Easter 2018 sermon, "Look for Life!"

Sermon: “Look for Life!” [Also available on Podcast and YouTube]

Easter Sunday – April 1, 2018

© The Rev. Brian R. Paulson, D.Min.

First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville, Illinois

Introduction

I love the James Harnish story about a boy that was none too happy about going to church on Easter morning. His new shoes were too tight, his tie pinched his neck, baseball season was starting and there was just something wrong about getting cooped up inside a church on Sunday morning.

He sulked in the back seat, and all the way to worship and his parents heard him mutter: “I don't know why we have to go to church on Easter, anyway; they keep telling the same old story and it always comes out the same in the end.”[1]

But the gospel of Mark is not so very sure about the ending. At least, the followers we meet were not so very sure about the way things are turning out. So I want to begin the message at the end of the story this morning.

At the end of a story that most of us here today know so well but which the world could scarce imagine in that first Easter morning.

The Resurrection by Annibale Carracci

Anxious Paralysis

When the angel announced, “He is raised!” these first followers were afraid.

They had a disease that is afflicting society today. It is the first thing I want to examine with you this morning: Something afflicted those followers. Something that is afflicting us as well. Something we might call, “Anxious Paralysis.”

We know that malady right here, don’t we?

Just name your anxiety: School safety; Nuclear threat; Stability of governance; Terror alerts; Market volatility; Ethical abuse; Domestic abuse; Substance abuse – the list goes on and on.

The consequence of this anxiety afflicts young and old alike. We are anxious as a people these days, and that anxiety has deadly consequences.

Dr. Laurie Santos of Yale says that today, “students report being more depressed than they have ever been in history at college, more anxious.” She developed a class to address this phenomenon called “Psychology and the Good Life: The Science of Well Being.” The class is the most popular on campus at Yale bringing about 1200 students to a lecture hall at Yale twice a week. It is a mass gathering seeking relief from anxiety in pursuit of happiness. It is such a draw that Yale has opened the course online via Coursera.[2]

We all are afflicted by anxiety and that is precisely where the Gospel of Mark ends – suddenly, with anxiety.

“Terror and amazement seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”[3]

They were seized in spirit because in the normal course of events when a person dies, you make preparations, make your way to the grave. You pay your last respects.

That is what the women of our story were doing.

Trying to piece together the events of the past few days, they were focused on practical matters, like who will roll away the stone.

They were tending to details, but suddenly there was a new shock to absorb.

He is Raised!

So here is the second dynamic I want to consider with you today – it is our “One Verse” for Easter morning – “Do not be alarmed (“anxious”), you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised!”

Now I wonder, how can anyone consider that to be predictable? How is that predictable in a world that is seized by death every day?

Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed! Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia!

That was a surprise which did not fit the followers’ plans.

Now, for us, on Friday night we were tending to details here at church and one of our Good Friday ushers was a very capable young man. A grandson of one of our members. Of course, that particular service is our most somber of the year. It is a service of darkness. It was such a moving service that I hated to raise the lights after the congregation left. But we had preparations to make for Easter Sunday.

The ushers were helping me in this effort. Our mood was somber, and we all were still whispering as we worked. But this wonderful boy had a great story he just had to share with the Pastor.  

So I halted and listened. He said, “What did angel say when the women came to the tomb? April fools! Surprise!”

“He is not dead, he is raised!” He was crucified. But he is raised!

It could not have been a more perfect word for this April Fools Easter!

How is it that we have become so immune to the most powerful surprise that the world has ever known?

How can our spirits be so jaded, seized, anxiously paralyzed, when the miracle of “Resurrection/Being Raised” is constantly confronting crucifixion, constantly raising up life over death all across the earth? How can we be so paralyzed? So jaded in the face of such life giving power?

And how could little boy, that I named at the start of the sermon (not our magnificent young usher) but the little child, (who like so many in our world today, did not want to come to church at all), how did that little boy, how can any of us, find the Easter story to be so very predictable?

Friends, Resurrection is the improbable, unpredictable, life giving outburst of joy and possibility which God accomplished for you and for me.

Life conquers death. Grace conquers sin. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Why do we all anxiously look for life among so many deadly things in this world? The grave will not hold us! For he is raised!

Resurrection is the antidote for our anxious paralysis and it is high time we start using it.

Use the Resurrection

Yes, I said use the resurrection!

That is the third thing I want to consider with you. The challenge to use the resurrection!

That is what the angel had in mind when he shared the good news: “Jesus has gone ahead of you to Galilee.” “Tell the disciples,” said the angel, “tell the disciples that he is going ahead of you to Galilee” – back home – back to the daily grind – from “super/natural” to “daily/habitual.”  Jesus will meet us there – in daily life.

Resurrection means our spirits “come awake.”

Whenever the Bible speaks about being raised, it uses a world that, when literally applied, means coming awake.[6]

And so many of us are sleep walking through life.

Most of us face anxiety by finding a way to numb out. Anxious paralysis.

In the past several years, I have watched the downsizing of corporations, and the upsizing of liquor licenses in our community. I have seen the last vestiges of sabbath in our schedules fall prey to a spirit killing scheduling frenzy.

We are driven by a restless insecurity and anxiety that is killing our spirit in Lake County.

Worshipping friend, wake up!

Christ is Risen. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Face your daily anxiety by being awake to resurrection.

You know. The passage ends by telling us that they said nothing. But I gotta tell you. Someone squealed. Someone broke the news. Someone came alive, believed, and shared resurrection – Used the resurrection!

Resurrection is a new life – alive, awake – and you and I can access today. We can share it, in our own way.

An Example

And it can be one simple thing. So I have one simple example of a way one man helped the people around him come awake – if only for a moment.

Frederick Buechner remembers late one afternoon. He was walking to teach his college class. He noticed the beginnings of what promised to be one of the great local sunsets. It had just the right kind of clouds. The sky was starting to burn, and the budding trees were perfect silhouettes against it. 

Independence Grove Easter Ecumenical Sunrise Worship 2018

He said, “When I got to the classroom, the lights were all on, of course, and the students were chattering, and I was just about to start things off, when I thought of the sunset going on out there, and on impulse,” he said, “without warning. I snapped off the classroom lights.”

He said, “I am not sure that I ever had a happier impulse. The room faced west so as soon as it went dark, everything disappeared except what we could see through the windows, and there it was -- the entire sky on fire by then, like the end of the world or the beginning of the world. You might think that somebody would have said something. Teachers do not usually plunge their students into that kind of darkness, and you might have expected a wisecrack or two.”

“But the astonishing thing,” he said, “was that the silence was as complete as you can get it in a room full of people, and we all sat there unmoving for as long as it took the spectacle to fade slowly away.”

“For over 20 minutes nobody spoke a word. Nobody did anything.”

But they were not numb. They were coming alive.

Now, that’s just one little thing. But you can do a thing like that too.

Resurrection - Being Raised: In a classroom; Over dinner; At the office; Over coffee. Renew and transform your spirit. Walk into the transforming color of resurrection!

Let yourself be surprised by this miracle of life – this one beautiful glorious victory that echoes across the ages: Life over death!

Resurrection for you and for me. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Come awake!

_____________________________________________

[1] James A. Harnish (Tampa, Florida), in his 1993 Easter sermon.

[2] Christian Science Monitor, March 29, 2018, “Yale students find anxiety relief in popular happiness course” - Angela Moore.

[3] Mark 16:8b NRSV

[4] You may sign up with this link to receive devotions about the “One Verse” in worship every week.

[5] Mark 16:6 NRSV

[6] ἠγέρθη

A Pastoral Word After the Election

Before the election, my prayers focused on work that would begin November 9 - the day after the election. Together with other religious leaders, I knew the divisions of our society would be fully exposed by America's choices. Yet still, like many of you, I was stunned by the tenor and societal outcomes of our presidential election.

So in light of concerns that I see and feel among many in our church and community, I want to offer a word of pastoral leadership on a few counts. Let me be clear, this is not a word I offer on behalf of the Session or any church council. It is a matter of instinct and conviction that comes from my own heart.

We have valuable gifts to share. I believe our congregation is fulfilling its calling to inspire our community and the world. We will accomplish this calling in many ways. But in today's climate, I want to underscore some timely gifts that we offer.

We are a gentle and safe community. Our hospitality extends through the breadth of society: from the unemployed to the corporate CEO; from the homeless to the privileged; from single to married; from gay to straight; from Republican to Democrat and to people of every race and ethnicity.  Do not underestimate the power of this welcome. We transform the world by our gentleness and our care for one another creates a spiritual home in which it is safe to be as you are by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

We advocate for justice. The human rights and freedoms we enjoy are a privilege we work to share with others. We pray for and stand beside those who feel threatened in our culture today: Persons of color who feel treated as if their lives are of lesser value; Persons of other religions who feel wrongly maligned because of their faith; Persons of the LGBTQI community who fear a tone is being set in society that condones discrimination and could even turn a blind eye to violence; Persons of varied political convictions who feel their conscience is wrongfully attacked or demeaned; Persons who immigrate, whether working in our labs or laboring to serve our tables; Sisters and daughters who feel their dignity and rights are assailed by foul language or violent innuendo.

We speak truth in love. The words that we speak have great power to heal or to wound. It pains me to have to define this so clearly. But foul language and boastful descriptions of abusive behavior are not acceptable in any setting.  It is not acceptable in our church, our homes, or even in a locker room or bar. It is not acceptable for a Christian to pass off such speech simply because "everyone else is doing it."  We speak truth to each other in love. Our congregation certainly does not agree on all things. But we do know how to speak with each other in ways that demonstrate respect and kindness.

The weeks and months ahead may require us to speak or act outside of our normal comfort zones. But we are able to do so in ways that remain true to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our tradition continues to honor those who hold public office. John Calvin believed the most significant vocation was not that of pastor. He believed the role of the politicians and civil magistrates were most greatly to be esteemed. Those vocations have the capacity to do both the greatest good and greatest harm. So we pray for President Elect Trump and all about to assume office who will hold the public trust.

Yet this is not a blind trust. We have long understood that all in this world, from the most humble to the most powerful, will stand accountable to God in the last analysis.  We claim the ultimate sovereignty of God over all life.  Our vision of the world is informed by our prayers seeking God's will.

John Calvin famously wrote to King Francis in his day and quoted 1 Timothy 4:10 saying, "we have our hope set on the living God." So we both carry that as a challenge for the world and a comfort for our souls. Our task is even more crucial today. Have courage, friends.

Frederic Edwin Church - Above the Clouds at Sunrise

I will close with a short Irish poem. I like the gentleness of its words. It was recorded from the lips of a classic bard in Ireland. Anthony Raftery was an underprivileged blind man who spoke with a song in his gentle heart. He offered his words wherever he went. His nation was grateful and honored him with a burial in County Galway's Cemetery of Poets.  This is his song. What will be yours?

I am Raftery the poet
Full of hope and love
With no light in my eyes
With gentleness that has no misery

Going west upon my pilgrimage
By the light of my heart
Though feeble and tired
To the end of my rove.

Behold me now
With my back to the wall
Playing music
Unto empty pockets.

Prayers for Orlando in Light of Mass Shooting on June 12, 2016

A word from our Pastor on the occasion of the mass shootings in Orlando on June 12, 2016:

Please join me in prayer for the families of those who have been killed or wounded in Orlando this morning.  President Obama has identified this the worst mass shooting in American history.  We know it comes on the heels of too many mass shootings over the course of recent decades.  Our hearts grieve and mourn with victims and survivors of all such attacks.  Even as we give thanks for the many first responders who put their lives on the line and are feverishly at work for life.

The President has described this attack as an act of terror and hate.  As a religious leader in our community I feel compelled to underscore the need for courage and love. Our Christian faith bolsters our commitment to turn away from all hatred and fear.  Our faith teaches that all human beings are precious and all bear the imprint of the image of God.  

That imprint of God is on all people. It is not restricted to straight people, Christian people, or any other subset of humanity. The Creator's mark is on us all. It is firmly placed upon the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gendered persons (many of whom are active and committed people of faith).  It is on people of every philosophy and religion – including our Muslim neighbors who faithfully live beside us in community. I highlight this common blessing with emphasis on orientation and religion because of the horrible details in this particular attack.

Please join me in prayer for our leaders as America seeks ways to avoid the perpetuation of such violence.  Our nation is certainly in need of vigilance. But we also are in desperate need of calm and wisdom.

Our congregation has learned how to live faithfully together even when there are issues where we find ourselves in disagreement.  But our disagreements have never lead us down pathways of fear or hate.  My prayer is that our model of faithful forbearance and mutual respect will offer some small inspiration for our community. 

Because events such as this cause my emotions to be quite close to the surface, I offer prayers that were previously written and included in our Presbyterian Book of Common worship.  They were written for times of National Crisis and also as a cry for justice.  I invite you into some time for prayer today.  May our prayers be joined with others in a way that heals, calms and strengthens.

Brian Paulson, Pastor of the First Presybterian Church of Libertyville
(This is a timely pastoral letter that does not reflect an action of our governing Session.)

God of ages, in your sight nations rise and fall, and pass through times of peril. Now when our land is troubled, be near to judge and save. May leaders be led by your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly. Give us your light and your truth to guide us; through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of this world, and our Savior. Amen.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Inspire!

Can you feel God tugging at your heart? Easter is a moment that opens my heart. I am inspired by resurrection to see anew.  An example of this vision inspired me last night and opened my memory to more inspiration.

A little boy ran up to a homeless man on the street corner last night as I was headed to a wonderful dinner with a group of Christian leaders. (It is not this photo, I found this a stock image of inspiration online - but looked just like this!) It was clear the boy's heart was open as he went rushing to put money in a cup.

Then I remembered images of young and old from our community preparing beds and meals for the homeless we house in our weekly shelter. A flood of caring acts filled my memory and my heart. Just as I shared in worship on Easter, I am inspired by our congregation!

Such inspiration is in start contrast to the events of a world that is killing the spirit and numbing our senses. What can we do?  I am inspired by the story of a boy who was discouraged by a man from throwing starfish back into the sea - it would just send them back again. Undaunted, the boy held up another starfish, looked at the man and said, "That may be," said the boy, "but here is one I can save today."

If only we could always have such child-like determination and hope!  But there are many in our world who grow weary from the constant waves of misery crashing against our lives. How can we confront an expression that has developed in recent years: "compassion fatigue."

One of the conversations I had over dinner last night engaged the challenge of equipping and encouraging new generations of leaders who will inspire the world with good. The next generation of adults who currently work to change our world are very idealistic in many new and practical ways that engage specific projects all around the world. I see new kinds of community growing through friendships fostered at work, school, intentional living communities, and various forms of networking.

What I do not see growing is a sustaining base for this altruism that will last a lifetime. This is a gift that I believe congregations have to offer the world.  It is a gift that our congregation seeks to offer each and every day of the week. We inspire!

(Elmore Nickelberry, at left in 1968, he was then a Memphis sanitation worker on strike when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel. His son Terence recently displayed a slogan made famous by the 1968 sanitation strike. by Carl Juste / Miami Herald Staff)

Yet some real challenge remains for me and for our congregation in a suburb of privilege.  That challenge is present on street-corners in Chicago just as it should be in our hearts every day.  How can we shift the tide of inhumanity afflicting our world?

A congregation does more than countless acts of charity.  We ground our lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the one who taught parables in order to "tease our mind into active thought."  The boy engaging the beggar on the street corner brought to mind Jesus' parable about Lazarus and the rich man. Is the gospel engaging our imagination?  Is our creative soul inspired?

I remember that Dr. King was slain in 1968 while posing challenging questions about the relative worth and dignity of everyone living and working in America. These questions continue to haunt our society as rifts between rich and poor, black, white, and every color grow ever more stark and alarming. I suppose if the answers were simple, they would have been accomplished by now.  But here is a prayer that I make unto God as I return to the desk after Easter morning:  I pray for inspiration - inspiration for action.

The empty cross stands above our church as both invitation and instigation. The image may seem as quaint and classic as a Rockwell painting, but we are an incubator of action. This is the charge and challenge for every Christian congregation.  We must be a source of inspiration for a better humanity.

So go inspire someone.  We can help you start with a wide range of caring acts. But carry that spirit into your daily routines and conversations.  Commit your life to the cause of Christ and let the Holy Spirit flood your heart to change and inspire the world.

Christ is Risen - Let Us Show the World what it Means!

Brian

The Pastor's Study for June/July FirstWord (Preview!)

Be still, and know that I am God! - Psalm 46:10a

When you visit my study, if you look carefully at the bookshelf, you will see poking out of a book shelf a slice of a pine trunk with these words written upon it, “Be Still and Know”.  It was a gift from a member of my Arizona congregation.

That verse was a constant reminder a friend of mine would recite as she lived with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.  Eventually the cancer took her before her time, but she outlived the odds and she was able to watch as I was able to preside over the wedding of both sets of her twin children and baptize her grandchildren. Whenever we would discuss her faith and her circumstance she would calmly recite the need to “Be Still and Know.” It is a simple verse to ponder and it ought to be a simple verse to live.  But sometimes there is a long distance between the things that we ponder and the way that we live. 

How will you live this summer?  Is there space in your schedule to ponder?

When I started my ministry in a community similar to ours, a doctor spoke with me about his family life.  He said, “we work hard and we play hard.”  - I don’t know why but I had never heard the expression before.  Isn’t there a simple delight to play?

Every day I see coaches and athletes playing hard in Libertyville.  We know how to do that.  But do we know how to be still?  Are we afraid of what may meet us in the stillness?  Might we discover ourselves more deeply and find that God is present beside us?

The greatest athletes I have met know how to be still.  The most innovative executives know how to delight and play.  Take this summer and worship the Lord in spirit and truth.  Make time to be still.  Delight in our companionship of faith.

Life is a spiritual adventure!

Holy Week Culminations

I hope we will see you at our Tenebrae service (service of darkness) tonight on Good Friday at 7:30.  My thoughts have been full of the experience of the cross today.  I attended the noontime service at the Episcopalian church as I do each year.  The preacher articulated what I have been pondering - so much death and tragedy these weeks!  His insight was powerful - that Jesus' thirst was emblematic of our human thirst for God and likewise it was emblematic of God's thirst for humankind.  Powerful stuff.  Many of your remaked on a quote that Anne Lamott shared in my Palm Sunday sermon. Have you taken the full journey of the week?  

Earlier in the day, I wrote a meditation on our tendency to want justice done on someone else. What are you pondering as we head to worship tonight?  How will Amy's meditations strike your soul?

Tomorrow, I hope you will go to the Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. and see all the joy of our children and their families!  If you want to take full advantage of Holy Saturday, the Episcopalians always go all out.  They have a service at 8 a.m. and a vigil at 7 p.m.

Of course, on Easter, I hope that you have marked your calendar.  Both Luke Hyder and I will be preaching.  I will preach at the Festival services at 9 and 11 a.m. in our renewed Sanctuary.  Luke will preach at our Easter Sunrise in the Chapel at 7 a.m. and at our Sunday at 6 service this Easter in the Sanctuary.  At the evening service we will celebrate both the sacrament of baptism (on behalf of the Union Church of Manila for a child of our church home for the holiday) and also the sacrament of holy communion.  If you are coming back from Spring Break, this may be a great way to return!

Then don't forget to participate in our Listening Circles.  The first big gathering will be on the first Sunday after Easter.  Sign up online through our Strategic Planning Webpage.  Also take the online survey now!

Wow.  God is making all things new.  Join us!

An Update on Presbyterian Church (USA) Constitutional Changes

Dear Members and Friends of First Pres:

The public news media is reporting news of a change in the PCUSA constitution in our Book of Order. Here is a published word from the Stated Clerk of our denomination, Gradye Parsons:

It appears from unofficial voting tallies that amendment 14-F of the Directory for Worship in the Book of Order has been approved by a majority of the presbyteries. The approval allows Teaching Elders (pastors) wider discretion in whose weddings they may conduct and Sessions wider discretion in whose weddings it may host. That discretion could include same gender marriages in states where that is permitted.

It is important to note that the determination of what couple a Teaching Elder will marry has and will continue to be with that Teaching Elder. Likewise, the determination by a Session as to whose weddings a congregation will host remains solely with the Session. There is nothing in the amendment to compel any Teaching Elder to conduct a wedding against his or her judgment, nor a Session to host one against its judgment.  (For more by Rev. Parsons, click here.)

This latest action will create no practical change in the current ministry of our congregation. In the October 2014 meeting of our Session, decisions were made that allowed for the possibility of these constitutional changes. The paragraphs below are taken from the Session's explanation of its former decisions and are instructive for us all at this time:

After an extended period of prayer and discernment shared with the congregation, the Session of our congregation voted to permit same sex weddings in our church facilities.  The intent of the vote is to offer the support of our faith community to members and their families when they seek to live a joyfully ordered life of Christian witness and faithfulness within the covenant of marriage - regardless of the sexual orientation of the two persons who seek to live such covenanted lives.  Those who wish to be married in our church will continue to be required to undergo a structured process of pre-marital counseling with the officiating pastor.  As always, the officiating pastor will have leeway of pastoral discretion with each couple in choosing to proceed with the wedding or in declining to officiate.

In addition to the dynamics named above, the Session also views a wedding is an act of personal pastoral care for individual Christians within the Body of Christ.  As an act of personal pastoral care, the performing of same sex weddings is not meant to bind the conscience of all believers in our congregation on the question of same sex relationships.

The decision was made after careful consideration of Biblical passages and themes utilizing the "Presbyterian Understanding and Use of Holy Scripture" and its principles for interpretation: Centrality of Christ; Plain Sense of the Text; Scripture interpreting Scripture; Rule of Faith; and Rule of Love.  In addition, the decision was framed by:  guidance of the Confessions; understanding of Christian marriage; the Reformed understanding of being a Covenant Community; assessment of the spiritual state of our congregation; and by personal experience.

Finally, I prayerfully remind you of a word the Session commended to the congregation in October:

As the congregation moves forward from this decision, we are encouraged to bear with each other and support each other in love and mutual affection.  Continue to pray and study scripture in spiritual discernment and bear in mind a useful verse from Romans 12:10:  Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. (CEB)

Faithfully,

Brian  R. Paulson

Pastor