Easter B + Hallelujah Anyhow! + 4.4.21

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Saints, Oxnard

(Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8)

 

Hallelujah Anyhow! This is a theme in Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Easter Message to the church and I feel it is so relevant this Easter. In his message, he mentions Bishop Barbara Harris, who died last March and whose theme was “Hallelujah Anyhow!” Even when we don’t see the Promised Land yet, we believe it is over the horizon.

Presiding Bishop Curry mentions that when he gets to heaven, he wants to meet Mary Magdalene! He wants to ask her about what gave her the strength to get up that Easter morning when it was just getting light out and go to the tomb. And what a good question. Because the anointing of Jesus was indeed a traditional Jewish burial custom practiced largely by women. But she knew there was a stone there. A stone too big to move. How was she going to do it? And why even get up? I mean, Jesus was dead, wasn’t he? What gave Mary the strength to go to that tomb? What made her think she could move the stone? But love can do what we can’t imagine possible.[1] Because miraculously, the stone was moved. Miraculously, Jesus wasn’t dead, but risen! Alleluia!

What is always interesting to note in the gospel of Mark is that the resurrection story ends here. Jesus is not seen yet (although addendums show him being seen). We must believe without seeing.
That is so counter-cultural. How many times do even the best among us say “I will believe it when I see it.” And for human things, I get it. We have been fooled too many times. Let us see the goodness of something proven before we get invested. But on the other hand, God invites us into something different. Believing without seeing.

And yet, there is so much pain in this world. And yet, on the 53^rd anniversary of the assassination of The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, let us believe that God is bending that arc towards justice even though too many of our siblings of color live in fear. Let us do whatever we can to support that arc by our words and actions. And on this anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic, when we cannot yet enjoy the rich feast mentioned in Isaiah all together, let us believe in the time when we will all be together, even as we relish whatever taste of that feast we get to have today. Our faith is a faith of already and not yet. Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome heard that Jesus had risen, but they were afraid. They had not yet seen him, and I can only imagine how hard this news was to take in. They had not yet seen him as Paul mentions the believers seeing him in our reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. We know that in coming into this world, Jesus made the Kingdom known among us. And yet we who wait for his second coming know that we still live in a fallen world. A world of sin. A world still wracked by injustice, in which too many live in fear. Too many are hungry and uncertain about their lives. We are not there yet.
And yet, this Easter, Hallelujah Anyhow! We get to gather together, at least a representative crew, and we get to worship with those who are online. We get to break bread together, and listen to the scriptures. Hallelujah Anyhow, Jesus is with us!
I loved the words of a commentator speaking about the scriptures for this week. Jennifer Kaaland acknowledged the ways in which we are still inside the tomb this Easter, saying: “That which is dead shall live again. As the stone is rolled away, our eyes must adjust to the brightness. Let us emerge from the shadows of death renewed in our faith.”[2]

Doesn’t it feel like that? Many are being vaccinated and there is a light at the end of a long tunnel. But some are still waiting to be vaccinated or still unsure how safe it will be to resume what once were everyday tasks when they are vaccinated. Or they are suffering financially. Reports this week are hopeful on the vaccine front, saying that those who have been vaccinated are not only protected but should be unable to spread the disease to others. And yet if we have learned anything this year, it is to be careful. We must keep wearing the masks until we know it is safe. And yet friends, the stone is being rolled away. We are entering a new time. Not just liturgically but in our world. Let us be patient as our eyes adjust to the new light. Patient with ourselves when we are unsure as to how to proceed. Patient with others who may seem to give contradictory information as we continue to learn more every day about how to move forward (just as we did at the beginning of the pandemic, but what a joyful difference in most regards)! But let us not be overly afraid. He who saved us walks with us still in Spirit, even though we do not see him. Jesus, give us wisdom to move forward in this moment. To be wise and appropriately careful but with bold trust in you, knowing that you guide our steps. Knowing that you love us and call us to new life. This Easter, and always, Hallelujah Anyhow!
Amen.

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[1] Michael Curry, “Easter Message” March 31, 2021, https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2021/03/31/presiding-bishop-michael-currys-2021-easter-message/.

[2] Jennifer Kaalund, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11”, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/resurrection-of-our-lord-2/commentary-on-1-corinthians-151-11-7.