Easter 2008 Christ is Risen
I used to spend quite a bit of time
trying to come up with just the right sermon title for Easter Sunday
I wanted to be creative and clever or maybe sophisticated or philosophical
just something .. to get your attention somehow.

.(.its not like you have never heard this Easter thing before)
but I don’t do the fancy sermon titles anymore.....
All I have to say is this : Christ is Risen!
and honestly even though I do love the whole Easter crowd experience
if I had my way
..instead of doing this whole preaching thing to a large group at once
or whole congregation
I would like to do this ..as a pastor....in more pastoral kind of way
I would like to get personal..

Maybe more like that first Easter morning was... almost 2000 years ago
this didn’t start off with a crowd ..there was no preacher with a congregation at the first Easter
in the Bible it started off with one or two people
John’s Easter gospel says it was just Mary Magdalene at first
and she thinks she is talking to the gardener..
And then the Easter recognition moment happens
when Jesus says to her "Mary"
Jesus said her name .
Hear that?.. .the Risen Christ. Got personal.. ..by name
Or here in Matthew
this morning
its just a couple a of women who get the news at the tomb.
.and then later
they are supposed to tell the disciples
but Jesus appears to just the two of them
,but it starts off small and personal....
One or two or three people at a time
if I could this morning
I would do Easter like that..
I would go around to each one of you....
one at a time ....face to face
and we would look each other in the eyes
for a moment of silence
we wouldn’t go too fast
take our time and
..maybe we could hold hands
and look at each other.
And maybe I would know something about the ups and downs in your life.
The hard times and the pain...your hopes and your dreams,
.it would be kind of a prayer time
...a personal liturgy
looking at each other

and I would say your name like this
I would say Charles. Or Beth.. (Or Sandy or Jean)

"Christ is risen... "and then after a little bit
you would say my name too
Rory ..."Christ is risen"
..Christ is risen. Indeed
I wish I could do that.
It suppose it would take all morning
But I want you to have that moment... to hear that word personally..
Christ is risen.
But
I cant do it that way..
we don’t have all morning..
so will you help me?
can we do that with each other
kind of a liturgy
I know you already did an Easter greeting this morning..
but this one is a little different
Don’t leave anybody out
you can say this to more than one person
Turn to somebody around you ...and say there name..
It can be family or it can be somebody you don’t know..
If you don’t know who they are
.ask them...
say there name
look them in the eye ..if you want to hold their hand that’s fine..
If you know anything about their life..
then think about that ,, for a moment..see the perosn in front of you,
what are they going through
what’s going on in their life
But look them in the eyes
and say that word of hope and presence
that word of healing and light
that world of life
the word of rising..
Christ is Risen
.and then wait until they say it back to you.
Christ is Risen
.don’t rush now
but let s do it.
I know we are in Minnesota and we are Methodists
and you want to be anonymous.
I know ...we don’t normally get that personal in worship
.and its disorganized and noisy
but hey
its Easter.. And we’ve got to say it.
This is sacred conversation
Go and do this now..
..................................
All done..?
I suppose we could just sing the Hallelujah chorus and go home now?.


But let me say a little more to all of us together
what did we just do?
what is the power of that of Easter message
what did you here?
Why do we come here at all.
What were you looking for?
Why does this touch us..?
Why is the church and Christianity even here?


How about this:---- in some deep way
we know...that this is just so true.
You cant get at it .rationally or scientifically.
.but it has
truth..
you know there is some spiritual power in that message
I think you’re here
because you really want to believe it somehow
it calls you
and you want it to get inside of you
and you want it to change you
you need this message of life and hope.
somehow you want it ...to raise you up.....

And that’s right
it’s the right desire....so pay attention to it.
Some of the great spiritual leaders of the church
called it the deepest desire.
.the holy hunger inside of you..
And Easter ...can take you to that spiritual life force.
If you look at how the early Church understood the resurrection
.they saw it as a renewing..and world changing power.
It was not just an idea or a creed
It was a spiritual reality
.Divine power. Life in Christ..the redemptive power..salvation was at work..
it is something
that still goes to work in us
the work in Christ.
it is the overturing of sin and death.
.in all its forms.
it changes us..
somehow
it raises us up also

Christ is also risen in us..

st Paul says in Colosians 3
that we too
are raised with him now.. to a new kind of life
This is not just a Holiday
or just a doctrine ..for the afterlife
but it is the redeemed life.. ..working in us..now....for this life..
..
it is the heavenly power to live
in a new way.
.it is a sprit of Christ..that is still alive
(are you with me?)
it is something to live by..
Easter is our way of Living in Jesus Christ.
* A heard a story about a teenager named Marcia
when she was young Marcia loved to dance.
So When Marcia was sixteen
her parents gave her dance lessons at the Martha Graham Dance Studio
in New York City.
Now this was a big thing..
If you don’t know who Martha Graham, was
she was a creative pioneer
maybe you could call her the Picasso of the dance world
she introduced a whole new style of contemporary dance
Anyway
Marcia’s parents signed her up for lessons
three nights a week.
One night
when Marcia going was going to her class,
she opened up the door,
but it was the wrong door,
so when she looked in
she could see these very professional dancers
they were dancing at a very high level of mastery.
She realized,
this was Martha Graham's personal company.
This was the top class and the inner circle of it all.
It was wonderful.
Her heart was pounding just to see this and be that close
so She decided to stay
just inside the door
and watch.
Two nights later when she went to her class,
she said to herself,
"I wonder?"
She opened up the same wrong door and she found that same company in there dancing again.
This time she snuck into the back of the room
just to watch.

But As they went through their dance routines,
she started to move with them
as they were practicing.
Week after week,
that is what she did,
she didn’t tell anybody
She cut off her leotard at the ankle
just like they did;
for weeks in a row
she danced at the back of the room
no one said anything to her

But one night
while they were in the middle of rehearsal
the door to the middle of the room opened
and in walked Martha Graham herself.
She was dressed in purple except for some long white gloves

She looked at the dancers and said,
"Group in threes and move across the floor.
Show me your exercises."

Marcia just stared at Martha Graham. This was like seeing the Wizard of Oz.
And the next moment
all of a sudden she realized
that every dancer was now on the other side of the room,
and she was all alone
and visible.
Martha Graham looked at her,
and of course
Martha Graham knew she did not have a sixteen year old in her company.
But she
said to her,
"Move across the floor.
Do the exercises."
Marcia thought to herself,
"I have two choices.
I can say,
‘I can't do this
I'm a fraud.
I’m just a kid;
can't you tell I'm just a kid?
I can't do this;
I'm sorry;
I've lied by being in here;
I'll apologize;
I'll get my parents to reimburse anything;
but I can't,
I'm a fake. I'm out of here.’"
Or,
she thought to herself,
I could reach deep down inside of me,
and with everything I am,
I could live this moment.
I could just dance.
I could just become dance."

She decided to dance
She said that to this day
she still does not
remember crossing that room.
But the experience
was like
being ...a beam of
light.
Everything in her
was living her life
at that moment
-- the melody was carrying her, the love was carrying her.
She trusted the power and the movement of the dance
She got to the other side of the room,
and she remembered again
how afraid she was.
The dancers were positioned there
like dancers stand,
one hand on a hip,
so she got behind another dancer
she was wondering what was going to happen next.

And what she saw
was the finger of Martha Graham
beckoning her to come
to her.
This young woman stood before Martha Graham.
Years later
she remembered what Martha Graham said.
Martha Graham looked her right in the eye
and she said,
'Young woman.
There is no reason to live any moment of your
life
other than the way
you just crossed that floor."

Well ...that is also the story of our faith..
That is also the invitation of the resurrection
God is calling us to live this moment...
with everything we are.
We have been taken into a new dance company
so to speak..a new community..a new school ..a new Way...this Jesus Way

so now
Le the dance of resurrection fill you
go ahead and trust the Gospel of life
and move across the floor


Yes I know
can stay in the corner
locked in our fear
or we can live life
in hope,
carried
by love.
We can believe what we hear


Our Scripture said this morning that
the women ran from the tomb
with fear and great joy.

Filled with fear and with joy.
That is how life is,
isn’t it?
And there is plenty of things that would keep us afraid
I Don’t KNOW WHAT KEEPS you or a church
hiding AGAINST THE WALL....
.instead of moving out across the dance floor
it might be the cancer or some illness
maybe the economy
or the war ..or the news.
or the mortgage ..
or the school situation.
.
or the trouble at home.
.I don’t know
tombs come in a lot of ways..
Fear is always around..
But Resurrection happens.
In the Scripture this morning the angel says to the women,
"He is going before you to Galilee,... there you will see him."
Its as if
the angels
are saying to those women and to the disciples..
and to us..
go and move across the floor.
The invitation..
the call..the beckoning... is given
but You Make the decision .
.you can say
I don’t really belong here..
This is not for me.
I don’t deserve it..
and I cant trust this..
Or
you
take that leap of faith.
Again and again
.you can want it..and try it..
you can believe this ..
maybe that too
is a mixture of both fear and joy!
It sounds too good to be true..
.but .go back on the road..
..the scripture is saying
.go out there
and he will be there..
the gospel says
He will be there
and he will meet you
trust it

in verse 10
Jesus says it so clearly
Do not be afraid
maybe that is the mysterious power that pulls us here..
every year
and every Sunday
..the Easter Gospel
do not be afraid
do not be afraid of death
do not be afraid of the enemy
do not be afraid of your failure
do not be afraid of your shame
do not be afraid of your weakness
do not be afraid of the future..
do not be afraid..
of Gods love. and the vision of True Life.
move out of the fear.
.and move
more and more..into the joy of the dance
(Remember last week the choir sang.. Lord of the dance..)
And the dance goes on..
Christ is Risen
the impossible is happening
that means that you ..and
this church
can dream
and you can change
you can be more courageous
you can be more forgiving and joyful
you can be more graceful
you can be more generous.
you can be more prayerful and faithful.
.we can be peacemakers
and we can be people of the Risen Christ.
We can be the church
we can dance this life of incredible Love
ok
I know ..like Marcia in the back of the dance room
maybe you need to watch for awhile..
Learn a few moves..
Try it out. Imitate it ..
and be around out
..just be amazed to see what it can do..
But eventually.
.maybe right now..in some way
you can let it actually move you
..move us..carry us... inspire us
And there is absolutely no reason for you personally
..and for this congregation
to Not move ...faithfully....and joyfully
across the dance floor..of life
Jesus said do not be afraid.

Christ is risen...say it now..
Maybe this is the fist dance step..
Say Christ is Risen again..but this time..
say out loud to yourself
say it with your name...in the sentence..say it to your self..
as if God is saying it to you..
Rory
Christ is risen
Say it out loud.. All together with your own name it

....that was your invitation to dance

* The source for Martha Graham dance story is Martie McMane, senior pastor at First UCC in Boulder Colorado ..from one of her sermons printed on their website.www.firstcong.net. She says it was told to her by a friend. . I have adapted it.