A Feast of Rich Food - a sermon for the Holy Pascha (commonly known as Easter)

A Sermon for the Holy Pascha / Resurrection Sunday (RCL B) 4-8-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 188:1-2, 12-24; Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18

Title:               A Feast of Rich Food

Alleluia! Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

And so we have finally come to this festival day of joy and light and hope. Our long Lenten season of discipline is over, and now the season of celebration begins!

Last night, at our wonderful and interesting Vigil liturgy which marked the turning point and the beginning of our festival, we baptized our newest sister in Christ – Chelsea Ann Baumiller. And immediately after this, just as the Church prays for every newly baptized Christian, so I offered a prayer over Chelsea which ends with this petition:

“Give her an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.”

My dear friends: if we are willing to receive them, these are the gifts that are offered to every one of us once again on this blessed morning:

·        An inquiring and discerning heart

·        The courage to will and to persevere

·        A spirit to know and to love God

·        The gift of joy and wonder in all the works of God!

For it is truly a gift to be able to find joy and to feel wonder at all the amazing things in creation.

Have you ever seen people running through a parking lot when it begins to rain?

They’re trying to get under cover as soon as possible, so that they can stay dry, right?

This feast, this celebration which we will carry with us now, this is all about stopping in the midst of the rainstorm and letting yourself become soaked!

Here is your challenge, here is your call: my friends, let yourself become soaked with God!

Do not run through life so quickly that you are dodging all of the raindrops!

Stop, and let the love and beauty and grace and majesty of God to soak you down to the bone.

No, even deeper than that. All the way down to the core of your being.

Then you will understand about the gift of joy and wonder in all the works of God!

Do you know someone like that? Someone who has that gift of joy and wonder?

There is a famous story told about St. Francis of Assisi, the little Povorello.

It is said that one night he was walking through the streets of his home city, the city of Assisi up in the hills of Umbria in Italy, when he noticed that the full moon was shining down with incredible brightness.

But what amazed St. Francis even more was that no one else in the city seemed to notice this at all! Everyone was going about their late-night chores or whatever activities demanded their attention. But no one paid any notice to this amazing moon!

So do you know what he did? It is said that St. Francis then climbed up the steeple of the large church there on the central square in Assisi. He grabbed the ropes – think of the hunchback of Notre Dame! – and he began to ring all the church bells. That got everyone’s attention!

The bells were run only to announce the start of mass or if there was a news-worthy event that needed to be announced, such as the start of a war or the death of a Pope. So the people ran out into the square, eager to hear the important news. And there was the little St. Francis, small in stature but giant in soul and bright in face, leaning out a window high up on the steeple, pointing up at the moon and saying to the people: “Look, look! The moon is incredibly brilliant tonight!”   

Lots of people thought he was mad. Crazy. But was he mad, a little bit loony? Or were they?

Let me suggest to you that we are all a bit mad and a bit loony! Every single one of us.

But, we are crazy for different things!

Some are crazy about money, and they are convinced that wealth will make them happy – even though all of the evidence shows this to be patently false.

Some are crazy about health, and they will do everything they can to stay and look young for as long as possible – even though we all know that old age and illness and death are inevitable.

Some are crazy about success, and they will spend every waking moment ensuring that they – or their children – outperform their competition – even though we know that there is always someone better or stronger or smarter than you.

Some are crazy about their country, and they live and breathe with patriotic fervor – even though we all know that no nation lasts forever, and that human societies come and go with the passing of time.

But there are some who are crazy about God, and these ones are soaked through and through with joy and wonder at the goodness of God and the beauty of God’s world.

There are some, like St. Francis, who are not blinded by the silly notions of human society.

These are the ones who notice the brilliance of the moonlight, who join with the singing of the birds, who give thanks for a simple meal with friends, who find joy in the laughter of children.

There is an ancient story from the deserts of Egypt that goes like this.

A man came to visit a wise elder named Joseph in order to ask for some advice in his relationship with God. The man said to Joseph: “Father, as much as I can I say my daily prayers, I fast a little bit, I meditate a little, I live in peace with others, and as far as I can, I try to keep my thoughts clean. What else can I do?”

Do you see? This visitor had a nice little religious life – a little bit of prayer, a little meditation, a peaceful place to live, some effort to think good thoughts.  But it wasn’t enough.

Is there any more than this?  That was his question to Joseph. Is this all there is?

The wise elder, Joseph, stood up then and stretched out his hands toward the heavens.

And his fingers became 10 flames of shooting fire.

And he said to his visitor: “If you want, you can become all flame!”

(The Sayings of the Desert Fathers by Benedicta Ward, P.103).  

There is more, my friends! There is much more. There is resurrection power.

And if you want it, then you can become a living flame!

If you want, you can become soaked with God.  

Not by doubling-down and working at it as hard as you can.

That is not the way to have your heart transformed by grace. The soul needs quiet to grow.

You become soaked with God, we become completely on fire with the love of God, only when we slow down, stop the noise around us and within us, and open ourselves to that grace.

Like the opening of a tulip flower in the warmth of the early morning sunshine.

Let your soul be like that flower as you soak up the love and mercy and grace of God that pours upon us through our Lord who lives today.

You are here this morning, and we have been invited to this feast of God.

So take a deep breath and celebrate!

If you have anything in your hands, please put it down. Stretch out those fingers. Open your palms up.

Do you know that God is good? Then let’s give God a round of applause. (Clap your hands, for real!)

Praise God, because our Lord Jesus is alive, and that same power which raised him from the dead can transform your heart and your life! If you want it.  Amen.