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Sermon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Clay Center, KS
The Second Sunday of Easter
April 27, 2014
“Time of Decision, Time of Transition”
Readings:
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Happy Easter… Part 2!
We can cheerfully exchange Easter greetings with each other during this season because
we know the Easter story – and we have two thousand years of Christian tradition to help us
interpret it.
But imagine, if you can, the followers of Jesus on that first day of the Resurrection. What
must it have been like for them, on the evening of that first day? Picture it… Jesus’s closest
friends were hiding out behind locked doors, grieving the death of their teacher and friend, and
probably fearing for their own lives. What must they have been thinking and talking about?
Surely they were still stunned by what had occurred a few days before. No doubt they were
wondering what to do next. Maybe they felt betrayed by Jesus, who got them into this mess –
and then got himself arrested and killed, with nary so much as a protest. Things must have
seemed bleak as they huddled together there… alone.
And then Jesus appeared … in the flesh, and greeted them: “Peace be with you.” If it
were today, I can imagine someone saying, “Jesus? Is it you? Seriously?!?” Can you imagine
that first evening of the day of Resurrection… that first Easter? “Peace,” Jesus said. “As the
father has sent me, so I send you.” It was a time of decision, a time of transition for the disciples.
Even Jesus himself was in a mysterious state of transition. [PAUSE]
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Now I don’t know about you, but for me, being in transition – facing major change – is
usually pretty scary. I get tense and cranky, even angry about it, because it pushes me into new
territory – and I am afraid. I don’t know what’s ahead. Will I be able to cope with new demands?
Find the right words at the right time? Sometimes, I feel very alone in new or unfamiliar
circumstances, and I want to cry out to God, much like Jesus did, “My God, my God. Why have
you forsaken me?” Do you suppose the disciples felt that way too – isolated, scared, with
decisions to make… and no Plan B? But God – still, in the person of Jesus – did not abandon
them.
Did you catch that key passage early in today’s Gospel reading? It is so short that it’s
easy to skip right over it on the way to Thomas’s arrival on the scene. We hear about Jesus’s
sudden and surprising appearance. And then… “Peace be with you,” he says to his disciples. “
‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said
to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ” From that moment forward, the Holy Spirit was present
within the community. In that room, Jesus foreshadows the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy
Spirit would descend on all the people.
With that simple act, Jesus gives his disciples the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit – and
sends them out, commissioning them for ministry in the wider world – establishing the mission
of the Church. For the disciples, it was a time of decision, a time of transition.
New worlds and new situations continually call believers to tell and live the old story in
new ways. Still today, the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of Christian people, inspiring and
energizing our ministry, and drawing people to Christ. We can point to many examples of that
right here at St. Paul’s Church, including our mobile food pantry, senior commodities
distribution, Back Snacks for school children, and Kids’ Café in the summers. Let us also
acknowledge the times we invite and welcome others to worship here. The life-giving presence
of the Holy Spirit makes an appreciable difference in our lives as individuals… and in our life as
a faith community.
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Let me share a story about a time when the Holy Spirit was very apparent to Dave and
me. It helped us learn how a person can be held in love by a Christian community. Dave had
worked very hard on a special, year-long project for his employer and was acknowledged for his
good results. When the organization decided to make the position permanent, Dave was asked to
apply – to apply, the same as other candidates. And he was devastated when the appointment
went to another staff member, who seemed less qualified. When he got the news, I was away
from home on a Cursillo weekend, so I was not there to support and encourage him. I shared my
concern with a friend at the retreat, who immediately got in touch with other friends in our parish
community. Although we were relatively new there at the time, one couple generously reached
out to Dave, invited him to dinner in their home, assured him of his value as a child of God, and
gave him a big helping of the love of Jesus Christ. Because of their response at a time of doubt
and vulnerability, we both felt drawn deeper into that community.
Dave will tell you the experience changed the focus of his life. For him, it was a time of
decision, a time of transition – even transformation. He began to see his work from a different
perspective. The corporate world just wasn’t so important to him anymore – and he decided to
volunteer his communications expertise to benefit the Church, which he has been doing now for
more than thirty years. He has at times been bruised and bloodied (figuratively speaking) along
the way. That sometimes happens when you follow Jesus. But both of us remember that time
when the presence of the Holy Spirit was very apparent present in our lives – through the love
and generosity of our parish friends. I expect some of you have had similar experiences.
When we’re part of a Christian community, none of us is ever alone during scary,
uncertain times. We can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit within ourselves and within the
community. It is the gift of Jesus Christ. Every week, we come to God’s table to share the
common meal – the community meal – that nourishes us and all our sisters and brothers in Christ
– and then to be sent out to do God’s work in the world. Just as the disciples were.
Those early Christians faced enormous change in their lives. Jesus had been executed,
and they were alone. Or at least they thought they were. Would they return to their past
occupations, as fishermen, for example, in the case of Simon Peter and Andrew? Or would they
stick together, in community? It was their time of decision, their time of transition. What to do?
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Jesus came to them in that locked room and offered them Plan B. “Receive the Holy
Spirit,” he said. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He equipped them with the Spirit and
commissioned them to continue his ministry in the world.
That is our work, too. At times it’s easy to think of ministry as the work of the clergy, but
the Church is the People – us. Sometimes we find our ministry within the church, and – more
often – we find it in the world, where we live and work every day. Ministry means doing the
work of Christ among the people around us, on the street, at our workplaces, and in our
neighborhoods. It means standing up for what you believe… and standing up with Jesus, and
with all God’s children. Verna Dozier, a wise teacher and theologian who died in 2006, once
wrote, “Ministry is serving the world God loves. The people of God are sent to love the people of
the world.”
Our mission – the work of the whole community of God – is to be Christ in the world, to
embody his mission of love and reconciliation. We receive our commission with our baptism.
“Peace be with you,” Jesus said. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus gave us the new commandment to “Love one another as I
have loved you.” Today’s Gospel reminds us of his gift of the Holy Spirit and our commission to
ministry. Is this is a time of decision, of transition for you and me? How is the Holy Spirit calling
us to love one another?
Happy Easter! Amen… amen.