Easter is Suppose to Hurt

Easter is Suppose to Hurt.  John 20:1-18

Easter moves us from Friday to Sunday, from death to new life.

Friday, in Christian reckoning, is a null-point wherein the power of God is defeated by the empire of force. But the church has found in that Friday shut-down the transformative work of God.  

It is a Friday truth that suffering love has transformative power that the “executioners” never suspect. What I mean to say that it is the act of crucifixion of power that really show who Jesus is. It was not until the Church Lied on Jesus that The State was able to crucify him, it was not until the Good Jews on the time of Jesus who went to church and kept the Passover and prayed the prayers decided to conspire with the cradle to prison pipeline that morality and legality got mixed up.

Sunday follows Friday.

Sunday—Easter Sunday and all of the Easter Sundays to follow—exhibits the transformative power of God’s new life in the world. Yes I know we have come this morning to get our Easter Shout on, But the Challenge is that Easter is not all fun and Games that there is Pain in the middle of the Celebration. I tell you we need to think of Easter as more of a funeral celebration of Life then a Christmas Pageant.

We cannot escape the particularity of that surprise in that ancient moment when the Nails are pressed in to the hands and feet of the Savior, We can not escape the pain of seeing the salvation of the world lynched on a cross.

Let me see if I can explain, In the 1630s English Puritans represented their journey across the Atlantic to America as the exodus of a New Israel out of Old World slavery into a promised land of milk and honey. And through the centuries, the story Thanksgiving Story of the American Israel would serve as our nation’s most powerful and long-lasting myth.

But to black Americans the nation was not a New Israel but the old Egypt, condemned to sure destruction unless she let God’s people go.

The existence of slavery, segregation, discrimination, and racism contradicted the mythic identity of Americans as a chosen people. I

African-American Christianity has continuously confronted the nation with troubling questions about American exceptionalism.

Perhaps the most troubling was this: “If Christ came as the Suffering Servant, who resembled Him more, the master or the slave?”

Suffering-slave Christianity stood as a prophetic condemnation of America’s obsession with power, status, and possessions. African-American Christians perceived in American exceptionalism a dangerous tendency to turn the nation into an idol and Christianity into a clan religion.

In other words, it was clear that the Pain of Slavery and its legacy was to much to allow any real celebration. Any time someone tried to celebrate the Easter time of the American Society, there would be someone to remind him or her of the Good Friday of our Journey now. I challenged you that you can’t have Easter in any form without the recall of Good Friday.

Divine election brings not preeminence, elevation, and glory, but—as black Christians know all too well—humiliation, suffering, and rejection.[1]

Chosenness, as reflected in the life of Jesus, led to a cross. Led to Good Friday and death, and the Pain of the Cross. Yes no matter how you look at it, to follow Christ hurts at the deepest levels and to be  a community that follows Christ is to be in a state of Pain.

The lives of his disciples have been signed with that cross.

To be chosen, in this perspective, means joining company not with the powerful and the rich but with those who suffer: the outcast, the poor, and the despised.

In the world, but not of the world. These words capture the relationship of the Church to human society and culture. On the one hand, the incarnational character (Christ ness) of the Church establishes her in history, in this particular time and place and culture. On the other, the sacramental character ( the Cross) of the Church transcends time and space, making present another world, the kingdom of God, which is both here and now and yet still to come.

Because we are “not of the world,” Christians stand against culture when the values and behaviors of the culture contradict the living tradition of the Church. The Church has to take on the responsibility of the cross.

One key example can be seen in the life and ministry of Martin Luther King Jr.

King's firm insistence that the Christian church should participate in civil rights activities set him apart from politically conservative scriptural fundamentalists.
In 1940, he revealed his commitment to social gospel Christianity in an address on "the true mission of the Church" delivered to the Atlanta Missionary Baptist Association:

Quite often we say the church has no place in politics, forgetting the words of the Lord, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath [anointed] me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

... God hasten the time when every minister will become a registered voter and a part of every movement for the betterment of our people. Again and again has it been said we cannot lead where we do not go, and we cannot teach what we do not know.

As ministers a great responsibility rests upon us as leaders. We can not expect our people to register and become citizens until we as leaders set the standard.[2]

With the Celebration of Easter God’s power for life is always again being given in a world tempted to settle for deathliness.

Death on Easter is the power of death that leads to hostility toward neighbor,  that evokes greed and rage and violence toward others.

But Easter tell an alternative account of the world, where gifts of healing and forgiveness defy death.

Joseph Washington believed that understanding the nature and causes of Black suffering, begins by associating the Black community with that of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53

('He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.' (v.5)).

In other words, God's plan for humanity is fulfilled through Black suffering! However, what exactly is this 'plan'?

Well, according to Washington God's plan is for humanity to be set free from racism.

This means as those who suffer, the Black community, the Good Friday Christians  have  a mission - to free (liberate) non-Blacks from their sin (i.e. racism).

This also means that as a result of their divine calling (mission), Blacks are suffering (and have suffered) for the sake others, just as Isaiah's 'suffering servant' did.

The church keeps Easter so that we now, in our culture of despair, may be recruited for a more excellent way.

The Easter Lord, via Easter texts, invites an Easter people to be about that defiant civil disobedience of new life in a weary, spent world.

Some might Ask So what does this have to do with Easter, well here is the egg.

Jesus was executed by Roman authorities because his teaching was a threat to the established order of the socio-political system of the empire.  The Politics of Jesus were against the empire. While its was the Jewish leaders that set him up it was the empire that killed him as a terrorist. In other words it was the lutenetes of Caser that water boarded and tutored and wiped Jesus and finally crucified him.

From that the church claims that in his death Jesus has done something decisive for us.

The news of Easter is that, in the resurrection of Jesus, God has broken all the vicious cycles of deathliness in which the world finds itself.

The Easter narrative of John 20 provides an early attestation about the “seeing” and “believing” of the first

Easter, first reported by the uncredentialed women and then verified by the credentialed male apostles.

The news of this new aliveness is breathtaking;

Mary’s declaration, “I have seen the Lord,” is one of bewilderment and astonishment (John 20:18).

Neither she nor her companions could explain what had happened, because they had no categories for this exhibit of God’s power for life. The narrative portrays a deep, singular event that defies all of our modern categories of explanation.

Peter witnesses to the gift of forgiveness given in Easter (Acts 10:43).

Easter invites us to imagine, embrace, and live in a world that is without fear of death or guilt. It is no wonder that the authorities recognized the Easter proclamation to be dangerously subversive of the world organized around death and guilt.

Let me end with this story, A little Boy about Omri’s age went on a class field trip to the Hat at South Of the Boarder and the teacher gave eat of the students a quarter and told them when they got to the top of the hat if they put their quarters in the telescope they had they might be able to see all the way back home to Darlington  one young man said well I want four quarters if yall can see back home with one quarter, well four quarters make a complete dollor and with a dollor I might be able to see my furture. In other words the little Boy belived that if he paid a greater price he could get a greater reward or if not atlest see where he was going.

Church Good Friday is about Paying the Easter Price, and Easter is not Just about the celebration of the resurrection  but also about  Celebrating the GOOD FRIDAYS you have overcome.

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[1]  American Salvation The place of Christianity in public lifeAlbert J. Raboteau  http://bostonreview.net/BR30.2/raboteau.php

[2] http://www.stanford.edu/group/King//gospel2.htm  Martin Luther King, Jr., and the African-American Social Gospel

Easter Sunrise sermon "Stolen Jesus"

John 20:1-21

The Message (MSG)

Resurrection!

20 ^1-2 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

The Bible records that hundreds of people saw and interacted with the resurrected Jesus Christ on many different occasions, from when he left his tomb until he ascended into heaven. The first person of all of them to see living proof of the resurrection miracle was Mary Magdalene, the Bible says. But before Mary saw Jesus, she saw some angels who helped her process what had happened.

Mary went to the tomb early on the first Easter morning with some other women to anoint Jesus' body with spices, which was a Jewish custom to honor someone who has died.

The Gospel of John describes how upset Mary became when she discovered that Jesus' body was no longer there; she assumed that someone must have stolen his body: "So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved [John], and said, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!' (John 20:2).

Alarmed, Peter and John both ran to the tomb and discovered that it was indeed empty. They "saw and believed" (John 20:8) and then "went back to where they were staying" (John 20:10). But Mary stuck around to investigate further.

Have you ever had anything stolen?  I can think of two times in my life I have had my bike stolen. When my daddy was living my bike got stolen and when I got home I told my father that my bike was stolen he left the house like the disciples and looked around for me till he found the person that stole my bike and I got my bike back. Now some years latter after I had moved down south my bike was also stolen; but I no longer had a dad to jump to the rescue, So I can recall standing there in my grief over my bike and my sadness and I recall seeing a boy on my bike and now I was much smaller and I did not feel like confronting this older boy, but I also wanted my Bike Back.  I remember going back to my moms house and hiding in the house upset about my bike, but I also remember back then we did have much money and that Bike was all I had gotten and I decided that I was not gonna let nobody no matter, how big they were take my blessing from me.

In her book My Daily Walk: Discover the Life of Jesus, Flora Trebi-Ollennu comments: "Mary Magdalene stayed behind even when Peter and John left the tomb.

She wanted to find out what had happened to Jesus. ... I understand Mary because you need to know that if I was willing to fight for a bike; oh how much more would I fight to get my Jesus Back.

Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus because she searched for the whereabouts of Jesus without getting tired. Jesus rewards all seek him with all their hearts.

Those who seek Jesus always get to know more of his love, his power, miracles, joy, and other blessings. If you want to find Jesus when it seems like someone has stolen him is you have to hold fast, don’t run home and hide, hold fast, don’t just go and try to find some folks to join you in a pittie party and hide in the Upper Room.

No you do like Mary and look all around start investigating where your Lord is. I am telling You God blesses folks that look for Jesus.

Now when I confronted the young man that had stolen my bike, he tried to say that the bike was his and that his mother had just brought him the same kind of Bike.

What the Enemy did not know is during the times I had been with the bikes we had been through some stuff together and I simply had to point to the scares on the Hands (opps) I meant handle bars, Scares on the Feet (opps) I meant Pedals and the Piercing on the Side I meant the scrap from when I fell off but Got back up and kept riding.

The story continues in John 20:11-13: "Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?'. 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don’t know where they have put him.'"

But Mary doesn't leave the tomb quickly; she continues to stick around, lost in grief and struggling to believe that Jesus truly is alive again.

John 20:16 records that after encountering the angels, Mary encountered the resurrected Jesus himself: "... she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?'

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.' Jesus said to her,

You see; I like Mary because while most people would have been scared, She told this Gardener off ‘If You got What I am looking for, give it back.” She Commanded who she thought was the thief to give her back her Jesus. Mary understood that folks can’t run you that you really want to reclaim your faith it might take some Commands, it might take you standing up to the thieves all around you.

Oh when Jesus said 'Mary.' She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means 'Teacher').

Meera Lester comments in her book The Everything Mary Magdalene Book: The Life and Legacy of Jesus' Most Misunderstood Disciple: "Mary Magdalene, like anyone in the deep throes of grief, must have felt utter despair; she didn't react at seeing the angels. She simply turned back and saw the figure of a man standing nearby. Seeing him through eyes that surely shimmered with tears, she must have wondered who he was.

One can only imagine the incredible exhilaration and joy Mary Magdalene must have experienced in that moment when Jesus called her name and she recognized him in his transcendent form."

In his book Mary Magdalene: A Biography, Bruce Chilton writes that Mary's vision of Jesus after his resurrection "gave access to a world where death no longer had dominion. Instead, dying marked an entry into God's presence.

No area of the African-American community escaped Malcolm's influence. The mainstream black leaders who dismissed him as a rabble-rouser today embrace his cultural philosophy and urge blacks to love themselves first before they even think about loving others. No one loved blacks more than Malcolm nor taught us more about ourselves. Before Malcolm most blacks wanted nothing to do with Africa. But he taught us that "you can't hate the roots of the tree and not hate the tree; you can't hate your origin and not end up hating yourself; you can't hate Africa and not hate yourself." A simple, profound truth; one that blacks needed (and still need) to hear. And no one said it as effectively as Malcolm X Now someone is asking what Malcolm X has to do with Mary I tell you Malcolm X like Mary found what was stolen and when He found it he had to tell everyone.  I don’t care who you are you need to adopt a resurrection mentality that forces you to tell the story

Of how you recovered what the enemy thought he had stolen.

Lyfe Jennings has  a Song on his latest album entitled “Coulda Been Worse. The Song goes

We always complain in about how bad stuff is for us complainin bout a light dim hell there's people that don’t even got lights you know so I wanna tell everybody listen in manembrace your struggle cause no matter what man,

it coulda been worse.

I was going through some changes in my life cussin and complainin every night tellin God the way he treatin me aint right and how I don’t deserve this then a voice somewhere came to me and said you have the audacity to fix your mouth to disrespect how soon we forget and he said remember when you were sick and you got better remember, I put your family back together remember, I coulda cut you off forever so no matter how bad you think it hurts

(Chorus)it coulda been worse, you coulda been dead you coulda been paralyzed confiined to a bed you coulda lost everything shoulda lost everything but somebodys watching you

and gave you another chance

“Roll” God has given you another chance, God has geven you back what the world tried to steal or make you think was stolen, God has worked so many miracles this is not the time for you to give up and run and hide; No totady it coulda been worst

 

Here is just a little more hope, Of all the things that can be stolen from you – your possessions, your youth, your health, your words, your rights I want to remind you today that there are some thing Mary what no one can ever take from you is…

1.   How you feel about yourself. – It takes a long time to learn how to NOT judge yourself through someone else’s eyes, but once you do the world is yours for the taking.  So give up worrying too much about what others think of you.  What they think isn’t all that important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.  Read Emotional Freedom.

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2.   Your passion. – If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.  Find your passion, whatever it is.   Because nothing you have passion for is ever a waste of time, no matter how it turns out.

3.   Your ability to spread love and kindness. – The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away. Remember, the ultimate goal of all goals is to be happy.  If you want to be happy make those around you happy.  Read The Happiness Project.

4.   Your hope. – It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.  Hope is the little voice inside your head that whispers “maybe” when it seems like the whole world is shouting “impossible!”

5.   Your knowledge and life experiences.  If there was a definitive path to success, everyone would be on it.  The seeds of your success are planted in your past failures.  Your best stories will come from overcoming your greatest struggles.  Your praises will be birthed from your pains.  So keep standing, keep learning, and keep living.  

Oh I know this sermon needs to end, but before yawl go to breakfast its one more thing you need to understand, the Thieves never really had Jesus, let me illustrate the Bike robber may have seem to have had my bike, he may have been riding it, he may have been showing it off to others, he may have even claimed to have defeated me with his lies and Crucifixions.  But because my mother, my parent, had paid the price for the bike even though he had it for a while it was not his. I said even thought he took the Bikes to the Hells of his reality I still had ownership.

Don’t Go home today weeping Mary because Can’t nobody take your teacher, Can’t nobody take you Jesus as long as you have paid the price of discipleship you are still the owner.