“Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.”
Remembering is what we
are here today to do.
This world is all about trying
to make us forget who we are, about separating us from each other, about
dividing us, but the ones who were dazzling reminded the women of Jesus’ and by
doing so are reminding us of Jesus’ promises in this forgetting world
Jesus world was about
separating people, and dividing them. Especially
the Roman Empire wanted the people to forget their identity and to acquiesce in
fear of Rome's military power.
Jesus lived his life
remembering. He remembered heaven and
earth, put them back together in one person.
When people felt that God was distant, and when God felt people turning
away, Jesus came into the world to show how close heaven and earth really
are. By his life Jesus showed us that
heaven comes to earth whenever the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, and we
even share a glass of water. He showed
that we can bring heaven to earth when we listen to someone we had discounted,
when we serve those most in need.
Jesus remembered the
refugees as his family sought asylum in Egypt.
When he returned to Galilee he sought out foreigners and interacted with
them, learned from them. The Caananite
woman at the well, the Syrophoncian woman whose daughter was sick, the Roman
Centurion whose child was dying, the man from the land of the Gerasenes who was
possessed, and the leper who returned to thank Jesus, all interacted with Jesus
and he treated them with compassion and respect, all these foreigners found new
life in Jesus. He helps us remember that we are all one and that nationality cannot
divide us because we are the body of Christ who remembers our story of Love and
community.
Jesus remembered the
story of God freeing the people from slavery in Egypt as he gathered his
disciples for the supper the night before he gave his life for us. He told the
story of the the dividing of people, the enslaving of people and how God
remembered them by leading them out into the wilderness and teaching them to
trust God and take care of each other.
Our world is not so
different from Jesus’. We find ourselves
separated by political party, by age, by relationship status, by income and
class, by sexual orientation, and by race.
The forces of this world disempower people by separating them from each
other, by making us suspicious of each other, fearful of each other, angry at
each other. We blame each other for the
state of this world and move ever further apart.
But the dazzling ones say remember what Jesus
told you, what he showed you. Remember
how Jesus lived his life and remember that you are the body of Christ.
Jesus gave his life,
suffered and died, as a consequence of his remembering. His putting people back
together again and reaching out with love and healing to people considered
unworthy was offensive to those who want us all to be separated. Separated we are powerless, but together we
are the body of Christ. When we work
together following the invitation of Jesus, we are powerful against the forces
of death and separation.
So we remember. We remember a time when we were in a foreign
land or somewhere we didn’t fit in. We
remember someone reaching out to us and befriending us and we give thanks for
the welcome, for the belonging, for the remembering.
We remember a time we
were sick and were healed. We were
helpless and afraid and hurting and someone took care of us, made medicine for
us, brought us water and nursed us back to health. We were remembered and we were healed and we
give thanks to God for the gift of new life.
We remember when were
hungry. Maybe we were physically hungry,
or maybe we had a spiritual hunger, an ache for a connection. Maybe we were hungry for hope. Someone provided for us, maybe it was a
simple as sharing a granola bar, or maybe someone harvested the food you ate or
is cooking you breakfast even now. Maybe
it was a cup of coffee, a cold beer or a tiny taste of bread and wine. You did not plant it. You did not harvest it. You did not grind it or bake it or slice it,
and yet it came to you, pure gift, thanks be to God. Eating together remembers the body of Christ,
puts us back together again, heals old hurts, and makes of us one people
The world wants us to
forget our power and be divided. But we
are powerful together. We are
remembering how to use our power to resist the divisions that hurt us and hurt
our friends who are alone and afraid.
The Easter story is one of resisting the power of death that hurts and
divides. We remember when we are
generous—when we share our resources, money, time, and care, as God has done
for us. We remember when we are compassionate,
when we feel what others feel and try to see things from another point of view,
as God has done for us. We remember when
we are curious—when we follow up on those nudges that make us want to know more
about someone else, connect with them, understand them, as God has done for
us. We remember when we are
welcoming—when we make room for someone else, when we put our comfort aside to
increase someone else’s comfort, to help them feel safe, as God has done for us.
As the women approached
the tomb, they expected to anoint Jesus’ body, to say a last goodbye not only
to him but to all the ideas he shared of new life and remembering and welcome
and generosity. They thought life would
then go on much as it had before they knew him, broken hearts, broken bodies,
division, anger, violence.
They had no idea things
were about to change. Heaven was
breaking into this world, new life was springing up. When Jesus is Risen in our lives we find
ourselves changed, we find ourselves remembering, we find ourselves connected,
we may find ourselves frustrated and uncomfortable because that’s what it means
to be connected with other people, but we also find ourselves learning and
growing and finding moments of peace and hope as we come together as the body
of Christ to resist the powers of death and rise again to give new life to the
world
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