The Good News!

Welcome! I am the Rev. Ken Saunders. I serve as the rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville, Tennessee (since May 2018). These sermons here were delivered in the context of worship at the various places I have served.

[NOTE: Sermons (or Homilies) are commentaries that follow the scripture lessons, and are specifically designed to be heard. They are "written for the ear" and may contain sentence fragments and be difficult to read. They are NOT intended to be academic papers.]

Sunday, April 19, 2009

RCL Year B (Easter 2) - April 19, 2009

The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year B (Easter 2) - April 19, 2009

Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31

We live in a time where it is completely normal and desirable to be absolutely sure of everything. In our culture and our world, it is hard to understand how we can actually believe in something without “proof!” In our time, there are people out there every second of every day trying to gather “proof.” “Proof” through the “facts” that they can find. “Proof” before they believe in ANYTHING.

Some folks act like those Crime Scene Investigators, that we see on the popular television shows, as they gather evidence needed to solve a crime. It seems that they are out there to “prove” or “disprove” the existence of everything. Like forcing the pieces to fit in some gigantic puzzle.

I will admit - when I was in High School, one of my favorite courses was Geometry. This is where I actually got to “prove” things like, a triangle was not a square, because it met a certain criteria. We can “prove” so much with our God-given minds – Why not prove God? Why not prove Jesus? Wouldn’t that make our lives much easier… to know all of the answers to all of the questions??? Or would it??

This notion of “proof” that plagues our culture has even trickled down to a young person I met recently. You have probably met someone like him. A bright sharply dressed young man “on fire” to do the work of the Lord Jesus in the world. Knowing that I was a priest (the outfit made it obvious), he proceeded to come up to me and ask me, “are you saved?” I thought he was just messing with me, but he seemed very serious, and very convicted. So, instead of giving him my usual stupid “sarcastic” reply, “saved from what?” I looked him in the eye with confidence and said, “yes, as a matter of fact, I am...”

Then he his other question came. “How do you know?” “Prove it!” This completely blew me away. This guy didn’t know me at all and he wanted me to “prove” to him that I knew something about salvation and forgiveness. The funny part about this is that I could have engaged him in a riveting theological discussion about the economic trinity and God’s revelation to God’s people by God’s work throughout salvation history. Did he forget that I went to seminary for three years, and I am an educated priest? But I didn’t do all that. I just stood there mesmerized.

I think that the most frustrating thing for me was this young man was completely “certain” that I should somehow be able to “prove it!” I thought to myself, where was the faith in that? Where are the questions? Where is the mystery?

I have been taught through my life that the opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty. That in order to have faith, one must be willing to live with some mystery. Now. I guess that I could have gone out and started a quest to find archeological “proof” of the historic Jesus, like so many folks have before me. And I could have used my inquisitive mind to act like one of those Crime Scene Investigator and search for the facts to somehow prove my faith. But would that actually help me believe?

I would like to suggest that “maybe” in our time, it is harder for us to take things on faith because we are so incredibly good at finding that “tangible” or at least the “scientific” proof for so many things. So much to the point that it is extremely sad that when science offers us something different than what we have believed for centuries. Our beliefs are so based on what we think are facts that they are somehow shattered.

I have heard some people argue that “science says it has proven that humans have evolved from a lower life form. Then you hear the other side, but, I am a Christian, therefore, I can’t believe that – it contradicts what I read in the Bible.”

Galileo Galilei – a devout Christian, and excellent theologian – a man considered to be the father of modern physics had an argument with the Church because he introduced the idea of a Solar system in 1609 – which is a “heliocentric” or “sun-centered” system that the “planets” revolved around.

Then, the Church’s interpretation of the bible supported an Earth centered universe. The Church immediately convicted him of heresy and sentenced him to life in prison in a tower. But now, it has been “proven” and it is readily accepted, and now, we interpret the context of scripture much differently.

I am here to tell you this morning that I don't believe the opposite of belief is doubt. So, if what I believe is based on faith, and the opposite of faith is certainty, where does that put doubt? Just because you believe, doesn’t mean you can’t doubt. I believe that doubt is related to belief and engaged in a type of wrestling back and forth, struggling with the questions of faith.

For me, I think that I would rather spend time with someone who really wrestles with the questions, than someone who says they are a true believer, and thinks that they have all the answers, but their life doesn't reflect the faith they talk about.

Someone who really wrestles with the questions has a lot more in common with the apostles, and a lot more in common with you and with me in our tradition of scripture, tradition, and reason.

Doubt is not a bad thing. Doubt can lead us to faith.

In the Gospel lesson this morning, Thomas didn't get to see the resurrected Jesus at first. He didn't have the faith that the other disciples did after they saw Jesus because Thomas was somewhere else.

Regardless of how much the disciples that were gathered in that upper room testified to Thomas that they had seen the risen Christ. Thomas still had his reservations. He said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I WILL NOT BELIEVE!”

It is important for us to notice in the story that Thomas is engaged in his doubts. He came forth, he asked to be able to see. he wanted to believe!

A week later the risen Jesus appears to them again. This time Thomas is with them! Jesus tells Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe!”

And don't we want to believe like that? Of Course We Do!

Especially on those days when the story of the resurrection seems a bit beyond our grasp. We want to believe, we want to come forth, we want to ask to be able to see the wounds, and we want to invest our lives and our souls in something tangible. We want to be able the make the proclamation that Thomas made, “My Lord and My God!”

Because what happened to Thomas works for us. We are a society that needs that kind of “proof.” Then Jesus throws a twist in Thomas’ new found faith... faith that is based on “tangible” evidence! Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

We have not seen, but yet we believe. We may doubt sometimes, but we are here and we believe!

For centuries, this Sunday (The Second Sunday of Easter) has been called “Low Sunday.” This is done mainly to point out that sharp contrast between this Sunday and all of the “High Holy Day” festivities of Easter. In fact, I think that the folks who go to church on the Sunday after Easter understand this lesson more than anyone else.

You are here because you understand that the resurrection of Jesus and Easter is not just some pleasant springtime tradition to observe with Bunny ears, colored eggs, marshmallow chicks, and candy for the children. You are here because the resurrected Christ has invited you to share a meal, exercise your faith and be nourished and you have come back for this meal again today.

There is the faith!

You're acting out your beliefs. You're acting out your faith that has been handed down through those who have been willing to take action and proclaim the resurrection.

We are all called as Christians to live into our faith. The action of living into our faith strengthens our faith and helps diminish our doubts. Faith is not some obscure mental act. It is not something we have to fabricate in our heads. It is the state of “being” possessed by the love of God. We act on it by telling others, so that they, too, can enter that state of “being” possessed by the love of God.

This is what I believe! Doubt is not a bad thing…

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Do you believe that he rose from the dead? Do you believe in life everlasting?

Let US all be able to proclaim, My Lord and My God! So that we can Gracefully accept our gift of the resurrection of Christ. And we can Gracefully accept our gift of life everlasting with our God. And when we are like the beloved Apostle, St. Thomas, and are filled with doubts, let us ask for God to fill us with the power that we need to profess the faith. So that, while we are strengthening our own faith, we are also passing it on.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

RCL Year B (Easter) - April 12, 2009

The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year B (Easter) - April 12, 2009

Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18

(transcribed from a recording of the Easter sermon - no manuscript / no notes)

Alleluia, Christ is risen!
Congregation: The Lord has risen indeed, Alleluia…
(no, no, no… there’s no energy in that)

ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN!
Congregation: The Lord has risen indeed, Alleluia!

One more time…
ALLELUIA, CHIRST IS RISEN!
Congregation: THE LORD HAS RISEN INDEED, ALLELUIA!

The vestry should have to meet to decided if they should replace the nails in the roof after that! This is something to get excited about! This is why we are Christian! The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty! He has risen like he said it would happen.

We get the story this morning from John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel story is interlaced with all kinds of intricate meaning, but the message is the same, “Christ is risen, he is not here! Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Think about it.

The story opens up with the two disciples running to the tomb, trying to outrun each other. There’s Peter, and the unnamed disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, who is never really named in the scriptures. Who is that disciple? The disciple that Jesus loved… The disciple that outruns Peter on the way to the tomb. You can see them in your head, running together, trying to get there… Who is that disciple? The unnamed disciple… The beloved disciple? I want to suggest for a minute that Heather is that disciple, or Shaun, or Mildred, or Sallie, or Jane, or Laura or Any of us… Any of us in this room is that beloved disciple. That beloved disciple that outruns Peter to the tomb… He gets there first, but is scared. So scared that he just peaks in, to see only the darkness of the tomb. And Peter gets there, and Peter goes in first. And we believe today, because Peter believed, and saw that the tomb was empty. We have the message today, because Peter and the Church passed down that message in the scriptures.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
Congregation: The Lord has risen indeed, Alleluia…
(y’all are taking all the energy out of this…)

ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN!
Congregation: THE LORD HAS RISEN INDEED, ALLELUIA!!!

Put yourself in the story! That’s what we all need to do. We need to take ourselves out of our mundane lives, out of our day to day, 9 to 5, 7 to 3, whatever it is, out of our lives and put ourselves in the story. Live the Gospel message of the resurrection. Be the first one to the tomb that dared to go in. Be the first one to the tomb, beat Peter there, beat Peter there.

We live out this life day to day, week to week, hour to hour, minute to minute, and we can only cope with what’s going on out there in the world… we can only cope with that, because we do what we do in here. This makes that livable.

It is something to be excited about. It is something to share with our friends, our neighbors, and our families. It is something that supercharges us from the inside out. The expressions of the resurrection that we live in our day to day lives, not just on Sunday… not just from 10:30 to 11:30 on Sunday (or 11:45 depending on how long this goes). Not just on Sunday, but day to day in our everyday lives… How do you live out the resurrection in your life? How do you show others the Christ-light that is in you?

Last night we renewed our baptismal vows. That’s why there’s holy water in the font, and that’s why the Christ-light burns before you, and it will burn the whole 50 days of the season of Easter. We kindled a new fire, and lit the paschal candle from the new fire, and heard the Old Testament stories of salvation, as God redeemed God’s people over and over, and over again. We got a foretaste of that story, and coming in here, and renewing our baptismal vows, we attached ourselves to the story… we become part of the story… we become that beloved disciple that is unnamed in the Gospel according to John. That disciple that outruns Peter to the tomb.

But that’s not the end of the story… The story goes on. It says that Mary Magdalene was crying outside of the tomb, after the other disciples left and had gone away. She was crying outside the tomb, because she didn’t know where they had taken Jesus’ body. She was upset and in mourning. She wanted to know where they had taken him.

Jesus appears to her, but she doesn’t know who he is. She doesn’t know who he is until Jesus calls her by name, Mary! And she turns and acknowledges him, Rabbi! We do not know Jesus because we are not looking for him in the right places. We look for him in success of our day to day lives measured by a man’s measuring stick. Some sort of scorecard we call a paycheck. We measure success by what kind of car we drive, or how big our house is. All these ways fail!

The primary way we can see Jesus is by connecting ourselves to the body of Christ, Christian to Christian, looking each other in the eye, and seeing that Christ-light in each other. Seeing the light of Christ that was given to us at baptism, lived out in our resurrection experiences with each other in Christian community.

It’s a communal thing. When we gather together as a community of faith. When we fellowship, when we worship together, when we are ingrained and involved with one another, then we have a chance to experience the risen Christ right here, right in this community.

There is a Christ-light that burns in each and every one of us. Our challenge is do we run away from the tomb? Are we scared to death that someone is going to call us foolish? Or that someone is going to make fun of us – or call us a Jesus freak? Or something silly like that? Or do we live out the resurrection in our lives? Do we show forth the love for our neighbors that Jesus commanded us to have? Do we love God more than anything else than this world could ever show us? God loved us that much! He loved us so much that He became one of us. He became one of us to live a life like we live, yet without sin. He lived the life that we live, day to day, week by week, hour by hour… And when he was here he spoke the truth. But we convicted him unjustly and hung him on a cross to die. But God uses that, and raises Jesus from death, defeating death by resurrection life. Resurrection life is not resuscitated life… It is life after life after death. That is hard to get your head around, but that’s what it is. It is not some bodily resuscitation, but it is resurrection!

The tomb is empty, Jesus has risen! It is our job to go forward from this place and live into that resurrection life, doing the work in the world that God has given us to do!

ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN!
Congregation: THE LORD HAS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

RCL Year B (Easter Vigil) - April 11, 2009

The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year B (Easter Vigil) - April 11, 2009

At the Vigil
Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood]
Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea]
Ezekiel 37:1-14 [The valley of dry bones]

At the Eucharist
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
Mark 16:1-8

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!!!

The Lord Jesus Christ has risen indeed!

The rock has been moved away and the tomb is EMPTY!

As we gather this evening, we celebrate the wonderful and glorious event of Jesus’ resurrection with The Great Vigil of Easter… This is something that the church has done since about the 3rd century. In this time of worship we can focus our hearts, and minds on the saving work that has been done for us in the life, death and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just like He said it would happen! But, the story of the empty tomb from Mark’s Gospel tonight is a bit strange and different. It says the women, upon seeing the empty tomb ran away and said nothing to noone. Some biblical scholars claim that Mark 16:8 is the verse that concludes Mark. It ends very curt, and almost stops… It stops and lets us fill in the blanks, it stops and lets us ponder what comes next. It lets us become the rest of the story. Because we are all part of the story…

The resurrection of Christ, my friends, is the pivotal point around which our Christian lives are centered. Looking at our lives together, through the lens of resurrection, allows us to know ourselves better, to know each other better, and know our God better.

St. Paul says, that when we were baptized, we are baptized into Christ death, and just as Christ rose from the dead, we walk in newness of life! Our old self has been discarded it has been crucified with Christ and we have been reborn, refreshed and renewed - free from sin and death to live forever with our God!

I had a good friend ask me at the beginning of this past week, “are you going to walk with Jesus this week, or are you going to hide in the crowd with peter?” That question had a profound impact on the way I approached my entire holy week and it influences my message to you tonight…

We come together tonight after being on a lenten journey, through the darkness… And then we lingered in his last days for a while, continuing on our journey through this past week and Jesus’ last days as he washed feet and as he taught us to break bread and share the cup.

We moved through Christ’s passion, including his betrayal and arrest then followed him through his trial and to the cross where we witnessed his crucifixion and death.

My friend was challenging me to follow Christ to the cross, proclaiming him as Lord and savior... Not hiding my faith in the fear of being persecuted for what has been revealed to me to be truth. Not hiding as Peter did among the crowd, denying that I ever knew the man…

The service tonight moves us beyond the Cross… and allows us to focus on something a little different. As the paschal candle was lighted and the exsultet was sung, the light of Christ became clearer and brighter as the evening progressed.

The liturgy this evening was designed for us, to be able to take a similar journey… from the one we just were on… This time we go through the record of salvation history of our God in the Hebrew scriptures, all the way through… leading up to the stories of our own participation in that salvation history, by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The center point of the service included the sacrament of holy baptism, when not only the ones who were baptized all over the world tonight are reborn in Christ, we ourselves get to renew our own baptismal vows and recommit our lives again to walking with Christ.

The Easter vigil becomes for us Christians the hallmark of our proclamation of faith… It is from here that we celebrate the first eucharist of Easter, and then each and every Sunday throughout the churchyear forward becomes like a “little” Easter.

As we go forward from this place tonight, we take Easter with us… As believers in the resurrection of Christ, we celebrate his resurrection today and every Sunday, and we always should then try to live into that resurrection each and every day of our life… anticipating our own eternal life with our God…

So, Alleluia, Christ is Risen! The Lord has Risen indeed! Alleluia!