Rev.
George Miller
April
5, 2026
John
20:1-18
2 weeks ago
Viktor experienced his 1st
tornado warning, hearing the
alarms, asking what to do. So different
from Florida where hurricanes come with days of warning and an ETA.
Florida does
have tornadoes, but they are often a byproduct of hurricanes. Sometimes a random storm does appear and do
some damage.
That happened
in April of 2022. I was living in
Florida when a storm ripped through the county like a dragon.
Larry, a
member of the church I served, lived in a park that was hit with softball sized
hail. Larry is a modern-day hippie with
long hair who unapologetically displays the PRIDE flag for all to see.
His neighborhood
experienced the worst non-hurricane damage
I’d seen. Branches down. Shiny sport cars with cracked windshields. Metal awnings with holes punched through.
Homes of
elderly residents with five, seven, ten broken windows. Blue tarps on roofs and plywood covering
sides of building.
Larry, with
his hippie hair and rainbow tattoo was there with a group of men cleaning
up. A Case Tractor picking up debris,
homes powerwashed, chainsaws cutting through wood, folk walking down the street
with leaf blowers. Women cleaning their
yard.
There was
Larry, helping out, saying hello to everyone, checking to see how neighbors
were, representing himself and the UCC so very well.
I went to
Larry’s neighborhood unprepared to see the devastation, but was uplifted by the
camaraderie.
Something
tragic had happened, yet here were these people that came together, straight
and gay, south and north, old and older, fellowshipping and empowering one
another.
Talk about
picking up your mat to walk. How life
can continue by the coming together of people and not by the tearing apart.
Larry’s
neighbors experienced a great storm in the evening, but by the light of a new
day, camaraderie and teamwork came their way.
There was laughter, jokes, encouraging words, acts of unselfishness and
generosity.
Is this part
of what the Resurrection is about? Is
this sense of coming together an aspect of Easter joy?
Camaraderie. Community.
Coming together. Being brave and
moving on.
In John’s
Gospel, we see people being scared and scattered. Peter denies following Jesus. Mary comes to the garden alone. The disciples fearfully hide behind locked
doors.
The storm of
Crucifixion hailed down upon them,
making everything seem bleak and impossible.
Jesus had been betrayed, shamed, and silenced…or so the authorities
thought.
What the
Roman occupiers didn’t realize, and the Temple Priests forgot,
is that God
cannot be silenced. The Gospel cannot be
stopped. The holiness that dwelled
within Jesus could not be discarded.
Though Friday
was bleak and Saturday seemed to last forever, Sunday arrived and God
re-created the world.
This
re-creation, this Resurrection caused a stronger, braver community.
Mary sees the
stone rolled away, makes haste to the disciples to tell them the news.
Later, she
stands in the garden, weeping tears.
Distraught; by herself.
She hears a
voice call out her name; discovers she is not so alone nor abandoned, but Jesus
is right there.
God turns the
storm of crucifixion into the reuniting of dear friends.
Later in
chapter 20, the disciples are behind closed doors, afraid like sheep caught in
a storm. Will they be next?
Jesus appears
to them, calming their emotional storm.
He says “Peace be with you” and breathes upon them the Breath of Life.
In chapter
21, they continue their healing process
as Christ appears to them by the shore and fills this circle of fishermen, tax collectors and doubters with bread and
fresh fish, telling Peter to “feed the sheep.”
The
Resurrection of Christ creates a revived community that learns to live, lead,
and to love by his example.
Each of them
is empowered to feed, care, and bring wellness.
Each person
is filled with the Holy Spirit to be just, kind, and walk humbly with God.
Folk wrestle
with the Resurrection: how did it happen, what does it mean?
Today, after
all we’ve witnessed in the world, let us celebrate how the Resurrection can be
about God creating community.
How God can
turn a tragedy into an opportunity for folk to come together.
How God can
take a senseless act of cruel death and find a way to bring about a sense of
bravery and hope, a sense of unity, and a way to reach out to the lost sheep.
The
Resurrection’s meaning may be different to you; next year it could mean
something different to me, but today I like to think how Jesus Christ, even
when faced with death, is able to unite, empower, offer peace.
By the
Resurrection, God reminds us that we are part of something bigger and better
than ourselves and our differences.
For that, let
us say, Amen.
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