The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
Hallelujah •
Christ is risen
The tomb is •
Empty
Welcome •
To St. Barnabas
•
This Easter Sunday
During lent We’ve taken time •
To consider
The things that •
Separate us
From God and •
Each other
But today, •
In the spirit of the
•
Empty tomb…
We gather •
To celebrate
The power of •
Love as it
Dramatically •
Realized
In Jesus’ •
Rising from
•
The dead 1
The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
This day •
Above all days is
Relaxing into the •
Loving embrace of
A God who will go •
To any length
•
To save us
So whatever you are •
Carrying this day
Any burdens •
Any worries
•
Put them down
And instead •
Choose
•
Today
To bask •
In God’s
Unaccountable •
And unrelenting
•
Love…
Put down any •
Ledger of
•
Achievement
That you use •
To judge yourself
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
•
Or others
Today we •
Can even
Put a lid on that •
Competitive fire
•
Because the
That’s the •
Good News of Easter
The most •
Important race has
•
Been won
And the good news of Easter •
For the preacher is
That on this day, •
There is no requirement
•
To be inventive
You have come •
To hear
•
Again
A story you •
Already
•
Know
And •
Love
I only have to
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
•
Choose which of
•
The gospel accounts
For me • •
John's account is The most evocative.
It’s got •
Great drama
Vivid detail, and •
Powerful emotions.
And it is •
Mary Magdalene
•
In particular
And her encounter •
With Jesus
•
On which
I wish to focus •
This morning
Listen:
Early on the first Day of the week, While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene Came to the tomb and Saw that the stone had 4
The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
Now here it •
Gets fun
There’s a lot of •
Running
•
Going On
So Mary Ran
And went To Simon Peter And The other disciple, The one whom Jesus loved,
Ok… •
This kind of
•
Fun also
Remember this is •
The Gospel of John
And how is John •
Referred to in
•
The Gospel of John?
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
The disciple whom •
Jesus loved
As opposed to those •
Other Guys who
Jesus thought were •
Kind of lame.
But back •
To the story:
•
Mary Said to them,
"They have taken the Lord Out of the tomb, and We do not know where They have laid him."
Then Peter and The other disciple set out And went Toward the tomb.
The two were Running together,
But the other disciple (the one whom Jesus Loved)
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
Outran Peter and Reached the tomb First. Surely a necessary detail •
If you outran someone
Clearly you •
Reached the tomb first
Continuing: The disciple Whom Jesus loved Bent down To look in and Saw the linen wrappings Lying there, But he Did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came, Following him, Following him why? •
Because
He got there •
First
And went into the tomb.
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
He saw the linen wrappings Lying there, And the cloth that Had been on Jesus' head, Not lying with The linen wrappings But rolled up in A place by itself.
And the writer •
Still is not done:
Then the other disciple, (the one whom Jesus loved) Who reached The tomb first,
Also went in, And of course He Saw And believed
So that’s five •
References
To who got •
There first
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
The Son of God •
Has risen
•
From the dead
The whole game •
Has been changed
•
For all eternity
The race is •
Won
And all these guys •
Can talk about is
Who’s faster •
Than who
These guys are •
Still competing
But Mary Magdalene though •
Stops running
•
Long enough
To actually experience •
The Risen Jesus:
Mary stood weeping Outside the tomb. 9
The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
As she wept, She bent over to look Into the tomb; She saw Two angels in white, Sitting where the Body of Jesus Had been lying,
They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
"They have taken away my Lord, And I do not know where They have laid him."
When she had said this, She turned around and Saw Jesus standing there,
But she did not know That it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
Supposing him to Be the gardener,
She said to him, "Sir, if you have Carried him away, Tell me where you Have laid him, and I will take him away." And here it is •
My favorite
•
Easter moment: Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
The moment of •
Recognition comes
When Jesus calls •
Mary by name.
At that moment •
When Jesus said
•
“Mary”
Using a movie line •
He had her
This is not a •
General address…
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
No, he uses •
A word that
Applies to her •
And her alone,
•
Her name.
And like Mary, •
We all long to
•
Be known
•
By God
To be seen by God •
As the object of
•
God's love.
Again •
This longing is
•
Not "general”
We want more •
Than to just
Be loved by •
Some distant God as
One of •
A multitude
We want to •
Be seen
•
And to be loved
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
In the most •
Intimate way
We long for •
God’s love
•
To infiltrate
Our souls •
Our bodies,
•
Our history,
We long for •
God’ to know
•
Our dreams
And •
Our losses.
And understandably •
In this moment of
•
Beautiful recognition
Mary wants •
To embrace Jesus
To latch on •
To Him…
But Jesus says •
To her
“Don’t cling •
To me.”
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
Within •
The confines of
•
Her humanity
Mary couldn’t •
Grasp or
•
Imagine
What was •
Playing out
•
In front of her
How •
Could she?
But in his •
Resurrected form
Jesus was •
Offering
•
Much more
This is Jesus •
Who’s come
Through the •
Other side of death
Saying… •
Don’t cling
•
To the old way…
The old…
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
•
Jesus
I’m offering… •
Something greater
I’m offering •
A completely…
•
New reality
The resurrection of Jesus •
Changed…
•
Everything
What Jesus was •
Offering Mary was
Not just •
A new and
Improved •
Human life
But… •
Resurrection life
This is Jesus •
Saying:
•
To Mary…
This is Jesus •
Saying to us:
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
The only race… •
That really matters
•
It’s won
That race •
For approval
•
Won
And not even •
Necessary
The race to •
Be loved
•
Won
So today •
May we see that
Easter is more than •
A mere holiday
Easter is when •
We stop running
•
Stop striving
Towards wherever •
We think…
•
Peace is found
Easter is when… •
Like Mary…
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Easter Sunday 2015
We hear… •
Jesus call us each
•
By name
Easter is when •
God in Christ
Pierces our reality •
With his presence
And in that moment •
When we realize
It has •
Been Done
Everything is •
Changed
Hallelujah •
Christ is risen
The tomb is •
Empty
Amen.
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