Not How the Resurrected Christ Looks, But What Christ Resurrected Means; Mark 16:1-8

 

Rev. George Miller

March 31, 2024

Mark 16:1-8

 

What a week it has been!  Jesus concluded his rural ministry by riding into town on a colt in which people “see” him.

 

They create this magical moment by running into the fields to grab whatever kind of green they could find and they lay their one and only coats on the ground.

 

He teaches about love of God and love of neighbor.  He tells of the upcoming doom and gloom.

 

He dines with the differently-different Simon; is shown love by the woman with the alabaster jar who anoints his body and embodies the entire Gospel.

 

Then…he is betrayed by one of his own, denied by another, deserted by all the rest.

 

He is publicly shamed, abused, and made to suffer in front of the eyes of his enemies.

 

If THAT’s what love of God and love of neighbor gets you…no thank you.

 

The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen, and placed in a tomb.  The sun sets and the world is dark…

 

But Mark does not end the story of Jesus there; he has 8 more lines to share.

 

When the soul-less Saturday comes to an end, as the sun rises, 3 brave women make their way to where the body of Jesus lays…

 

…and they find out that Jesus is not there…

 

Jesus is not amongst the maggots and mites; Jesus is not amongst the flees and the vermin at all.

 

The three women are told that the Jesus they are looking for is not there, for he has been raised.

 

If they want to see him, they can go to Galilee.

 

The women flee in terror and amazement, afraid.

 

First, let’s talk about these women.  This Mary Magdelene, this Mary mother of James, and this Salome.

 

What an interesting bunch of women they are. 

 

Mark tells us that they were there at the crucifixion.  We are told they were there to see where the body of Jesus was laid.

 

We are told that while not a nary Disciple was in sight, these three women were out in public buying what they needed to properly care for the dead body of Jesus.

 

We are told that at the end of that horrid weekend, as the sun rose and new light washed over the earth,

 

that Mary, Mary and Salome made their way to the tomb with not a single man or disciple, son or strong person to roll away the stone.

 

But more than that, we are told that these women were always there.

 

In Mark chapter 15, verse 41, the author reveals to us that these three women, as well as many other women, were caring for Jesus since the very beginning of his ministry in Galilee.

 

We are told that all along there were women who were traveling with Jesus, walking with Jesus, looking after Jesus, and they too entered into the Big City so they could be with him.

 

Which means that while the disciples get all the mentions, screen time, and almost all the lines,

 

there is an entire other story of Jesus’ life and ministry that involved the women who were with him, beside him, co-caring with him.

 

Now we have an even grander image of just what the ministry of Jesus looked like. 

 

That he just didn’t go into Peter’s home to heal his mother-in-law, he didn’t just heal a Gentile woman’s child, he didn’t just offer new life to a Temple leader’s daughter….

 

But that Jesus had an entire ministry that involved the actions and presence and the wisdom of people like Mary Magdalene and Salome.

 

Women who gave their time, their talents, their compassion, their love, even if they didn’t get the accolades or narrative arc.

 

Now we have an even more robust image of what the Kingdom of God looked like-

 

that it wasn’t just Jesus and 12 fishers and farmers and tax collectors doing the work,

 

but it was also mothers and sisters, aunties and household managers who were there.

 

Maybe it was these women who let the lady with the blood know about Jesus;

 

maybe they were the ones who tipped off the woman with the alabaster jar. 

 

Maybe these women were the ones who said to Jesus-

 

“You know, our daughters deserve just as much attention and care as you give our sons.”

 

When Peter, James and John get to walk up the mountain and see Jesus transfigured…

 

…Peter, James, and John are nowhere to be seen in chapters 15 and 16, as they run away and hide in fear.

 

But the women- this Mary Magdalene, this Mary mother of James, this Salome-

 

they are there as Jesus suffers, they are there as he dies,

 

they are there when his body is buried, and they are there first thing Sunday morning to hear the unexpected news-

 

“He is not here- he has been raised.  He has gone ahead to Galilee, where you will see him.”

 

Second- why are we told the women and disciples are to go to Galilee and we never get to see the Resurrected Christ as we do in Matthew, Luke and John?

 

Why does Mark end his Gospel this way?

 

Perhaps…Mark did not want us to get caught up in how the Resurrected Christ looked, but he wanted us to focus on what the Resurrected Christ means.

 

Christ Resurrected means that he has been raised, and that it is God who raised him.

 

Christ Resurrected means that his ministry was not for naught, that his ministry was legit and Heaven-blessed.

 

But more than that- it means if you want to know what the Resurrected Christ looks like,

 

if you want to know what Resurrections means,

 

if you want to know how Christ Resurrected affects our daily lives….

 

…Go back to Galilee and witness if for yourself.

 

For Galilee is where the ministry of Jesus began, and it is in Galilee that we see the Kingdom of God at its purest.

 

Mark 16:7 says “Go to Galilee and there you will see him.”

 

Do ya’ll remember what we saw in Galilee?

 

Galilee is where we experienced Jesus being baptized so he could be like us.  Galilee is where he met the man trapped by an unclean spirit and set free.

 

Galilee is where Jesus went into the intimate living space of Peter’s mother-in-law to bring her wellness, validating her work and her worth.

 

Mark 16:7 says “Go to Galilee and there you will see Jesus.”

 

Galilee is where we see Jesus bring wholeness to people living with disease, where Jesus speaks words of life,

 

where friends care enough about each other that they take apart Jesus’s roof so their buddy can experience wellness.

 

Galilee is where Jesus interacts with the average day-to-day person who is fishing, fixing, sowing, reaping, trying their best to make an honest living.

 

Galilee is where Jesus spoke to people where they worked, where they lived, instead of expecting them to come to the Temple to learn about God.

 

Galilee is where Jesus talked of mustard seeds and those who worked with their hands,

 

he healed women who were bankrupt and made it so families could eat together at table.

 

Mark  16:7 says “Go to Galilee and there you will see him.,”

 

which basically means: if you want to see the Resurrected Christ,

 

if you want to experience the Jesus who has been raised from the dead…

 

…go to the places and time where daily relationships and activities take place.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

You don’t have to go to a holy mountain or sit within the walls of an institution.

 

You can check your home, the field, the sea, the shore…Jesus is there.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

Check out the roofs that are taken apart by friends, seek out the alabaster jars,

 

look for the branches waved in the air and coats laid on the floor…Jesus is there.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

Welcome those who seem unable to move forward, the blind, the alone. 

 

Wear your colorful socks.  Host your Pizza Party.  Volunteer at the Shepherd’s Pantry. 

 

Attend Chi Ti…Jesus is there.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

Go to the Palms, Advent Health, Wauchula Rehab…Jesus is there.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

Wherever there is life, wherever there are emotions, wherever there is breath and movement and opportunities…Jesus is there.

 

Want to experience the Resurrected Christ?

 

Love God and love your neighbor…Jesus is there.

 

Mark does not show us the resurrected Christ, because he does not have to. 

 

Christ has been there the whole time.

 

With us, around us.

 

Within us.

 

All we have to do is Go, and we will see.

 

For that, let us say “Amen.” 

SEEing Jesus; Mark 11:1-10

 

Rev. George Miller

March 24, 2024

Mark 11:1-10

 

Last week we had a joyful worship with our guests from ARC. 

 

20 unique and lovely personalities filled our sanctuary with their socks and beads, their smiles and the occasional audible interruption.

 

Last week was truly a moment of embodying the Gospel- loving God via worship, loving our neighbor via welcome.

 

As a result, because of your unwavering generosity, we raised $333.50 for Ridge Area ARC.

 

Then on Tuesday we had our Garden Of Hope Pizza Party.

 

Our gardeners were celebrated with gift cards, stipends, pizza, miniature ice cream cones and cold bottles of Mountain Dew.

 

As the gift cards were presented to each participant, it began to feel like the Oscars. 

 

The people from ARC came forward to receive their recognition and then would bow, smile, they would wave their well-earned envelope around like it was a golden trophy.

 

Sunday’s worship and Tuesday’s gathering were meaningful because it was a moment of Emmanuel UCC giving to our neighbor,

 

AND it was a way of saying to our neighbor “We SEE you.”

 

Not “see” as in “oh yeah, hey-there you are,” but “see” as in –

“We see you as a person, we see the work you do, we see your induvial worth.”

 

It was “we see you with our heart.”

 

And those acts of generous giving and compassionate seeing made all the difference.

 

That’s a lot of what we discussed last week when Jesus was anointed by the woman with the alabaster jar.

 

That act of generous giving and seeing is what we witness in today’s reading.

 

Jesus has come to a pivotal moment in his ministry.  He is done walking all around the rural roadways.  He has put in nearly 9,000 steps.

 

So who can blame Jesus for wanting to enter Jerusalem on a colt- his feet must’ve been T- tired.

 

Jesus has come to the end of his ministry in which he’s gone to seashores and wheat fields, graveyards and dusty roads. 

 

He is ready to enter the city and be surrounded by buildings and paved streets.

 

Jesus has spent all his time talking to people connected to the earth and every day, from fishers to farmers, to housewives and daughters, the elderly and the ill.

 

So it is no surprise that when Jesus is ready to enter into his final destination, in a community that is largely made up of people who are agricultural based and work with their hands,

 

that he is greeted by folk who run out into the fields to cut down, pull up, and bring branches and greenery and whatever kind of plants they can find to show their support.

 

What is so beautiful about today’s reading is that Jesus is greeted by the very people he has spent his ministry seeing. 

 

These are the folk he acknowledged, ministered to, validated when he gave the Beatitudes.

 

Jesus has spent all of Mark’s Gospel seeing the folk, seeing the neighbor.

 

He has spent his time listening to them.  Speaking with them.  Offering words of hope, words of comfort.

 

When they were hungry, he made sure they were fed.

 

When they were dysregulated, he made sure they experienced some kind of healing.

 

Jesus spent his entire ministry making sure that the every day person was seen, heard and validated…

 

…so therefor it is so beautiful that today we have an experience in which they people “see” Jesus back.

 

The people “see” Jesus, they see him for who he is and what he is about,

 

and as a response they sing out “hosannas”, they sing out words of thanks, and they sing out to the heavens.

 

What a joy to be seen!

 

In addition to that, the people that Jesus has spent an entire ministry seeing do something else- they give. 

 

Those who can run out into the fields to give branches, rushes, grass.

 

At a time in which Marshalls and Beals Outlet do not exist, there are those who lay down their cloaks. 

 

At a time in which most people only had one coat and it was used for protection, heat, and comfort, there are folks who lay theirs down.

 

At a time in which folks did not have a closet full of options or replacements, there are people who lay down their cloaks with no guarantee it won’t be ruined, or messed upon, or even returned.

 

Not only are people “seeing” Jesus, they are joyously giving and sharing and celebrating.

 

Like the woman with the alabaster jar, the people in today’s reading are doing something wonderful- they are showing love.

 

They are showing love to God, and they are showing love to Jesus, who is their neighbor.

 

It is a moment that is beautiful, a moment that is heaven on earth, it is a moment of humanity at its absolute best.

 

Nature, animal, people all coming together….just as in the Nativity, to welcome and celebrate Jesus and to show love, honor and glory to God.

 

Last week we heard Jesus talk all about the doom and gloom, and that does exist, but for now that negativity is out “there.”

 

But for now, at this moment, the Gospel is embodied, the Gospel is alive, and everything feels right with the world.

 

How can we maintain that feeling today?  How can we find a way to “see” those who are before us?

 

How can we find a way to joyfully give what we are able to share?

 

How can we find our own way to sing out our hosannas, praise the Lord and make it so that heaven is here on earth.

 

Even if for just a moment. 

 

Amen and amen.

Show Us Your Socks Message; Mark 13:1-23

 

Rev. George Miller

March 17, 2024

Mark 13:1-23

 

…so- we know what ya’ll thinking- “That’s the reading for today?” 

 

This scripture full of doom and gloom is what we’re preaching on for ‘Show Us Your Socks Sunday’?

 

We have all these wonderful, beautiful people from ARC, including staff, clients, and Donna, the Director of Development and this is what we’re preaching on?

 

We’re here today to show off our colorful, lively, socks in support and acknowledgment of people living with Developmental Disabilities….

 

…and what we just heard is wars, earthquakes, lies and liars!

 

A Dios Mio!  How is this possible?

 

And the answer is this- Emmanuel is not afraid to speak the hard topics.

 

It would have been so easy to skip today’s scripture and find something nice, like Jesus feeding folk or a woman searching for lost pennies.

 

But here’s what we know- when we take the easy way, we don’t grow.

 

When we face the hard times, the difficult moments, that’s when we can grow, when we can become better versions of ourselves, and we become closer to God.

 

That’s when we become Superstars.

 

So, let’s take a look at today’s reading.

 

Jesus is in Jerusalem with the disciples looking at the Temple, and one of the disciples says “Wow- look how beautiful this is.”

 

And the Temple was beautiful.  Herod the King had spent all the people’s money to make it a sight to be seen.  Supposedly, he had the entire Temple covered in gold so that when the sun hit it just right, it lit up in magnificent ways.

 

“Look how beautiful this is!” the disciples say.  But Jesus is not impressed.  See, he knows that hard times are coming.  He knows that soon there is going to be great pain and suffering.

 

So he says “Don’t be impressed.  This building will not last.  Be prepared- hard times are coming our way.  Be alert- how you respond to the difficulties will make all the difference.”

 

Jesus is being very real.

 

By not sugar coating anything, Jesus is allowing his followers to understand what’s going to happen. 

 

He gives them the gift of being prepared, not devoting all their energy to things that don’t last.

 

Jesus is very honest with those he loves.  There will be wars.  There will be disasters.  There will be hunger. 

 

There will be fathers disagreeing with their children; there will be siblings fighting amongst each other.

 

Kind of sounds like today, doesn’t it?

 

Kind of sounds like things happening in places, like Haiti, Ukraine, Advent Hospital.

 

Kinds of sounds like things gong on in our own lives. 

 

How many here are currently living through a crisis in which it feels like your world is ending? 

 

How many here are having issues with Mom and Dad, sister and brother, son and daughter, grandchildren?

 

How many here are struggling with a car that won’t work properly or paying rent or homeowners insurance?

 

How many feel like they are constantly on alert, unable to get a proper night’s sleep?

 

By speaking these realities, Jesus acknowledges just how difficult and scary life can be.

 

It can feel as if there is no comfort in this scripture…but today’s story does not end here.  There is more that we did not read today.

 

See, in chapter 14, right after Jesus speaks all these words of doom and gloom, he goes to the house of Simon for a meal.

 

Simon is an interesting fellow.  He is different from all the other people in town.  Simon is not like everyone else.  Simon is someone that not everyone knows or is friends with.

 

Because Simon is different, he may spend a lot of time alone.  People say unkind things about him.

 

How many people here today have ever felt different? 

 

But Jesus didn’t care that Simon is different.  In fact, Jesus goes into Simon’s home to have a meal. 

 

Who knows what they ate?  Maybe pizza and Mountain Dew?  Perhaps chicken nuggets and iced tea.

 

Who knows what Jesus and Simon Peter talked about.  Perhaps they discussed Disney Princesses, or Marvel Super Heros, or Legos.

 

As Jesus and Simon are sharing a meal, a woman comes in, carrying a beautiful alabaster jar.

 

Alabaster is so beautiful, so shiny that it captures the light and it can show off the colors of the rainbow.

 

So after Jesus speaks about the doom and gloom, and he’s hanging out with Simon, this woman comes in with a bright, shiny jar…

 

…and she proceeds to open it up and to pour out its perfume and lotion all over Jesus.

 

She pours from this beautiful alabaster jar all this sweet sweet smelling ointment over Jesus and it runs down from his hair to his beard to his chest to his legs, to his ankles, to the soles of his feet.

 

…and Jesus is covered in beauty, and light and joy.

 

This woman covers Jesus in ointment and in her own way she is saying “I see you.  I am aware of you.  And I love you.”

 

In this single act, this woman literally embodies the entire Gospel that Jesus came to teach.

 

In this moment of unexpected generosity, in the home of Simon who was so different from everybody else,

 

This amazing woman shows us just what it looks like to Love God and what it is like to love our Neighbor as ourself.

 

From the doom and gloom of today’s reading we enter into awareness and love that one person can show another.

 

And does this woman’s actions prevent the pain and suffering from happening?  No. 

 

Does her actions stop the Last Supper and Crucifixion?  No.

 

Does her actions stop the realities of life from creeping in?  No.

 

But what she, at this moment, is offer a moment of grace, a moment of beauty and glamour and care that can empower one to face the horrible and horrific.

 

Today’s reading may not be what we wanted, but it is the reading that leads us to where we are today.

 

Think about it- we are all wearing our most colorful, beautiful, lively socks; some are wearing green hats, bowties and necklaces.

 

In some ways, our socks are anointing our feet.

 

In some ways, our socks are like that woman’s ointment.

 

They cover our feet with beauty, with heart, with awareness and joy.

 

Life is full of anxiety, stress, fear, anger, worries about the unknown, and of being seen as different.

 

All those things we face on a day to day basis.

 

But today’s reading reminds us that we do not have to face things alone.

 

Today, our colorful socks reminds us that we do not have to do it alone.

 

Yes, we have God, yes we have Jesus.

 

But guess what- we also have each other.

 

Jesus knew all the pain that was about to happen.  But at that moment he has the disciples. 

 

He has Simon. 

 

At this moment Jesus has this woman with her alabaster jar, pouring out love and awareness upon him.

 

The socks we wear today are a reminder that we are not alone.  That we have one another.

 

We have Simons we can turn to when life seems scary. 

 

We have people like this woman who remind us of the world’s beauty when the ugly seems to be too much.

 

We have amazing community organizations like Ridge Area ARC, The Shepherd’s Pantry and the Garden of Hope.

 

We have amazing individuals like Shelly and Samantha, Carlos and Candance, Jessica and Donna who are there to offer care.

 

We have God.  We have the Holy Spirit.  We have Jesus, who knows exactly what it is like to face the scary, uncertain things in life.

 

Buildings fall.  Problems arise.  But God’s word endures forever.

 

And God’s word reminds us to love.  To love God.  To love one another.

 

Today we show our socks despite all the worries of the world.

 

Today we show our socks as a sign of love, just as the woman who anointed Jesus, body and soles.

 

Amen and amen.