Matt 28: 1-10                          The Door of Hope                         E/GR              April 16, 2006

1.      In the early morning dawn, the women came to prepare Jesus? body for burial. They had followed him and served him in life, and now came to do the final caring actions in death. The rest of the disciples were in hiding, paralyzed by fear and grief. Jesus had included these women, who were counted at the edge of the community, and now they took the risk to minister to a convicted political criminal who had been crucified. We could imagine their fear as well, but love urged them on. Then to their amazement an angel came, rolled the stone back and sat on it. The angel reassured them, "Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, He has been raised from the dead, and is indeed going ahead of you to Galillee." They ran from the tomb in trembling and astonishment. Who would ever believe such wonderful, incredible, impossible news? Who would indeed?

2.      For the women in our Gospel this morning, something incredible had happened.  They had gone through the door and had heard the amazing news of the resurrection hope. Hope I believe is the essential message of this Easter story. NOT hope as a wishful quality that lacks reality. NOT hope as a feeling or mood, but hope as the nitty gritty of life, lived in Christ. Jim Wallis in Sojourner calls this Easter hope the energy of change, the door from one reality to another. The impossible stands firmly planted on one side of this door of hope, while the possible, from the vantage point of history stands just as firmly on the other. What seems unreasonable and illogical on one side is reasonable and logical once we have passed through the door of hope. Within this door of hope, then, writes Wallis, lies the possibility of transforming history. That's what happened on that first Good Friday and Easter. Jesus' cruel and unjust death passed through the door of hope to resurrection.  What seemed impossible to his disciples as they mourned the death of their friend was now a new reality.

3.      So let's look at some other examples of what has seemed nonsense that from our vantage point now is reality. Consider the nonsense of slave songs in Egypt and Mississippi. ?We shall overcome one day.?  Not just nice songs about life after death ? but the hope-born true of freedom on earth.  Folks took those first timid steps through the door of hope and began the long march to freedom for the oppressed.  Think of the nonsense of Nellie McClung and others of my grandmother's friends who said, "Imagine our surprise when we discovered we were not persons before the law." With countless struggles and difficulties they crossed through the door of hope to win the vote for women.  It is always hardest for those first through.  Think of the struggles for the ending of child labour, or of the building of hospitals and schools in Canada: many of these things we take for granted, forgetting those first difficult steps.  Not always huge things!  What about the nonsense of a vice principal who saw the debilitating effects of hunger on her students who came hungry to school each morning.  She said there needed to be a breakfast program! ?Impossible? said the rest of the staff. ?Nonsense,? said the community.  With incredible energy she went to work to get the funding, to get the community?s support, visiting churches to get volunteers, talking to parents, convincing staff.  It won?t surprise you that there is now a flourishing breakfast program at her school.  Nonsense indeed!

4.      There is still much for us to do. Like the 2 Mary's we can use the energy of Easter hope to bring the changes that are needed in our world.  Some feel that things are so bad in the world that there is little we can do. But could you honestly tell me it seemed any less bleak at Gethsemane or Little Rock or Johannesburg?  It's the perspective of history that lets us see the change that once seemed impossible.   And in the light of our resurrection faith, we now know that it's not nonsense that we can be healed of hurt, pain and fear, for we have known it.  We also know that seemingly impossible problems in marriages and families can be reconciled, for we have seen it. In conjunction with our brothers and sisters around the world we dare to hope that war is not inevitable and work toward that reality. 

5.      But who will preach Easter in our time?  Who will dare to say that what is not humanly possible is possible in God?s resurrection power? This week a young singer with the unlikely name of ?Pink?, released a video and dared to go on National TV to criticize our culture that idolizes celebrities and the pursuit of a certain kind of beauty. There are so many important issues in our aching world, that she challenged us to see that cosmetic surgery, trying to be size 0 and the pursuit of a shallow good time is boring, and yes, stupid.  The great thing is that she is not perfect, and therefore can say to us, we don?t have to be perfect to take on these daunting issues.  I have a friend hanging close to death from anorexia.  She had a promising career as a concert violinist, could have excelled at any sport, and gotten A+ on any University course.  But she wasn?t thin, so she may not do any of them.  Let us pray that Pink?s courageous invitation to conversation will be the door of hope our young women will walk through.

6.      Let?s hear the story of one family who has come through that door to new life.  The husband and father was plagued by depression that finally was so painful he chose to take his life.  His sons were 14 and 17.  The loss of their father and the circumstances were very hard for them to bear and to deal with.  Several years later the older son became clinically depressed and ended up in the same hospital room his father had been in.  His brother wanted nothing to do with him.  His mother became depressed as well, feeling there was no hope.  Therapy, counseling, medication and long hours of prayer, began the long road home.  The mom came back to enjoying life and the family she feared doomed.  The older son finished an honours degree in science and is almost done his masters in library science.  He is married to a wonderful and supportive woman.  The younger son has completed a theology degree and is a committed husband and father.  He came to realize what a jerk he?d been when his brother needed him, and asked and received the forgiveness he needed.  They are very close as brothers again.  To see a family, bowed and stooped with pain now standing tall with Life, is to see miracle indeed.   We don?t all have tragedies of such magnitude, but when we see healing writ that large, we know it will be possible no matter what befalls us.

7.              In our scripture, Jesus says, ?Go tell my brothers?? Imagine how those anguished disciples felt.  Though they had deserted, even denied their friend, they were still included, needed.  The miracle - of forgiveness. We too know the need for that miracle of resurrection power. Those times when we see others suffering from what we have done and we wrestle to receive forgiveness. Have you had times when you carried the guilt for so long, knowing forgiveness was offered, but you couldn't quite receive it? And you feel it every waking moment and it affects every thing you do like a huge weight? And finally something happens. A prayer of confession that says it all, a word from a friend, a moment of grace, and you know for absolute certain, you are forgiven! You have walked through the door of hope, and what seemed impossible is true.

8.      We now know too that when we are divided we can be reconciled - another miracle. There is much that could divide us within the church - theology, ways of worshipping, personality differences, priorities, anger, issues of sexuality, language and policy. We have just witnessed through Holy Week the outstretched arms of Christ bearing our division, seeking to join us, as one. Let us not crucify him again by our divisions, but be reconciled to God and one another. That same amazing resurrection power is ours to work this further miracle of forgiveness and love. This is not to somehow imagine we would all magically agree, but that we will have enough love to hear one another, to care for one another when we hurt, and search together for God's truth and will.

9.      So what do you dare to believe on this Easter day?  There are some things I dare to believe.  I don?t need to know for sure if things happened exactly as the story tells us.   I do know for absolute certain that something amazing, miraculous happened on that first Easter Sunday.  Jesus was alive to his disciples in a way they hadn?t known before that day.  Those same disciples were transformed.  Down through the ages we have seen lives, even history transformed.  That same resurrection power is available to us in life and in life after death.  The stone has been rolled away.  Can you see the door of hope open wide?  Will you walk through?