent.

"I believe the real meaning of Easter is the triumph of Jesus over the Grave," said the Presbyterian. "Me too," said the Catholic. "Me too," said the Nazarene. "Me too," said the Baptist. "Me too," said the Methodist. – And the Progressive Christian was silent.

"I believe the real meaning of Easter is not only what each of you have said, but also that all people who believe in the sacrifice and Resurrection of Jesus are cleansed of original sin through baptism and are restored to the favour of God and may share in His eternal Life," said the Catholic. "Me too," said the Nazarene. "Me too," said the Baptist. "Me too," said the Methodist. "Me too," said the Presbyterian. – And the Progressive Christian was silent.

"I believe the real meaning of Easter, in addition to what has already been said, symbolizes that the bodies of all people will be resurrected and joined to their souls to share their final fate," said the Nazarene. "Me too," said the Baptist. "Me too," said the Methodist. "Me too," said the Presbyterian. "Me too," said the Catholic. – And the Progressive Christian was silent.

The group then turned to their Progressive Christian friend, whom they all recognized as a little strange, and said, "Your silence is a mystery to us. Just what do you believe as a Progressive Christian is the real meaning of Easter?"

The Progressive Christian said: "I believe the real meaning of Easter is the appreciation of life's renewing cycles and, that for all things there is a season. I believe the real meaning of Easter is the acknowledgment, with its accompanying sadness, of a very human Jesus who was forced to die on the Cross because of his vision of a just and compassionate world where all are treated fairly and respected. The only joy in that is his vision did not die with him. But most important of all, I believe the real meaning of Easter is the Celebration of Thanksgiving for the presence of the sacred in each and every living person and thing; for the presence of the sacred in the tui’s song; for the presence of the sacred in the colourful flowers of the season which sway and the changing leaves preparing to fall which rustle in autumn’s wind. This is what I believe is the real meaning of Easter," said the Progressive Christian.

"Me too," sang the tui. "Me too," waved the flowers. "Me too," rustled the leaves. "Me too," sighed the wind. – And all the rest were silent.

May the tomb be forever empty. Happy Easter.