On the road to Emmaus, two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem with broken hearts and broken hopes. They are not serene. They are not triumphant. They are not performing religion. They are trying to make sense of disaster. And they speak the words so many of us know by heart: “We had hoped.” We […]
On the evening of Easter Day, the disciples are not radiant. They are not brave. They are not in the streets proclaiming good news. They are behind locked doors. That is where John wants us to find them: shut in, afraid, uncertain. The resurrection has already happened. Mary Magdalene has already said, “I have seen […]
“Do not be afraid… He is not here; for he has been raised.” This morning begins in darkness. Matthew tells us that “after the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” They come carrying grief and shock. They come bearing the […]
In today’s Gospel reading, the Sadducees come to Jesus with a trick question. They don’t believe in the resurrection, and they want to make the idea sound ridiculous. So, they pose a scenario drawn from the law of levirate marriage: a woman is married to seven brothers, one after another, each dying childless. “In the […]
As you well know, Easter, unlike Christmas, is a moveable holy day. This year it is on April 20, but next year it will be on April 5. If you have ever perused the back of the Book of Common Prayer during a boring sermon you will find a complex table and formula that is […]
Today is the second Sunday of Easter. Notice I didn’t say “after” Easter but “of” Easter, because for Christians Easter isn’t a day but is instead a season. We get 50 whole days of Easter! Isn’t that fabulous?!?! Well, sort of. It is hard to sustain the joy and mystery of Easter. One Easter Season […]