November 4, 2012, The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. Nancy P. Acree
It has been almost twelve years since I stood in this place and my heart is full to be standing here today. Even tho I was quite relieved to find God lives in Ga as well as Tn.,, this still feels like home to me and I’m mighty glad to have come home. I don’t remember much about that last day except that I told you about the time my slip fell off while I was serving communion. If that had anything to do with the gospel I surely don’t know what at this point. But, I do remember so much, grieving together, laughing together, all with such love. I thank you for those memories.
There is a quote from Frederich Buechner that seems most appropriate as we observe All Saints Day. He wrote WHEN YOU REMEMBER ME IT IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED SOMETHING OF WHO I AM WITH YOU, THAT I HAVE LEFT SOME MARK OF WHO I AM ON WHO YOU ARE. IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN SUMMON ME BACK TO YOUR MIND EVEN THO COUNTLESS YEARS AND MILES MAY STAND BETWEEN US. IT MEANS THAT IF WE MEET AGAIN YOU WILL KNOW ME. IT MEANS THAT EVEN IF I DIE YOU CAN STILL SEE MY FACE AND HEAR MY VOICE AND SPEAK TO ME IN YOUR HEART. FOR AS LONG AS YOU REMEMBER ME I AM NEVER TRULY GONE. This is surely true for those of us who have had friends or family die this past year or ever. We treasure the memories and the stories.
Memory plays such an important part in all our lives. The good thief said to Jesus on the cross Remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus says to us REMEMBER ME. And we do through the stories we tell about him, our experiences of him, our prayers to him, and a myriad of other ways unique to each of us.
I have a story to tell that is uniquely mine but I hope will speak to you all. When I was a chaplain at the hospital I received a call one night to come to the neo natal intensive care unit to baptize a baby. Only after I arrived there did I get all the details. This baby boy was one of twins who had been born prematurely at St. Mary’s. This child had been the weaker of the two and transferred while the other baby and the parents stayed at St. Mary’s. This baby had died and the parents felt strongly that they wanted him to be baptized. I was very clear that God didn’t need him to be baptized but the family did and so I went ahead and baptized him with the nurse standing with me. Afterwards, I continued to stand beside the baby’s bed, to marvel at how beautifully he was formed and how peaceful his face was. I just stood there in quiet and prayer that became deeper and deeper and in a way that is impossible to describe or explain in words became aware of and convinced of the reality of the communion of saints as I had never been convinced before. I have no idea how long I stood there—it could have been a few short minutes or an hour but I was forever changed by the experience. I remember that experience with awe and gratitude and hope that somehow my experience can have meaning for you.
Lazarus story is unique but has great meaning for each of us. Mary and Martha remembered the great love there was between them, Lazarus and Jesus and because of that sent a message to Jesus to tell him Lazarus was ill. By the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had been in his tomb for four days. Mary, Martha, the crowd and Jesus all wept with sorrow because of his death, just as we mourn those we love who die. This is Jesus greatest miracle and he was very clear as to why he did it. He brought Lazarus from death to life to show the glory of “God and to convince the people he was who he said he was. We aren’t told what happened after Lazarus appeared but it isn’t hard to imagine. There must have been speechless wonder, such awe that it was almost impossible to believe and most of all great joy and rejoicing.
Just as we have when we see when we experience what seems to be a hopeless situation made right by God’s power. If someone were to ask me if I had ever raised a person from the dead my quick instinctive answer would be no. But, upon reflection I would give a qualified yes and I’m willing to bet you have, too.
Every time you bring joy that shatters despair, every time you forgive others and give them back dignity and affirm them and their life, every time you speak the truth in public—yes, you bring people back from the dead.
We are resurrection people. There are ways we can practice resurrection in our every day lives:
Leave the past to God’s mercy and the future to God’s discretion. Living in the present moment, the only moment when God brings forth new life, is a way of affirming your belief in resurrection.
Every time you accept God’s grace inyour life and see it in the world around you, your own resurrection is in the making.
Practice gratitude and you and doing away with the death dealing forces of boredom, despair, and taking things for granted.
Whenever you open your heart with compassion you help bring someone suffering back into the land of the living.
The list could go on and on. Make your own list. We can’t literally do what Jesus did but in our own way we can bring life, can bring light into darkness, hope into situations of despair. I’ve been dead, in the darkness, feeling all alone, and people came to me with the light of Jesus and I found new life. Do we dare do any less?
Remember, we do none of these things on our own. God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We must remember to pray as Jesus prayed having confidence that our Father will hear us and give us courage and strength to walk in the ways he would have us go. Amen
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