04/11/2024
POEM: "Easter is Judgment Day"
I love poetry, but I often find it more difficult to understand than simple prose. It took me a long time to realize that poetry is supposed to call for an entirely different way of seeing and hearing. Poetry is like condensed soup. It’s not intended to be eaten out of the can, but rather it relies on us to add something to it—to stir in the water and air it needs so that after a period of mixing and heating it can convey its deeper truths.
Sunday Pastor Jackie kicked off of our new sermons series: The Tarnished Halo Society—God Never Gives Up on Imperfect People. Her excellent message included a poem that jarred me enough that I asked for a printed copy. What got me interested was the phrase—“our sin revoked.” I’ve heard that our sins are forgiven, or removed, or canceled, but I’d never thought about the sin itself as being revoked, i.e. no longer charged against us. Easter is not often thought of as Judgment Day. We think of it as Our Greatest Blessing Day. And yet we forget that the resurrection of Jesus is a complete indictment of the ways of this fallen world. Easter delivers a sweeping judgment of the “the way things are" as well as the powers and principalities of this world.
I’ve included Steve Garnaas-Holmes’ poem because I think it is worth stirring, mixing, and warming up to. I believe it has the power to help us think about that first Easter in some new and challenging ways. Good Luck!
Easter is Judgment Day
Easter is Judgement Day.
The great work of all our empires of state are overturned;
our walls are broken down.
All our judgments are overruled.
All our cruelties rescinded.
Our sin revoked.
Our aloneness has been colonized by God's loving presence.
Even death has been dismembered, powerless.
Our fear is sentenced to life locked up in hope and trust and joy.
Our death is taken from us,
and replaced by Life that is unassailable and infinite.
With flaming sword of sunrise, God has vanquished the shadows.
and even the darkness shines, even the grave gives forth glory.
The Crucified One is risen.
Alleluia
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One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.