I remember the first time I stood at the west coast and gazed across the Pacific Ocean. I was 22 years old and newly engaged to Ben. For many years, his extended family owned a beach house at Canon Beach on Oregon’s northern coast, their house just 3 houses from the beach itself. We dumped our suitcases at the house and walked the short distance to the sand. From the front door, we could hear the tide coming in and going out, coming in and going out, a dull roar. We could smell the sea—the pungent smell of fish and salt. We could feel the humidity on our skin, the wind whipping my hair across my face, the sand on our feet, sand we could never entirely escape, no matter how thoroughly we rinsed. As we emerged from the paved street unto the damp sand, I glimpsed Haystock Rock, much photographed and beloved, and then the wide blue expanse, extending far beyond the horizon. Right and left, along the coast, the ocean spread as far as my eye could see. I took it in but couldn’t quite take it in.
A decade later, when I got to know folks from Tonga, an island nation of the South Pacific, I heard their stories of the settling of Tonga, how their ancestors braved the Pacific Ocean in large canoes traveling from the Solomon Islands. Large canoes, but canoes for a distance of 1500 miles. How did they make it alive, in the face of that wide blue expanse continuing far beyond the horizon? How could it be that any human could live to tell the tale of that journey? In today’s gospel from Luke, Jesus appears to the disciples following his resurrection. As he did in the gospel of John last week, Jesus shows the disciples the marks of his crucifixion: his hands and feet. He eats fish in their presence, a further confirmation that Jesus is risen, not just spiritually but in the flesh. Unlike the disciples in the gospel of John who excitedly tell Thomas “we have seen the Lord!,” unlike Thomas’ confession “my lord and my god!” here, the disciples are joyful, yes, but also disbelieving and wondering. How can it be? How can it be Jesus? Wasn’t he crucified? Today, the gospel writer Luke paints another portrait of faith: joy, wonder, and disbelief, all rolled into one. Here is a faith that says: How can it be? A faith that says: Would you look at that? A faith that says: Wow! Jesus’ resurrection moves the disciples into a posture of joy, wonder, and disbelief, a fitting posture when faced with the miraculous resurrection of one who was crucified and buried. Because they couldn’t make logical sense of it. Because the good news of it couldn’t be taken, entirely, in. Because, though Good Friday bitterly disappointed them, ultimately, their hope was fulfilled. What does God do that makes you say: Wow!? What does God do that leads you to question: How can it be? What does God do that makes you marvel: Would you look at that? I invite you to turn to one or two people sitting near you and share at least one thing that God does that leads you to joy, wonder, or disbelief. The Pacific Ocean is just one small example for me of something that makes me say: Wow! And how God got the Tongan people safely from the Solomon Islands to Tonga is one small example of something God has done that leads me to question: How can it be? But there are so many examples. What are they for you? Go! Worshipers discussed these questions, and then, several people shared with the larger group. When I think about the history of St. John’s, about what God has done and is still doing here, on this humble road amidst trees and just a few neighbors, how can it be that over 125 years later, God is still on a mission here? Our world has shifted dramatically since the Spirit of God first opened St. John’s doors. When St. John’s began, there was no internet and no widespread automobile use. When St. John’s began, man had not yet landed on the moon, and neither the first nor the second world war had been fought. When St. John’s began, women could not yet vote, and civil rights for all citizens were not guaranteed. So much has changed in our world, yet God still has a mission for St. John’s of Cedarbrook. We still come—to worship, to serve, to learn, to grow, to be in community. How can it be? Would you look at that? Here at St. John’s of Cedarbrook, our mission statement reads: Loving the Lord – Living in Faith – Leading Others to Serve. Living in faith does not necessarily entail rigid conformity to certain doctrine, insisting that others believe as we do, or never questioning what the Christian faith teaches. Remember from last week: faith is not certainty. Living in faith might mean, instead, living all life from a posture of joy, wonder, and disbelief. Living in faith might mean holding lightly those mysteries we cannot entirely comprehend and being okay with not knowing what we think. Living in faith might mean standing back and admiring the awesome power of God, acknowledging how small we are and yet beloved. Living in faith might mean wondering how God is at work in each person, among all nations, in creation, and even among other religious traditions, seeing the entirety of our world as God’s handiwork. Today, when meeting the risen Christ, the disciples in their joy were still disbelieving and wondering. There is much at which to marvel, to question, and to rejoice. For Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
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AuthorPastor Sarah Stadler shares her sermons from the previous Sunday. Archives
May 2024
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