TAKE NOTE!!!

Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender

I’ve spent quite some time this week rubbing the palm of my right hand with the fingertips of my left hand, in a circle. You are welcomed to try it. I find it reminds me of the notion of corporeality, that is, the very real and physical sensations of our human bodies. Flesh and bones, sinews and nerve endings, stretched tendons and blood, coalesce to make me human.

This is what God assumed when He was born a baby. For what is not assumed cannot be redeemed. There is no Shalom (a) lechem without the Resurrected Life of Christ. It is the whole of His existence, birth, life, death and now risen, that fleshes out this lived reality. “See, look at my hands and my feet; its’ really Me. Flesh and bones. I’m not a ghost.” TAKE NOTE!!!

It had been a very active Sunday. First, the women go to the tomb and are met by angels who say, “Don’t be afraid. He’s not here. He is risen, just like He said.” They run, get Peter and the beloved disciple who, unsure of the women’s testimonies, run to the tomb themselves and see it empty. There are 2 dejected and frightened disciples who walk and talk together on their way to Emmaus. A man comes up along side them whom they don’t recognize. He asks, “What are you talking about?” They all end up back in Jerusalem gathered in a big room, abuzz with energy!

“Did you hear? The Tomb is empty. The stone is rolled away! I saw it myself.” “He ate fish with us and then He disappeared. We think it was Him but He was so bruised and battered we’re not sure.” “We had angels speak to us...maybe?.” Everyone talking at once, interrupting one another, so excited and yet so scared. Empire had killed their Messiah and friend a few days before, they knew they were next, it was only a matter of time.

JESUS HIMSELF...

Jesus Himself.

Jesus, Himself.

Stands among them.

He speaks, ““Shalom (a) lechem (Peace be yours)”.

It is Jesus, now the Christ, risen from the dead, who gives His peace. Which means His love, His forgiveness, His favor and His blessing. The very first words out of the Risen Lord’s mouth: “Shalom (a) lechem. Peace be yours.”

Pretty amazing gift to all those who turned away. No call for repentance, or even faith for that matter; just wide-open grace. “Peace.”

“The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.” We say it every Sunday!

(Really slow!). This radical, healing, resurrection based, peace,

poured out like the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord ordained his blessing, lechem, life evermore. Psalm 133.

Look at my hands, look at my feet. It is really me. Touch me and know.

These Wounded Hands, Eternity’s Magnolia, marred yet beautiful.

Is this the image we bear? Take Note!!!

Life evermore. A resurrected life. This Life is given for you. It is God’s great salvation plan, to stake a claim on your life. You are not the luggage left on the airport carousel, only to be stacked in an uneven pile, waiting for someone, anyone, to come back for them. Rather, God is reconciled with you and for you to offer you wholeness, shalom, and in fact, the whole creation groaning for redemption, is saved.

In this reimagination of life after death, we are not given the mechanics of resurrection, how in the world did this happen? Rather, we are given a possibility that while suffering, sorrow and violence are part and parcel of this fallen world, God is in the midst of the tragedies. Our wounds are Jesus’ wounds. Our sorrows are Jesus’ sorrows. He carries them all the way to the cross and beyond, to this new territory, called holy, whereby forgiveness, mercy, compassion, generosity, and hope reign supreme. It is Jesus’ bodily resurrection that initiates the groundbreaking for a place so breath-taking, so beautiful, words hardly prevail.

Listen to how poet Denise Levertov says it:

On Belief in the Physical Resurrection of Jesus

by Denise Levertov

It is for all

'literalists of the imagination,'

poets or not,

that miracle

is possible and essential.

Are some intricate minds

nourished on concept,

as epiphytes flourish

high in the canopy?

Can they

subsist on the light,

on the half

of metaphor that's not

grounded in dust, grit,

heavy

carnal clay?

Do signs contain and utter,

for them

all the reality

that they need? Resurrection, for them,

an internal power, but not

a matter of flesh?

For the others,

of whom I am one,

miracles (ultimate need, bread

of life,) are miracles just because

people so tuned

to the humdrum laws:

gravity, mortality-

can't open

to symbol's power

unless convinced of its ground,

its roots

in bone and blood.

We must feel

the pulse in the wound

to believe

that 'with God

all things

are possible,'

taste

bread at Emmaus

that warm hands

broke and blessed.” Unquote

TAKE NOTE!!

I think there are some challenges for us here in this 21st century life of the mind devoid of most ideas about life after death. We are inundated with messages to secure our future, protect our goods, guard ourselves so no one takes advantage. The holy life of Jesus is a direct knock on the locked doors where we hide out, eating our fear. It is hard to have open conversations about our own death or our fear of losing someone we love. Yet it happens. One dies too young, too soon, at the hands of another, an accident, an overdose, a police killing, a pandemic. What we know to be true is life is a grand mixture of great joy and great sorrow. There is no real security, no guns or weapons, nor wealth or power, that will give us ultimate control.

Instead, Jesus offers His peace, His wounded hands raised. This complex scaffolding to build a life on as individuals and in this community of WPC. Practices of generosity, deep and abiding forgiveness, a heart for others, empathy for the suffering that causes such distress, attempts to understand even our enemies, at least at moments. We know our imitation of Christ is lacking, imperfect, our witness compromised either by our fear, or our sin or both, those things we have done and those things we have left undone. Yet, by the mercies of God we are claimed to be His witnesses. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love. By our very lives we are to show forth this grace that has been extended to us. We are tethered in Christ, and no one can take that away. Nothing you do or say takes it away either. For it is truly all about God and God’s way.

TAKE NOTE!!! Amen

He Calls You By Name

Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:1-6, 11-18

Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender

Did you notice in the clip that Babe led, not by harassment, rather encouragement? Earlier in the movie, Babe learns the sheep’s secret language from an old yew - Baa Man Rue, to thy sheep, thy breed, be true - - and thus is able to lead the sheep through the trials to victory. He speaks their language. In a voice they can hear.

This for me is what is so striking in our gospel lesson today. Jesus calls His sheep by name, in a voice we can hear.

As I ponder this notion, I am struck by the idea that Jesus would have to know billions of names currently, let alone the billions of Christians who have already died over the course of the last 2,000 years. I realize if we have a collective name, He could stand at the gate of all our lives and call us all out to the verdant pastures and calm waters. You know what it is: BELOVED. Beloved. The name given to you at your baptism, stamped on your forehead as a bearer of the image of God. Beloved. This is the name that echoes deep inside us, where our souls sing. This is the name that no one can take away, besmirch, make fun of, damage or control. For it is our God-given name. You are My Beloved.

You are My Beloved. You. You. You.

Jesus’ declaration that He is the Good Shepherd angers the religious authorities, though. King David is the good shepherd, Moses is the good shepherd, not this guy from a backwater town who heals on the Sabbath, eats with sinners, has a band of followers that include women, not this guy. How dare He make this claim? And He uses the phrase, “I AM” THAT is reserved for God! Remember? Moses asks God, “what Name shall I tell the people?” God replies, “I Am.” The God of creation, the universe, the Holy One of Israel who brings salvation and healing. Jesus in His own mission, lays claim to the territory that the prophet Ezekiel first spells out: The Good Shepherd leads, guides, feeds, shelters, and seeks out the lost. He knows their name. He is the model shepherd who will do anything for the sheep, including lose His life, become the sacrificial lamb. The hired hand is only in it for the $ and at the first sign of trouble, runs away, leaving the sheep in disarray. He Calls You By Name

Included in this bold claim is the reality that Jesus, as Shepherd, gathers His flock, which includes ‘others, not of this fold’ He says. In John’s gospel anyone who sees, hears and believes in Jesus is included. Thus the door is wide open for those labeled ‘outcast’ - i.e. sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, even Gentiles.

It might be difficult for us to understand how deep a riven this is in the theology of that day. There were strictures built into community life of who is in and who is not. Everyone had their proper place as a way to maintain cleanliness in the religious sense. You did not hang around with those others, nor eat their food, nor enter their homes, for you would be defiled. And left outside the camp for 7 days to be cleansed, according to Levitical Law.

In a radical shift, Jesus creates a space that is both intimate and secure, one in which all are welcomed. He cares for those He names Beloved - they know Him and trust Him. They feel a deep sense of safety and can breathe out easily. This is what is offered when He Calls You By Name.

Here is the one space in all of your life where you are invited to bring your whole self to the table. Look at the outcasts: These folk were not afraid to be called sheep, especially by the Good Shepherd. They wanted to be led into the paths of righteousness the Psalmist writes about. Sheep are not dumb, you know that? They just like to be led. Cattle like to be prodded. Sheep like to follow. So from one sheep to another, let’s be honest - we are all in need of of the new life that is offered because of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Our impoverished understanding of what it means to be loved through the sacrifice on the cross limits our capacity, on our own, to truly grasp this abiding grace. It’s why this community gathers in Jesus’ Name, defined by who Jesus is, how Jesus lives, how He dies, how He is raised from the dead. The only status symbol we all have is the cross on our foreheads that says, “Beloved”.

What we are called to do by our Shepherd is to surrender ourselves into His care. His care!!! We belong to Him, a deep reassurance of His support as we stumble along, trying to exercise our faith every single day of our lives. You know the choices you face, its not easy to always choose the good, to serve others, to say yes or to say no, clearly. But if the promise of God has any worth, then we do not have to figure this out solely on our own. We do have to tune our ear to hear Jesus’ voice in the midst of the cacophony of voices all around us. We have to take the time, to discipline our wandering minds, to pay attention to let our souls find that pitch that is rich in its tenor and tone. We have to admit we cannot figure it out on our own and we need help. He Calls You By Name, Beloved.