we would see jesus

i wrote this for gbgm…found it in my inbox and though i would share it here too!

Easter Sunday: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-18

We would see Jesus; lo! His star is shining
Above the stable while the angels sing;
There in a manger on the hay reclining;
Haste; let us lay our gifts before the king.

It seems odd to open an Easter Sunday reading with a hymn about Jesus’ birth. But as I read this week’s lectionary, I cannot get this song out of my head. The theme of sight in the gospel text is unavoidable. Mary sees the stone rolled away; Peter sees the linen cloths lying on the ground inside the tomb; the unnamed disciple sees and believes. As they see, the pieces slowly come together, the meaning in the story unfolds before them, and belief in the resurrected Christ begins to form.

We would see Jesus, Mary’s son most holy,
Light of the village life from day to day;
Shining revealed through every task most lowly,
The Christ of God, the life, the truth, the way.

The seeds of understanding that began to bloom in the hearts and minds of the disciples on that first Easter Sunday were planted throughout Jesus’ ministry. The resurrection is the final piece of the puzzle they have been putting together since the day Jesus said, “Follow me!” Soon, they will learn what they are to do with their newfound picture of human and heavenly reality. As Peter instructs, “We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem…He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God.”

We would see Jesus, on the mountain teaching,
With all the listening people gathered round;
While birds and flowers and sky above are preaching
The blessedness which simple trust has found.

This Easter Sunday, we too are called to see the resurrection, to understand its message, and to share it with others. We too are witnesses to the Easter story. We have studied the words and actions of Jesus throughout the Lenten season. We are familiar with the stories of his ministry – the parables and teaching he shared with the disciples, the miracles he performed throughout the region, and his consistent consideration for the outcasts of society. We are called to follow the example of Christ that we have “seen” through Lent. In order to do this, we must translate the example given to us in scripture into practical reality.

We would see Jesus, in his work of healing,
At eventide before the sun was set;
Divine and human, in his deep revealing
Of God made flesh, in loving service met.

“We would see Jesus.” How do we see and experience Jesus in our contemporary context? Paul, in his letter to the believers in Colossus, writes, “You must look for the things that are above, where Christ is…when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you, too, will be revealed with him in new glory.” When our thoughts are fixed on encountering God, we will see Jesus all around us. His form or likeness may surprise us – we may see him in the sunset, or read of him in a book. We may encounter him begging on the street corner or teaching a child how to read. We may see Jesus in ten thousand places – but first, we must give ourselves to the search. We must look for him in our everyday surroundings; we must open our eyes to see. Only then will the truth of the resurrection shine brightly before our eyes – as we see and share the work that Jesus has done and is doing in the world.

We would see Jesus in the early morning,
Still as of old he calleth, “Follow me!”
Let us arise, all meaner service scorning;
Lord we are thine, we give ourselves to thee.

alleluias return

I got an email from my mom this morning – “Hey kid – did you know that Jesus came back to life this morning? That means anything is possible!” And I thought of the words read at Easter vigil:For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

I am reminded this Easter to return to hope. Anything is possible. Amidst all the confusion of life – the loneliness, the insecurities both real and imagined, the questioning and self-doubt, the anticipation of things to come, the waiting…the never-ending waiting – in all of this I can cling to the hope of a resurrection like his.

We pause in darkness. We wander in the desert. We sit in silence and questioning – and then, just when everything has gotten worse and all our hopes for change and security are gone, the flowers burst into bloom and the alleluias return. Anything is possible.

O sons and daughters, let us sing!
The King of heaven, the glorious King,
o’er death and hell rose triumphing.
On this most holy day of days,
To God your hearts and voices raise,
in laud and jubilee and praise.
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia!

Psalm 69

Save me, O God, for the waters have risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no firm ground for my feet.
I have come into deep waters, and the torrent rushes over me.
I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. Must I then give back what I never stole?

O God, you know my foolishness, and my faults are not hidden from you.
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.

As for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O Lord:
“In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help.
Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.
Let not the torrent of waters wash over m,e neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
Answer me, O Lord, for you love is kind; in your great compassion, turn to me.”

For the Lord listens to the needy, and his prisoners he does not despise.

until we become a refuge for many.

Each one of us has the Seed of Christ within him. In each of us the amazing and dangerous Seed of Christ is present. It is only a Seed. It is very small, like a grain of mustard seed. The Christ that is formed in us is small indeed, but he is great with eternity. But if we dare to take this awakened Seed of Christ into the midst of the world’s suffering, it will grow…Take a young man or a young woman in whom Christ is only dimly formed, but one in whom the Seed of Christ is alive. Put him into a distressed area, into a refugee camp, into a poverty region. Let him go into the world’s suffering, bearing this Seed with him, and in suffering it will grow, and Christ will be more and more fully formed in him. As the grain of mustard seed grew so large that birds found shelter in it, so the man who bears and awakened Seed into the world’s suffering will grow until he becomes a refuge for many.

- Archbishop Thomas Kelly