The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
April 18, 2021
The Third Sunday After Easter
1st Reading - Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
2nd Reading - 1 John 3:1-7
Gospel - Luke 24:36b-48
 
May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard.  Amen.
Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  [The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!]
​
Now, you might be thinking – wait - Easter was two weeks ago.  But no!  Easter is 50 days!  Really, Easter is every day.  It is not a single point in time, but who we are.  And who we are is one of the points this gospel reading, well really, all the readings today, are about.

Before the passage we heard today from the gospel of Luke, Jesus had just finished chatting it up with the two folks on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and his wife, doing the disappearing act after breaking the bread, and sending those two running to Jerusalem to share the good news – Jesus was alive!  But before they could arrive, Jesus got there, so at least once they did say they had seen the Lord, the others didn’t reject them as they did the women, who were the first to encounter Jesus. 

That is where we begin today – right at that moment.  He walks in, says “Peace be with you.” The men were likely standing there with their mouths wide open, while the women rolled their eyes, gave them the “I told you so” look, and said “Men.” 

And then, having been popping in and out on folks all over town, Jesus apparently is getting a little hungry.  This is hilarious.  I mean – they are staring at him aghast and filled with all sorts of emotions, and he is thinking – geez, this being dead for three days has really got me hankering for some food.  So, he says, “what you’all got to eat?”

Of course, if it were me, I would be hoping for something a bit better than some broiled fish if I hadn’t eaten for a few days.  You know, something like a cheeseburger, fries, and maybe a milk shake too.  But while I wonder about the culinary choices, that isn’t exactly what this gospel passage is all about.  That comes before and after the fish and chips (Lordy, I hope there were at least some chips…oh, and of course, malt vinegar).
Now, one of the things that always struck me about this gospel story is the response of the disciples to encountering the risen Christ.  As we heard today, “While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering.”  What a mix!  Joy and disbelief – disbelief and wonder.  Doesn’t it seem a bit like Jumbo Shrimp – an oxymoron?  Or, as one commentator put it, “How can we have disbelief and joy at the same time?  What is there to be joyful about if we don’t believe it?  Makes you wonder.”[1]  It might seem a bit odd for our world now too.  We like things to be neat, orderly, black & white.  That, however, is not how the world works.

Think about it – we might feel joy at the birth of a child, but also fear about our ability to be a good parent.  We might feel grief at the loss of a loved one, but relief that they are no longer in pain. Life is a mixture of contrasting emotions – that’s how life works.  It’s also how faith works.  We might feel joy at Easter, but have disbelief at what the Easter story is all about.  So, we can probably understand what these earliest disciples had going through their hearts and minds – a mixture of seemingly opposing things all held together in the tension of that moment. I think they might have been the first Episcopalians.

You know, that is one of the reasons why I love the Episcopal Church too – because this is just the type of experience that defines who we are.  We often have seemingly competing understandings of our faith, but all under the same roof – standing at the same table.  Anglicans hold tight to the via media – the middle way – to both/and thinking.  We welcome all sorts of divergent viewpoints, and... we welcome questions.  Are questions a sign of disbelief?  Maybe, but I think more that they are a sign of seeking and hope, because you don’t bother asking a question if you are indifferent to having an answer.  And how we answer our questions is as varied as the diversity of God’s creation. 

So, if you are looking for doctrine and dogma that will tell you what to believe - you won’t find it here.  Oh sure, we have our creeds – but remember, those were the best effort of a group of people who had very divergent views of who Jesus was, and what his life, death, and resurrection means.  It was a best effort at a common statement – flawed, to be sure, but wouldn’t any creed be so?  Of course!  Something so amazing and wonderful as God cannot be boxed into some neat statement of a few paragraphs.  What kind of God would that be, anyway?

No, creeds are fine, but the faith we embrace is alive and filled with mystery, joy, wonder – in other words, mixed emotions and sometimes a boatload of questions.  It can no more be defined by a single person, as one artist could paint the perfect picture that captures all that might ever be painted.

And so these earliest followers of Jesus were standing there with their emotions whirling around in the heart – and I can’t imagine they were all seeing and feeling it the same way (other than maybe that they might have had an immediate desire to apologize to the women who first told them about Jesus being alive).  I mean – just look at our four gospels.  All of them have a different view of Jesus.  Of course they would.  God can’t be boxed into a single experience.  And yet, these folks did proclaim the gospel – each in their own way.  They responded to what Jesus was telling them – not the “Peace be with you” part, but the rest of it.

You see, in that moment, after finishing his fish, and flossing his teeth, while the disciples just stood there with their jaws on the floor, the gospel says that Jesus then opened their minds to the meaning of the scriptures – allowing them to understand who he really is, and what the death and resurrection means.  He then tells them “You are witnesses of these things.”

“You are witnesses of these things.”

And there it is. There is the entire point – of this gospel - and of our faith. Witness.

Now, if you felt a bit uncomfortable with that – thinking there is no way you are going door to door to tell complete strangers about Jesus – well, you are most certainly an Episcopalian.  Relax though, that type of witnessing, while it has its time and place, is in our modern context like taking a sledge hammer to a finishing nail.  Sure, it might work, but you’re likely to do more damage to yourself and the wall than you would have had you done it differently.

The thing is, witness, for a Christian anyway, shouldn’t be about pounding on other people’s doors, but about the pounding in our own hearts.  It should be something that is a natural outpouring of our own joy, wonder, and yes – sometimes even disbelief.

Disbelief in the immensity and grace of this God of ours that is there for us, for you, for me.

Wonder at the unwavering nature of God’s all inclusive love. 

Joy in knowing that we matter – every one of us – in the cosmic scheme of things – we matter to God.

All of that fills us up, and there is no choice but to share it – in fact, we won’t be able to help it.  Ever been in love?  Were you able to keep it to yourself?  Ever see a fantastic movie or TV show, or read a great book?  Did you keep it a secret?  And I suppose we don’t even need to ask when it comes to food, vacation spots, or any other thing.  So...what about our faith, our church?

Ahhh – that is where we get all squirmy again in our pews, or in this time of pandemic, our sofas.  “How possibly can we do that we start to ask?” inside our heads.  And yet, if we remember what Jesus said BEFORE he was crucified, we might better understand what he is saying AFTER he was raised.  He said that if we loved each other as he loved us – then people would know we were his followers. 

There it is folks.  That is the witness we are called to do – love.  And love requires that we share a bit of ourselves with someone else.  That is the witness Jesus is talking about. Our journey as followers of Jesus is about what happens here - and what we put out there.  We witness in sharing not only what we love, but in our very expression of love itself.

I want to share with you a story that always comes to mind when I think about our lives in Christ. It is about Bonnee Hoy, a gifted composer.  It seems that a mockingbird used to sing regularly outside Bonnee's window on summer nights. "Bonnee would stand at her bedroom window, peering into the darkness, listening intently, marveling at the beautiful songs the mockingbird sang. Then, musician that she was, Bonnee decided to sing back. So, she whistled the first four notes of Beethoven's 'Fifth Symphony.' With amazing quickness the mockingbird learned these four notes and sang them back to Bonnee. 'And in perfect pitch,' she marveled.  After a time, the bird flew away and did not return.”[2]

I love that story.  Maybe because I love the sound of birds, especially mockingbirds. In Native American animal lore, mockingbird comes to make us aware of who we are in a particular moment, so that something can happen – they are messenger spirit animals.

And so, after reading the gospel, this mockingbird imagery was brought to mind, because Jesus also came to make us aware of who we are, so that something could happen.  The experience of Jesus – his life, death, and resurrection – this gospel story of God loving us so very much, wanting us to be in relationship with Her, and with one another, caring so much for us.  THAT story – the Easter story – is a about God wanting to reflect back to us who we are, who God is, and what it all means for us.  God in Jesus sang a song for us to hear, a song of unconditional love, and now we must bear witness to that in our lives.  Think of Jesus, and now us as the body of Christ, as both mockingbird and composer.

Just as Bonnee Hoy shared a bit of her joy of music with the mockingbird, we are called to share the joy of our faith – of God’s love - with others, and in much the same way.  No, I don’t suppose whistling our faith will work well, but think about the story.  She listened, and then the bird listened.  She heard the bird’s own voice before offering her own song.  Then, when she did, the bird learned it, and it brought joy to her heart.  That’s the power of witness.  We listen to the other first, and then share our own song, allowing it to join, not overwrite, what is already being sung in other’s lives.  This is something that sadly, the church so often failed to do in our past. 

But there is more to the story of Bonnee and the mockingbird. 

You see, this was a story that was told at Bonnee’s funeral.  Her friend said at the service that “One night, toward the very end of her life, when Bonnee was so terribly sick, the bird finally  returned and, in the midst of other songs, several times sang those first four notes of Beethoven's 'Fifth.'  At that memorial service, her beloved friend, with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes, said, "I like to think of that now…somewhere out there (in a big, big world) is a mockingbird who sings Beethoven, because of Bonnee." 

I like to think of that too.

Bonnee and her mockingbird are a gospel story of witness to love, and it calls us to ask “Are [we] living a life so full of song and joy that it brings out the music of other people's lives?”[3]  Or in the language of our faith, of the gospel, are you so filled with wonder, joy, and just enough disbelief to make you humble, that those who encounter you come to know the song of your faith – come to feel God’s love?

And if your faith is in a different place – if you are still listening and trying to find the notes that resonate with you - that’s okay too.  Sometimes we are the mockingbird.  We need to listen a bit more, learn a few divergent melodies, and then fly for a time to figure it all out. 

No matter where we are on our faith journey – most importantly we need to return here to listen again the voice of Jesus.  The Jesus that loves us, that returns for us, that sets us free to fly in the world – singing the song of our faith – the song of God’s all abiding grace and love to a world that has lost the ability to recognize the tune.  One time through won’t usually do it – we have to keep listening, and then singing it over and over again for others.  But one day, we will hear it rebounding back at us from all corners of the earth – that wonderful sound of joy, wonder, justice, and love – it will ring out as though we are hearing a mockingbird singing Beethoven.
​
Amen.


[1] The Rev. Bob Eldan.  Preachingtips.com.

[2] Homileticsonline – as told by a friend of Bonnie’s.

[3] Homileticsonline.com

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
April 4, 2021 - 10:30am Service
Easter Sunday
1st Reading - Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
2nd Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel - Mark 16:1-8
 
May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

Every time I hear this version of the Easter story – the one found in the Gospel of Mark, I just have to say two things.  First -  “that is no way to run a resurrection!”  The Gospel of Mark is famous for a lot of things – the Messianic Secret (Shhh!  Don’t tell anybody who I am, says Jesus), disciples who can’t get out of their own way, but demons who know who Jesus is, and then it has this really strange ending about the resurrection: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”  Just to clarify though – the Greek really is better translated as the women disciples having been surprised and amazed.

​So that’s it?  They told no one?  It is almost as if the author of Mark had suddenly run off to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks and forgot to finish the story when he got back to his desk.  This caffeine run would almost make sense, given that this gospel is also filled with a lot of urgency – using the word immediately eleven times.  Immediately this happened, immediately that happened.  This author definitely needed a thesaurus, and a detox off the caffeine.

Most of us, I think, don’t like untidy endings... we want things to be wrapped up appropriately – and with a good end too.  So it shouldn’t be surprising that others felt the need to add a new ending to this gospel – really two.  See, what we heard today is what scholars have determined to be the original ending.  The other verses that follow were added on later by others.  They are called the “Shorter Ending of Mark” (really, you mean that last ending isn’t short?) and, with all their academic creativity the scholars call the other one the “Longer Ending of Mark.”  Genius.  Seriously.  You can look it up in your bibles at home. 

And there are reasons – obvious ones – why editors would want to clean up the story line a bit, because, as I said before, this really is no way to run a resurrection – if they told no one...how does this author know about it?  Or for that matter, how do we know about it? If they told no one – what would stores do with all those peeps and chocolate bunnies?  Well, they could bring them over to my house.  The thing is, we know from the other gospel accounts that the women disciples did tell the others, but the boys just wouldn’t listen.

But short or long ending, the basic story is this: Mary, Mary, and Salome (not the name of a girl band – to be clear) – anyway, the two Marys and Salome are wondering who will roll away the stone so they can anoint Jesus’ body, and then the young man (presumably a messenger of God, or Angel) dressed in white tells them: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here…go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you."

Now, that brings up the second thing I always think about, when it comes to this gospel - that bit about Peter.  Was it “Go tell his disciples....and Peter,” like in Peter, maybe the chief of these scattered minions?  Or, if we remember Peter as the one who denied him three times (and frequently seemed to trip up left and right as a disciple)... “Go tell the disciples and oh by the way, I want to see Peter.”  You have to wonder how this was originally voiced, right?

But whichever way the gospel was originally told in its oral form, we need to pay attention today to those two things:  The question of “who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” and the angel telling them that “He has been raised.  He is not here…He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” 

Remember that we know the full story – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome did not!  These women  disciples had not yet put it all together – had not yet fully understood everything Jesus had told them (for that matter, neither did the men as we will see next week, and they even had the benefit of having heard this story from the three women). 

The disciples were in a state of fear and grief – filled with disappointment and despair because all they had hoped for seemed to have been killed on the cross. When the women disciples went to the tomb that morning, they were trying to figure out how to get the stone removed from the tomb because they planned to anoint the body of a very dead Jesus.  They were not expecting any part of what happened.  They were walking in deep mourning, not joyful expectancy. They were in the between time – they just didn’t know it yet.

We may think it is hard for us now, knowing the full story, to truly understand their despair, but we certainly have experienced their range of emotions on that day, because many times in our life we live in the between time – between wondering how to roll away the heavy stone of our broken hearts and the healing joy of resurrection.

And this year has truly been a between time for us all.  We wonder when or how the stone of pandemic will be rolled away for us, when we might begin to apply the balm of healing that will offer some closure to this long journey in the wilderness, when will the new life, the new normal, start?  Our hearts have been breaking as we see people murdered because of their race, others gunned down because of our national addiction to guns, and poverty, oppression, addiction, and hate on the rise. Where is the hope?  Or, as one friend asked me recently, “Where is Easter?”

So perhaps, if we really think about it, we actually do understand some of what it must have felt like that first Easter.  For many have in this difficult time felt what the women likely did that morning, what Peter and the other disciples, huddled in fear, felt too.  Pain of grief, despair, heartache, and uncertainty about the future.  We, like they, long for the presence of Jesus.

The thing is though – where are we looking for him? 

You know, for a long time, the church, we – the followers of Jesus – located him here.  We invited people into our churches to experience Christ in the context of our worship services – in the Great Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, where we know we can and do receive him.  And that is a good thing, or nearly so.

Yet during this long time of pandemic, many across Christendom have sometimes not only wondered how that stone we carefully rolled against our doors when the pandemic began will be removed, but demanding it!  For like those disciples on that first Easter morning, they have forgotten what our savior Jesus taught us.  They have located Jesus in one place – “their” church – and by “their” – they mean one specific worship space, at one specific preferred worship time, with one specific liturgical custom.  They placed Jesus there, and they want to get back there to see and experience him again!

Now, I am deeply grateful that the people of this parish have truly understood what I am about to say, what the gospel is telling us right now, and it is this…

The tomb couldn’t contain Jesus, and neither can the church.

Jesus is on the loose!

Jesus is on the loose and has been since that first Easter morning.

We may try to box him in, but dang it – he just won’t stay there!  Or really, thank God he doesn’t stay there!

The stone has been rolled away! 

If we are only looking for him here – in this sacred space – in the Eucharist – we do not fully understand the meaning of the resurrection, and the hope and joy found in the empty tomb. 

Look, it is undeniable that Easter sounds different to us all this year and last.  We proclaim resurrection, joy, and hope amidst separation, fear, and disappointment.  But that is the very truth of this morning… that no pandemic – either of COVID, or hate, or violence, or any other part of the evil humanity can bring about – has ever had the last word.  And one would think, given all we have been through across time, that we would know that by now.  It doesn’t take going back centuries, just go back a few decades.

Fifty-two years ago this very day, an assassin’s bullet struck down the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.  As our nation mourned the loss of this servant of Christ, did we really know then what we know now?  The prophetic witness of Dr. King was not killed on that fateful day.  His words, his life, his ministry didn’t die on that balcony, but lives on in each of us!  If true for this prophet, how much more then for the Jesus he bore witness to – even unto death?  King’s legacy lives on, but Jesus – he is alive!

The tomb is empty – He is risen – And he is on the move!

The stones we placed over our churches to protect us from disease will one day be rolled away – but Jesus was never contained behind them.  Jesus is going ahead of us – in our hearts and in the world, just as he has always been from the beginning - and if that doesn’t leave us all a bit surprised and amazed then perhaps we never understood the power of this moment – the awe inspiring truth of the resurrection.

The tomb is empty – Christ is risen!

And because Christ is alive – we have hope amidst despair.

Because Christ is alive – we have promise amidst disappointment.

Because Christ is alive – we have life amidst death.

That is why we can live in the between time we are in at this moment, because by Christ’s death and resurrection we know the awesome power of our God, who loves us beyond measure, and whose light is stronger than any darkness of our world.

“You, who are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here! …He is going ahead of you…you will see him, just as he told you.”

He is not here – he is going ahead of you! 

Go and meet him and rejoice!

For the Lord is Risen [He is risen indeed]! 
​
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Jesus was betrayed by his own disciples… have you ever felt betrayed? Jesus understands those feelings too.   Then he was crucified and suffered… have you ever suffered at sometime in your life?   Jesus understands suffering too.
Then he died and rose again… now that’s something we have not experienced!   He was hung on a cross… nailed to the cross… and left in a tomb for 3 days…. He was abandoned by his followers.

One of the great benefits of the followers of Jesus and his death and resurrection is that we have learned to have a relationship with God.     The separation between God and man is over, we can actually hear his voice…. Once we recognize the voice of God, our world changes.  One word from God can change everything.

It is God’s nature to speak to us…. You can’t actually hear the words out loud but you definitely hear them in your heart… loud and clear!

Have you ever been tempted to do something wrong…. Wow does that voice come through… and it is up to us whether we listen to that voice or reject it.  If we reject it then that is usually followed by regret afterwards… which is followed by remorse and then we turn to God and ask for forgiveness.  Unfortunately that pattern repeats itself numerous times over our lifetime her on earth.

Through Jesus,  God has given us Light… joy…. hope and set us free.
God speaks to us because it is his nature to do so.  He is guiding us, each one of us, though our journey in this life. One word from God can change our lives forever.
So many times in the Bible, the word of God changed everything.     God said to Adam and Eve “Be fruitful and multiply”  and to Jacob he said “I will give you and your people this land”
And he said to Moses- “Go to Egypt and I will be with you”  and to Solomon he said “Ask whatever you want and I will give it to you”    And he said to Joshua “Don’t be afraid” as he was going off to conquer another land.

God said “Let there be light” and there was light.  One word from God can mean so much and change everything.

There are a lot of ways God speaks to us… he can speak to us in a dream, or a strong powerful feeling that comes over you and you know it is the voice of God… you can feel his word in your heart… in your mind… and in the core of your soul.
Have you ever had that feeling that you needed to call someone, to stop by and check up on someone… to pray for someone… that feeling that you hungered to go to church to find peace?
These are all ways God is speaking to us… but the most primary way God speaks to us is through the Bible.  The scriptures and parables are all lessons for us to use in our life … we need to listen and learn from the word spoken.  His word is his voice.  His voice gives us guidance,     his word gives us direction.
 
God speaks to us in those in-between times, when we don’t know what is happening, when we don’t know which way to turn.                On Friday when Jesus died on the cross, the disciples thought it was over… they thought it was the end.  On Saturday they didn’t know what to do… and then Sunday he is risen! 

The hard time was that in-between time. Before this it was exciting for the disciples… they were filled with passion in Jesus’ ministry. They had experienced the miracles and teachings of Jesus and felt blessed to be a part. Then their dreams were crushed when Jesus was crucified … and just when they thought their lives were over he rose from the dead.

I’m sure all of you can think of a time when you thought your life and dreams were over, whether it be the loss of a job, or your marriage falling apart, or you are faced with cancer or a life altering illness or  the loss of a parent, partner or child. 
There is that in-between time when you just don’t know what is happening or that you don’t know if you can go on. It’s that time between the promise and the provision that is so difficult.

It’s those in-between moments when we wait for a promotion,        wait  for our dreams to be fulfilled, wait for our bodies to get stronger,    wait for our children to outgrow the difficult phases, for a relationship to reconciled, for our finances to be secure… even waiting for this pandemic to be over! There are a lot of in-between moments in life.

What is God saying to us in those in-between moments?  What messages are we supposed to hear?  What lessons are we supposed to learn?  What were the disciples supposed to be experiencing during the time Christ was crucified until he rose again 3 days later?

Matthew 28:20 says “And remember…I am with you always, until the end of age”   The Lord says in Galatians  6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”  

That’s the voice of God, don’t give up, don’t quit.  That’s the voice the disciples heard… keep the faith, believe in me, I will not leave your side
We not only need to hear the voice of God in the in-between times,  we need to hear his voice in the midst of trouble, the midst of illness, the midst of loss and sorrow, the midst of loneliness and despair. 

On this morning… so many years ago, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb in despair. If we read John’s account starting in John 20:1:

 “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,    Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” (Notice, she didn’t yet believe Jesus had risen from the dead. She thought His body had been taken. Then John and Peter ran to the tomb and looked inside. They were confused, as well.) 
Then skip to the text at John 20:10:

“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but 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.’
“At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus. ‘Woman,’ He said, ‘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.”

That’s love. Maybe Mary weighed 110 pounds. Let’s assume Jesus weighed 165, and John tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph had wrapped His body in 75 additional pounds of aloe and spices. So this little woman was going to lift this 250 pound corpse over her shoulder and carry it back inside the tomb. That’s love. Her hope was shattered, and her faith was absent, but the love was still there. Remember, among faith, hope and love, that the greatest of these is love.
Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’  ‘Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them,          “I am returning to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.”‘
​
At that point, Jesus couldn’t conceal Himself any longer. He simply spoke her name Rabboni, which is Hebrew for teacher, and she fell at His feet. She was looking for Jesus, and she had found Him.
“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ She told them He had said these things to her.”

The good news of Easter is that because Jesus came back from death, we also will live after death. Mary Magdalene was an eye witnesses of the resurrection. She was the last one at the cross and the first one at the tomb.
 
It was that in-between time that was so powerful and it is the root of the lesson.  Had Jesus been killed and then came back to life immediately, it would have been a miracle, like walking on water or changing water into wine, etc. But it would not have the enormous impact that we learn from his crucifixion and resurrection.

We have all misplaced things… whether it be car keys, mail, a favorite sweater etc. 
But have you ever lost something so precious to you and can’t find it where ever you look- whether it be a piece of jewelry,  a cherished card or letter, a favorite momento… or something of great importance and value  like a much needed document,  an uncashed check, someone’s contact information… 
You can’t focus on anything until you find that precious and needed item.  You become anxious, unsettled…empty… incomplete.            

That’s the in-between time from the Last Supper until the resurrection of Jesus.
All of us live with challenges, fears, anxiety, despair… the difference is that if you believe in God, if you have faith in our Lord, he will never leave your side.  Jesus will give us peace in the midst of turmoil.

John 14:27   “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”   Peace in your heart and in your soul.
The beauty of the resurrection is that you can come home. Jesus died for our sins that we may come home to be with him again, always. The resurrection means your sins are wiped away, God loves you and forgives whatever you have done.

1 John 1:9  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness “
Matthew 26:28   “This is the blood of my covenant which is poured out for many the forgiveness of sins”.   

The resurrection of Christ means Jesus died for your sins,                    
you are forgiven, your life has meaning and purpose.                                
God will be by your side to guide you and give you direction.          
Listen to those in-between moments and hear the Lord.                      '
The voice of God is saying…      You are loved, you are valued,              
you are important and cherished.                                                                   
 I have a plan for you.                                                                                  
There is a purpose and a reason for you being here.                       
 Expect to hear God’s voice, read the Bible and listen to his word. 
Surround yourself with those who share the same values and faith.  
Jesus is the resurrection and the light… believe in him and all things are possible.

Christ Our Lord Is Risen Today Indeed…. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!  Amen
​

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
​Church of the Annunciation Oradell
April 2, 2021
Good Friday
Psalm 22
Gospel - John 18:1-19:42
 
May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

Tonight we continue the service begun last night, that will end on Sunday.  It is the Paschal Triduum, and as I mentioned last night at the beginning of the service, to make that much more clear to everyone, there is only one bulletin for all three-parts.  You will also notice that there was no dismissal at the end of the service last night, nor will there be one tonight, for the service completes only on Easter and not before.

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
April 1, 2021
Maundy Thursday
Hebrew - Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
Christian - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel - John 13:1-17, 31b-35

May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

Tonight we enter into the most holy and sacred time of our lives as followers of Jesus, because tonight we enter into the three part service known as the Paschal Triduum – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.  There is only one bulletin for all three parts to make this point very clear.  Tonight is the beginning of the end of that long journey with Jesus to his arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and the empty tomb.  And we begin with betrayal and denial, though you might not know it from the gospel verses we read tonight.

It seems a priest, a pastor and a rabbi walk into a bar to share a drink and talk shop. Someone makes the comment that preaching to people isn’t really all that hard. After a few rounds, one thing leads to another and they decide to do an experiment. They will all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.  Easy enough for me, living in Sussex County, but thankfully, I was not a part of this merry band of clergy.

Anyway, the next day back in the bar, they share their stories. Father John is bandaged head to toe and on crutches. He reports, “When I found my bear, I read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear just started slapping me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him, and Blessed Holy Mother, he became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is going out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.”

Reverend Billy spoke next from his wheelchair, an arm and both legs in casts. In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory he claimed, “Well brothers, you know we don’t sprinkle anything. But I found me a barr and read to him from God’s Holy Word! But that barr wanted nothing to do with me. So I took hold of him and we began to wrassle. We wrassled up one hill and down another until we came to a crick. So I quick dunked him and baptized his hairy soul! And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus and I signed him up for New Members class.”

They both looked down at Rabbi Goldstein who was in pretty bad shape — an IV drip, full body cast and lying in a hospital bed. The rabbi sighed in pain and reflected, “Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.”

Hmmm...might be right about that Rabbi.  And, I am not really sure it was the best way to enter into covenant for a whole lot of reasons, but nevertheless, here we are.  I suppose this is one time when the sexism in the bible isn’t necessarily a bad thing – you can leave women out of this one, thank you very much.  And it really isn’t the sign of the covenant that is important.  It is the promise – the covenant – that God chooses to enter into with humanity that is central to the story, so it would seem the lectionary editors were right.

So, we have the first covenant – God with all creation after the flood.  The second covenant – God with the descendants of Abraham, Sarah, and later Hagar.  And next week, we will hear about God entering into a covenant with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.  Why would we start Lent with these stories, and what have they to do with what we hear Jesus telling us in the Gospel lesson today about what it means to be his disciple?
Well, for one - covenants change things.  For Abram and Sarai it begins a journey that changes who they are, right down to their names.  Covenants change the parties involved.  Relationships, covenants, are life changers – well, they are…if we really abide by them.

If there is one thing we humans are good at it is finding the loophole in the contract, the escape clause, or the vague wording that lets us shrug our shoulders and say “well, I don’t think I agreed to that.” If you have any doubt, just listen to those fast legal disclaimers at the end of commercials these days.  So, we aren’t always good at keeping our word, so why are we reading about them to start off our Lenten journey?

They remind us that we are supposed to be covenant people.  That throughout our history, God has chosen to enter into relationship, a covenant, with us.  These are reminders that we need to stop and take a good hard look at our identity, at the way our relationship with God is lived out in our lives.  This is what we do in Lent.
The author of this passage of Genesis certainly wanted to drive home the idea of covenant – God says it four times in this one little passage.  And we need to pay attention, because being in covenant is all about being in relationship, and being in relationship is not a selfish act.  It can’t be. 

Lenten disciplines make claims about our identity – of who we are – people of the covenant – people in relationship with God.  It isn’t about giving up chocolate or red wine, but about giving up our denial of who we are, giving up our focus on our own priorities and giving ourselves over to who we really were born to be. That is the denial – that is the cross we pick up – the cross of identity.  And that is what Jesus was calling us to in the gospel.

Jesus tells his disciples "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  And perhaps the most important word in that sentence is “deny.”  The Greek word used here is ἀπαρνέομαι - meaning to deny, disown, or disregard, and it is found in only one other context in the New Testament.  It is when Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times. 

The denial Jesus is talking about isn’t abandoning our current occupations, or leaving our homes, or our families to go off into some convent or monastery – not that there is anything wrong with a monastic life, it just isn’t everyone’s call.  The denial is to go far deeper than that, because Jesus is calling us to stop denying him – to remember our covenant – our relationship with the incarnate God.

See – that’s it...it isn’t about denying, but stopping the denial that is already a part of in our lives.  Remember, the denial of Peter was not an act of abandoning his home, but it was a denial of the incarnate God.  Peter denied his relationship with Jesus, and in that act, he denied his relationship with God. Jesus is asking us to stop denying who we are - people of the covenant.  To stop our denial of our relationship with God. 

Lent is a covenant thing.

It is about returning to relationship with God – the one who willingly calls us into covenant.  And this covenant with God is not just with our individual selves, but with everyone.  It is a communal thing, in as much as God’s relationship is not with us alone, but with all of humanity.  Not just the ones that look, or think, or act, or vote, or speak, or love like us – but everyone, everywhere! 

Lent is a communal thing too.  

That’s the denial Jesus calls us to do – deny our belief that we can walk this earthly journey alone, without one another, and without God.  When we do that, it is a downright denial of who we are, and who God created us to be, and if we can’t get that right, the life journey isn’t going to be easy.

In this season of Lent, we, as covenant people, need to stop and take a good hard look at our identity, at the way our relationship with God is lived out in our lives.  And when we do, we will realize that we need each other.  We can’t huddle around our own little fire, claiming to be Christian, but staying on our own – our faith is a communal experience.  Jesus knew that – which is why he called followers to walk with him. 

That is why coming together in places of worship, even when it is only online, is so important.  Now I know, it isn’t the same.  We have lost so much here in this time of pandemic, and sometimes it is hard to get on yet another Zoom meeting, or participate in something else on Facebook Live.  Yet I can tell you that when I see all of you here.  Being in community with all of you, and seeing the way you are in community with one another, it feeds my very soul.  I experience God’s covenant, God’s blessing, here in this community with all of you, and I expect that many of you feel similarly.

So, as we move through this Lent, let us hear the call of Jesus to deny the life of the individual, and to pick up the cross of community – the cross of the covenant.  This might as simple as making it to church services, even when it would much easier to just sit on the couch reading the Sunday paper.  It could be calling someone who is isolated in this time of pandemic.  Or it might be spending time dwelling in the word in an online group bible study.  This doesn’t change the need for personal devotion in prayer and scripture, but just shifts the focus from the individual to the community.  In whatever way you engage in this covenant relationship this Lent, you begin to pick up the cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem.

The cross Jesus calls us to bear is to commit to being in relationship with humanity and with our God. 

So, this Lent - deny yourself.

Pick up the cross.

And enter into relationship with God through relationship with humanity. 

It certainly beats giving up chocolate, and is far more rewarding for you, and for everyone around you.

Amen.

​The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
February 21, 2021
First Sunday of Lent
1st Reading - Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-9 
2nd Reading -  1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel - Mark 1:9-15

May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

You gotta love some of the church signs & Facebook memes these days...  “If you are praying for snow...please stop!” or “I’m giving up winter for Lent – who’s with me?” I don’t know about you, but about now, I am done with winter!  All this ice, snow, sleet, shoveling... done I tell ya.  I suspect our poor sisters and brothers in the south, particularly Texas, are saying the same thing, and we pray for them especially at this time. ​Still, I find it rather humorous that in the midst of all this crazy winter weather we begin Lent with another weather nightmare – the great flood...or at least, the aftermath of it.

​The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
January 24, 2021
Third Sunday After The Epiphany - Year B
First Reading - Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:6-14
Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel - Mark 1:14-20
 
May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard.  Amen.
Around about this time of year, we look back on those New Year resolutions...all the things we set out to do, and wonder........what the heck was I thinking?  I’m gonna only eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies and exercise every day. Riiiiigggghhhttt!  Hopefully we can accomplish some of our goals, keep light hearted about all the rest, and try again next year.

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Church of the Annunciation Oradell
January 17, 2021
Second Sunday After the Epiphany
1st Reading - 1 Samuel 3:1-20
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 
2nd Reading -  1 Corinthians 6:12-20 
Gospel - John 1:43-51

May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard.  Amen.

Well, good morning everyone!  Today marks the beginning of our journey together as priest and parish, and I anticipate that it will not be without its twists and turns, but the best journeys have them, right?  None of us know for certain the future of things, but that’s what makes the journey worthwhile...not really knowing what will happen.