Easter Day + The Risen Lord is on the Move + 4.5.15

-
(http://katenixon.theworldrace.org/?filename=aslan-is-on-the-move)
M. Campbell-Langdell+
All Santos, Oxnard
(Acts 10:34–43; Ps. 118:1–2, 14–24; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Mark 16:1–8)

Very slowly, very softly, let us creep to the tomb with the women who gather—Here we walk, with Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome. Can you smell the sweet and pungent spices in the cool of the dark morning? It is not yet dawn. Their hearts are tight with grief but they know what to do—some women always know what to do somehow, because they are strong and resourceful, even in fear. So, here they come. So brave. So afraid. Stumbling forward.
And behold! In the darkness, we see a light. Instead of solid stone, an open tomb. Which would be a darkness, a gaping sore in the earth, but no, not this one. An angel is there. Sitting as if he was any young guy anywhere, a farmer on the side of the road chewing a piece of straw, a teenager with pants sagging sittin’ on a stoop, just hanging out. Here’s the angel. Here he is. And he says what is obvious. What is not at all obvious.
Christ is Risen!
Last night, we heard “This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell.”
And this morning, the stone is rolled away. And we are free once more. Death and hell no longer have dominion over us. Our grief-stricken hearts are struck dumb by this, as were those of those women who came first to the tomb. What, say you? What can that strange angelic dude mean?
But we know that something special is happening. We can feel it in our bones. Because notice, the resurrected Lord isn’t here! He is on the move.
C. S. Lewis got at this feeling a bit, in the book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, when he described the children hearing that Aslan the Lion was on the move. Aslan is the rightful King of Narnia in the books, and yes, he is an otherworldly Lion, comforting, but scary. A bit like Jesus Christ.
And the section I have in mind says:
“They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps has already landed.”
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning—either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in his inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realise that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.[1]
Can you feel it? That strange excitement. The warming in the heart? The rising of the Spirit deep within? Welling up, like this just might be it! This just might be the answer I never hoped to hope for? Can I let the heart unfurl like a flower into this wonder? I am not quite sure, and yet…. This, or something like it, is what the women might be feeling, what we each might be feeling now. We don’t fully know the resurrected Christ yet, in fact, here, we haven’t met him yet, we will next week. But we know something special is afoot.
So… what do you think? Will you run with the women to Peter? Or perhaps you’re Peter, waiting in the distance, wondering if this is really for you? It is interesting to see that the very first action of the Resurrected Lord is to show forgiveness. Deny me thrice? I love you still. Jesus says to Peter, in a manner. Oh, that love! So constant, so true.
So… do we believe in vain?
Or are we going to spread the good news?
Because the Resurrected Lord is on the move.
Next week, we will see him. But for now, we look for him, a bit stunned, a lot excited. We must be quick.
Because…
He is on the move.
Is he to be found in friend or brother? Sister?  Comadre? Godparent? Grandchild?
The stone has been rolled away.
The gates of hell and now heaven have been thrown open.
And Christ has burst his three-day prison.
Are you arisen too, with the Lord?
What will roll away the stone from your heart?
Help you to understand all this wonder for yourself?
Will baptisms? Or children’s joy?
Will old hymns or a friend’s smile?
But keep awake!
Because the risen Christ is on the move.
And his Spirit is at work in the world,
And he is true to his Word.



[1] C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, (New York: Collier Books, 1972), 64-65.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faith or Fear? Advent 1C

-
Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard Year C + Advent 1 (Jeremiah 33:14–16; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36) So… what are you going to do when you stand before the man with the holes in his hands? Now that may seem like a strange question to ask this first Sunday in December.  Surely, Pastor Melissa, we’re gearing up for jollity, not getting ready to meet our maker? But in a sense we are, always, all the time, waiting for Jesus, and I think that’s what Advent is really all about.  Reminding us that we are always waiting not just for the Christ Child to come and be born in our midst, but that we are also waiting for that awesome, if slightly scary Second Coming of Christ. And it is true that this passage talks about distress and the roaring of the waves.  And many looked at the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, that iconic image of the ocean-side theme park, including a Ferris Wheel, in the waves, and many said, this is something w...
Read more

Proper 20 (B) + A community of power + 9.23.18

-
Image
M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Proverbs 31:10–31; Ps. 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8ª; St. Mark 9:30–37) Take a moment and think of the most powerful positive woman figure you know – in your life or in your favorite movie, show or book. Who is the woman who has most inspired you? Keep that image of that woman in mind as we look at this passage from Proverbs Chapter 31. Now here we see the verse “A capable wife who can find?” And all the feminists amongst us will be relieved to hear that a better translation from the Hebrew would be: “a woman of power” instead of a “capable wife.” [1] That changes things, doesn’t it? Then when we hear about this ideal ancient Hebrew woman’s exploits – her buying of lands, her trading prowess, her physical strength, even her domestic abilities such as weaving, and perhaps especially her kindness to the poor, we see strength and power in all of these. Of course, looking at this passage, this is not one woman but a concept of the most...
Read more

Proper21BAcceptingourownwounds29sept24

-
  Accepting our own and other’s wounds Mark 9: 38-50   St Michael’s, Isla Vista / All Saints Oxnard The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell; MCL additions   May I just start this morning by acknowledging that our Gospel reading is complex.   The images are startling (horrifying?) and the metaphors come almost too quickly to catch.   What is clear is that something serious is going on between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus is using every means possible, including some pretty harsh language, to try to course correct.   To even begin to understand this passage, we need to back up to last week’s reading from Mark.   In that reading, the disciples are arguing with each other about who is the greatest and best disciple.   In response, Jesus gets a little kid, some commentators say “toddler,” and holds this child in his arms during the rest of the conversation.    The other part of the scene to keep in mind is that Jesus has just told...
Read more