When the Going Gets Rough...Keep the Faith

Sermon

When the Going Gets Rough…Keep the Faith

John 6:24-35

Sunday, August 5, 2012

As many of you know, I recently moved back to Florida after a very brief four and one-half years in Nevada.

When you all think of Nevada you probably think of Las Vegas, or perhaps Reno. Bright lights, busy gambling casinos, sequin adorned show girls, and lots of high rollers.

Well, that’s not the Nevada I knew. My home was in Pahrump – a Native American word that means “water stone,” or “great spring.” Pahrump, with its 27,000 residents, rests in a flat desert plateau surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the United States. This un-incorporated, truly “wild west” town is the largest in Nye County, an 18,000 square mile area of mountainous desert that is home to Area 51, the Tonopah Test Site and Creech Air Force Base, the site where our nation’s drone missile program is headquartered.

Nye County is rural – 1.3 residents per square mile. It is the poorest county in the nation, with the highest rate of unemployment in the nation. The temperature can plunge to 20 degrees in the winter, and hovers at 110 degrees from May until the end of October. Winds coming down from the mountains averaging 35-50 miles per hour are a common occurrence. All in all a harsh climate in a harsh environment.

When I first arrived in Pahrump all I could think of was the American Pioneers, who migrated west to seek a better life between 1776 and 1890. They settled and developed new areas of this country, establishing farms and ranches that were to feed the nation for many years to come.

I envisioned these seekers struggling to find a safe path across treacherous desert terrain in primitive wooden wagons with a minimum of protection from the wind, the rain, the snow, and the extreme temperatures. Standing in my desert backyard, just several yards from a solid and well-built, air-conditioned and heated dwelling, I wondered “How on earth did they do it? It does not seem possible that anyone would have the strength, courage or endurance to live such a difficult and treacherous life, or to embark on a journey so filled with danger and the unknown.”

It was then that I began to see the desert and desert life in an entirely new light. Moving to the desert was not the glamorous and scenic adventure that I had imagined it would be when I first left Florida. Rather, it was an encounter with an incredibly stark but beautiful primitive environment – an environment in which God’s presence cannot go undetected.

In the desert, God’s presence is everywhere. The intense, limitless blue of the sky; the ragged glory of mountain peaks and volcanic flumes; the miles upon miles of undisturbed sand and sage brush; and, the deep spring-fed pools filled with pupfish, a species that is the last known survivor of a fish species that lived in Lake Manly, which dried up at the end of the last ice age and is now called Death Valley.

Increasingly, the opening verses of Genesis ran through my mind: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1: 1-3)  

My encounter with the desert also brought each and every Scripture story into sharp relief. Living in the desert, I came to see and understand in a new and vividly real way the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the struggles of the Israelites over the years, and the land of the prophets. I imagined Jesus struggling with the desert elements as he carried out his ministry throughout Galilee and all of Jerusalem. I developed a new appreciation for the astounding courage and endurance of St. Paul as he traveled thousands of miles to spread the Good News.

The desert became, for me, symbolic of man’s struggle with life, from the beginning of time, a struggle conducted in many ways and in many places to seek a better way – a better life; a struggle filled with hardship and the unknown.  A struggle embarked on by many who seek answers and relief – a better way.

Throughout Scripture, throughout the history of the world, and throughout our own lives the theme of this struggle is played out over and over again. We find ourselves seeking a better way. We embark upon a journey of change. All too frequently we become frustrated and angry when our seeking does not produce the relief that we imagined it would. Our courage and our hope fails, and we decide that it just as easy to go back to old ways rather than risk more frustration and fear – more of the unknown. In other words, our faith fails us.

Today’s Old Testament reading from Exodus describes this scenario perfectly. The Israelites have escaped from Egypt; they are in the wilderness lost and hungry. Their hope fails, and they want to go back to the life of the known; the predictable.

 ^“The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  (Ex. 16:2-4)

But, God, as always, was present –watching –listening –ready to offer salvation. And, so the Exodus story continues:

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’ ¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹²‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” (Ex. 16:9-13)

God saw the suffering of the Israelites and through his grace he gave them food – manna from heaven - the bread of life.

Over and over again from Genesis through the Book of Revelation we hear the same message. Draw near to the Lord – whoever comes to the Lord will never by hungry and whoever believes in the Lord will never be thirsty.

John’s Gospel message for today is no different. Jesus accuses the crowd of following him only to ensure that they will receive a good meal. He says to them, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  (John 6:27) They still don’t get it – they want to know what they have to do in order to get on God’s good side. Even after Jesus tells them once again that “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” (John 6:29) they still demand concrete evidence. They ask Jesus, “What sign are you going to give us, so that we may see it and believe you?” (John 6:30) Jesus, once again, explains “…the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)

And so it goes, the scenario playing itself out time after time – from the beginning of time. We wander into the wilderness looking for a better way. We are lost. We loose hope. God sees our suffering and in his eternal compassion offers us salvation, not through works but through grace.  All we need is faith.

Today’s world is no different than any other time in history. We struggle as individuals and as communities with myriad challenges. Our church is no different. At this moment in time, literally hundreds of dedicated people and scores of well-informed committees and task forces are spending thousands of hours wandering in the desert, figuratively, in an effort to ensure that God’s grace and salvation continue to be available to those who suffer; those who are frightened and have lost hope.

Some of these dedicated spirits are saying, “Let’s go back to our old ways – it’s safer that way.” Others are saying, “No, we need to move forward; we must have faith and hope that we will achieve a goal as yet unseen.” They are remembering Paul’s words in his Letter to the Hebrews, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

What does all this mean for us here at St. Paul’s and for all of our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church throughout our eight provinces? It means that we need to plow on and look forward, as did the Israelites, the American Pioneers and so many others before us. We need to move forward bravely through the wilderness to a new and better way of bringing the good news to those who have no hope. We must continue in faith:

·        To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

·        To teach, baptize and nurture new believers 

·        To respond to human need by loving service 

·        To seek to transform unjust structures of society 

·        To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

In a sermon given about one month following the destruction of the World Trade Center by Al Qaida, William Sloane Coffin, an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist, said:

Being optimistic is hard, of course…But let us remember how bleak the scene, how dismal the future to the eyes of Habakkuk, who still went on to say, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.” He understood that God’s grace wends it redemptive way through the disorders of the world and that religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing.”  

“…religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing.”  A powerful thought.

So, my friends let us not loose heart. Let us press on in faith, through the wilderness times of our lives, through the wilderness of our mission as Christ’s disciples, knowing that God is with us always.

“The same great power that moves the stars, that orders the seas and sets the winds in motion, that gives birth to all that lives and makes the Moon rise in pale beauty, this same power stands by your side. You need never fear. You need never doubt. The One who designed all sees you, knows your name, and loves you with a love as deep as love can find.”

                                    Steven Charleston, Hope As Old As Fire” p.90

On Faith and Believing

Sermon

On Faith and Believing

Mark 5:21-43

July 1, 2012

This is a hard one – my last sermon at Grace in the Desert; my last day at Grace in the Desert; and my last week in Nevada before leaving for St. Paul’s my new church home in Delray Beach, Florida. All that - and the Fourth of July as well!

As I started to write this sermon I felt a real kinship with today’s stories about the woman with the hemorrhage and Jairus.  I was desperately in need of help. My mind was a blank. In an effort to successfully put pen to paper, I imagined myself reaching out and touching Jesus’ cloak and suddenly being filled with inspiration; or like Jairus’ daughter, I dreamed of springing to life with creativity from a deadened state of writer’s block. I closed my eyes and worked hard at imaging; however…not much happened.

And then, I went to the bank to close my checking account.

As I stood in a long line of hot, tired and restless customers all waiting to be a little richer, or a little poorer, I watched the three tellers hard at work behind their Plexiglas cage windows.

The first teller was an oriental lady whom I have known for several years. She has always been highly competent, extremely fast, very calm and expressionless. The second teller was a middle age woman whom I had never seen before. Her pale face was flushed and she appeared exasperated and rushed as she focused her full attention on her computer screen and her teller’s drawer, never making eye contact with her customers.

Finally, the third teller was a rather large woman who seemed not at all like a bank teller. Her hair was all over the place; her glasses kept falling off; and, while she worked her face worked with her. She had an expression for each and every banking action that she completed. Every once in a while she would look directly at her customer and smile. Despite all this activity, she was as calm as a cucumber.

When my turn finally came I found myself facing teller number three and explaining to her that I was closing my account as per the authorized form I had just handed her. I said, “I’m leaving Nevada and going to Florida for a new church job.” Without stopping her work of closing my account and counting out my remaining funds, the teller said, “I’m going to Florida soon too, I know I am. I am going to Sarasota where the circus is. You’ve heard of the circus, right?”

I have to admit – I was really taken aback. I said something idiotic like, “Yes, I have.”

The teller continued, “Oh yes, I have always wanted to be a circus clown.” She smiled proudly as she said, “I am a member of Clowns of America and I work at my routine all the time. As soon as my son finishes high school, I am going to Sarasota to join the circus. I know that it will happen – I pray for it to happen every day. I know God will answer my prayers; I know that I will get to Florida and become a clown with the circus – all of my life that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

By now the teller had my full attention. I mean I was really looking at her, and as she spoke these words of faith her face became beautiful – just completely beautiful. Her expression relaxed; her eyes shone; and, it was plain to see that she could hear, touch, feel and smell her gift from God – the gift of being a clown; and that it was already hers, although she has yet to join the circus, because of her faith - a faith that has filled her with inner peace and outer beauty.

In today’s Gospel Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” In other words, have faith.

In Hebrews, Paul said, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Saint Augustine said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward for this faith is to see what you do believe."

Scripture – both the Old Testament and the New Testament – is filled with words that eloquently describe both the power of God and the power that faith in God can bring to our lives – if we take advantage of it.

In Pharaoh’s Egypt God heard the despairing cry of the Jews who had been enslaved by pharaoh’s desire to accumulate power and money through becoming an agricultural monopoly. The Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians…the cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them.”  (Exod 3:7-10)

The Israelites did not ask to be saved. But, God in his grace saw their dilemma and delivered them from their enslavement to a system that used and abused them.

After exiting Egypt the Israelites found themselves lost and starving in the wilderness. They were angry and confused. They wanted to return to the old ways of oppression and a full stomach. God would have none of it. Instead, he offered them a gesture of divine grace in the palpable form of bread – manna from Heaven. Overnight, the starving exiles had bread from heaven that sustained and nourished them.

Once again, God’s grace was freely given; salvation given freely to those who were fearful, lost and suffering.

And, so the Israelites came to Sinai. They came from the nightmare of greed and abuse by way of the miracle of grace and abundance. God’s gift of grace had freed them. As they approached Mt. Sinai the Israelites asserted: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Exodus 19:8)

The story of God’s grace given, and frequently unseen and/or rejected, goes on throughout the entire history recounted in Scripture - right up until we meet Jesus. Jesus - God’s ultimate gift given in an effort to open our eyes and our hearts to his grace and salvation.

In today’s gospel the power of grace and salvation flows outward directly from Jesus himself. Jesus receives nothing from those who seek to be healed. He receives nothing, but he gives abundantly; he blesses; he heals. His abounding grace flows outward. He says only, “Do not fear, only believe.”

These are powerful images –

-         a people lost, frightened, hungry, thirsty, without hope in the midst of a hot and deadly desert;

-         a woman suffering from an illness that renders her an outcast who has spent all her money seeking a cure and is now a pauper living on the streets banned even from the temple because of her uncleanliness;

-         a dead child surrounded by mourners already preparing her for the grave.

All of them saved - saved by God’s grace with only one caveat - believe; have faith.

In a sermon given about one month following the destruction of the World Trade Center by Al Qaida, William Sloane Coffin, an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist, said:

 “Being optimistic is hard, of course…Let us remember how bleak the scene, how dismal the future to the eyes of Habbukuk, who still went on to say, ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.’ He understood that God’s grace wends its redemptive way through the disorders of the world and that religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing…What makes sense, eternal sense, is ‘God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.’ With that understanding may God bless America.”

 …religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing…

And so, my dear friends, I leave you with these thoughts on God’s grace, faith, and the salvation that comes through faith.

God’s grace is always there; it has always been there. We need only to believe. Through faith we can be saved from servitude to a life ruled by those who use power to control and abuse. Through faith we can move toward the unseen; the unimaginable – God’s eternal Kingdom.

And on this Fourth of July let us proclaim, 

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine

Will We Let the Spirit Guide Us?

Sermon

Will We Let The Spirit Guide Us?

Pentecost – May 27, 2012

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

 If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that people do not like change. In fact, if you hear someone say, “Boy, am I ready for a change,” please, please---be skeptical; look before you leap; and, if you are so bold as to actually implement a change that will affect this person’s life in a significant way---duck for cover!

I have learned not to trust the “I am ready for change” statement lesson the hard way. Reflecting back over the years, I can recall in a nanosecond several painful examples of this love/hate relationship that we all have with change - situations that I have muddled into; and, then rather ungracefully and quite painfully muddled out of.

Take for instance the time, when as the Director of the Altar Guild at Bethesda by the Sea, I took seriously several of the guild members’ comments about combining the Altar Guild and the Flower Committee. “Wouldn’t it make great sense,” they wondered. “It would mean that we could work together each week to dress the altar as beautifully as possible.” To me, they seemed open to and eager for change.

Never a person to hang back, I went to the Rector and informed him of our plans. He looked at me skeptically and said, “Are you sure?” With full confidence I replied, “Yes, I am sure. Everyone supported it at today’s meeting. In fact, several of the women said they had been considering making this change for a long time” With a clearly pastoral sigh, he said, “Alright, give it a try. Let me know if there are any problems”

Well, I tried – I really tried. For six months I tried and tried - and tried. I tried with group prayer; with readings from Scripture; with team building exercises – I tried. And, guess what? You guessed, right. It didn’t work. In fact, it failed miserably.

It didn’t work primarily because for years at Bethesda the Flower Committee had been independently creative, self-sustaining, and justifiably proud of the beauty and creativity that they brought to their ministry. They did not believe anyone else worthy enough to participate in the creation of their spectacularly artistic floral arrangements.

The Altar Guild, on the other hand, had been a fiercely protective group of elderly women who believed that they could detect whether or not one was called by God to devote their lives to the tender and loving care they poured out upon the contents of the sacristy and the setting of God’s table. It appeared clear to me, and several others, that the Altar Guild members did not believe that the Flower Committee members were among God’s chosen for their particular ministry.

People on these two committees had been operating within a certain set of beliefs and within two separate cultures for a long time. While they dreamed of change, their hearts were not open to experiencing a new way. They were unable to let go of the past and to step outside their current, well-known, world into a new and uncertain world in which they would be asked to journey along a new path. They could not summon the faith to trust the new; the possible; the unknown.

By the seventh month of our attempt at change, we reverted to the old two committee system. Everyone appeared happier. The Rector was very relieved; I could sleep peacefully again each night; and, I was a little wiser in the ways of attempting to implement change without really preparing the way for those who would be affected by the change.

Today is Pentecost. Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the twelve apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Acts of the Apostles.  Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthday of the Church."

Today is the day that “suddenly from Heaven there came a sound like a rush of a violent wind, and it filled house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). Today is the day that the Holy Spirit breathed the fire of life into all the nations of the world. Today is the day “that devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem” received God’s Spirit. In amazement, they cried out and asked, “What does this mean…What should we do?”  

Peter who was standing among them answered, saying, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).

Today is the day, “That about three thousand persons were added and they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

Today is the day that Christianity became a world religion. People were changed. They were changed in a major way. They tossed aside belief systems held for thousands of years. They became one with God. They became Christians.

Today is a day of change - A day on which we open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit - A day on which we recommit ourselves to follow the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers - A day on which we recommit ourselves as followers of Jesus to a life based on faith that the Holy Spirit is with us always – to guide us through the challenges of change.

This summer, we at Grace will begin a process of change – big change - as we identify and call a Priest in Charge Under Special Circumstances. A priest who will replace Father Dale as our spiritual leader.

There is no question that the challenges this change will bring to us are far greater than my little experiment at Bethesda by the Sea when I attempted to combine the Altar Guild and the Flower Committee. The change we are about to undertake here at Grace will affect far more than two small committees. Our upcoming change in spiritual leadership will affect each and every one of us here at Grace in the Desert. No one will remain untouched.

This change will be similar in scope to the change that the Jews experienced that day 2000 years ago as they felt the “rush of a violent wind,” and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit as it entered their lives – lives that would be forever changed; no going back.

Late this fall we will say “goodbye” to our beloved Father Dale, who, with a deep devotion to God, and guided by the Holy Spirit, has led this parish in its transformation from a small community church housed in a trailer to a vibrant congregation that dwells in a gracious and welcoming campus.

Late this fall we will say, “goodbye” to Father Dale, and “hello” to a to a new and completely unknown person – a new priest who, just like Father Dale, will be filled with a deep devotion to God and a heart with eyes and ears open to the Spirit. A new priest, who with new ideas will bring many new ways of being to our way of life here at Grace in the Desert. Late this fall, our community will experience a big change.

Precisely because of my disastrous results in trying to effect change at prior times in my life, I have learned to respect the dynamics of change. I have learned that if change is to be eagerly embraced and integrated into an existing culture that possesses a strong identity, it is important to set the stage for this change.

When Father Dale leaves us we will be not so very different than the disciples when they lost their beloved leader, Jesus. We will be grief stricken, we will be lost, we will be confused, we will be angry. We will say, “What are we going to do now? Who is this new person anyway; what do they know about us? Do they understand that we have always done it this way, and that it works for us?”

The sadness of this “goodbye” will be profound. The worry about what is to come will create anxiety among many.  The questions about where we are going will be too many to anticipate. The changes that will occur are unknown.

My question to you today is: How will we, as a congregation, meet these challenging changes that face us?

Will we be a fearful and closed minded community like the Altar Guild and the Flower Committee at Bethesda by the Sea? Will we refuse to enter an unknown future with faith and hope for an even larger and more vibrant Grace in the Desert?  Or, will we be a Pentecost people? Will we open our hearts to the fire of the Spirit and become one with God, and ourselves, as we welcome our new leader into this parish home?

Will we in eager anticipation and with the courage that Christ demands of us, walk with him or her as they shepherd us into new and exciting ways; ways that will encourage us to grow spiritually, both personally and in community, as faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ? Will we follow the Apostle’s teaching and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and the prayers?

As a community, if we are to succeed in successfully journeying through the pain and grief of “goodbye,” the anxiety of the unknown, and the welcoming of the new, we must journey together, as one, in faith.

If we can succeed in achieving unity through faith, personal courage, intentional prayer, contemplative conversation, and healing through the ministry of caring with compassion for one another, we will exemplify Paul’s hope for the members of his church in Philippi – we will live our lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

In deep contemplation and prayer, let us remember Jesus’ parting words to his disciples on that Pentecost day many years ago: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will speak not on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)

And, in our hearts, minds and lives, let us honor with courage and faith Jesus’ final command to Peter, and therefore to all of us, “Follow me.”   AMEN.

Salvation Means More than Going To Heaven

Sermon

Easter Day – April 8, 2012

Salvation Means More Than Going To Heaven

John 20:1-18

Marcus Borg’s chapter on Salvation in his new book “Speaking Christian” begins with these words, “Because salvation in common usage is closely associated with going to heaven, we need to clear up a major misunderstanding at the outset. Salvation in the Bible is seldom about an afterlife. (p 39)

Continuing with this thought he says, The first biblical framework shaping the meaning of salvation is the story of the exodus from Egypt... the leadership of Moses liberates (the Jews) from their political, economic, and religious enslavement to Pharaoh…This story is the ancient Israelites’ primal narrative, the most important story they knew and foundational to their understanding of God and life with God.” (p 40)

In the Exodus story salvation and being saved refer to liberation from economic bondage; liberation from political bondage; and liberation from religious bondage. The Israelites had been saved from Pharaoh’s Egypt and Egypt was not to be re-created in Israel.

Borg identifies the second major framework shaping the biblical meaning of salvation as the Jewish experience of exile in the sixth century B.C. The exile, which occurred between 597 and 538 B. C., began when the Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and forced many of the survivors – the most elite of the survivors - into exile in Babylon.

The exile is the historical context for the second part of the book of Isaiah.

Listen to Isaiah’s powerful words of God’s salvation:

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. ³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. ⁴Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.” (Is 43:1-4)

Rescue from peril is also the primary meaning of salvation in the psalms. Salvation appears in the psalms more often than in any book in the Bible, including the New Testament.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?” (27:1)

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (51:12)

I thank you for you have answered me and have become my salvation.” (118:21)

“Save all the oppressed of the earth.” (76:9)

“By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation.” (65:5)

Borg concludes his discussion on salvation with the observation that, “What all of these meanings of salvation in the Old Testament have in common is salvation as ‘deliverance,’ ‘rescue.’ To be saved is to be delivered – to be rescued from that which ails us…to be saved is to enter into a new kind of life – a life covenanted with God is the central theme of both the Old and the New Testaments. Salvation is about deliverance and transformation.”

The New Testament is also filled with references to salvation that have nothing to do with going to heaven:

-         From blindness to seeing again - In John’s Gospel Jesus is “the light of the world.”

-         From death to life – In Matthew when Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead,” the implication is that we can be alive and yet dead. This Gospel also includes the good news that there is a way of leaving the land of the dead behind.

-         From infirmity to well-being – More stories are told about Jesus as a healer than about any other figure in antiquity. This is salvation in healing the wounds of existence; as well-being; as wholeness.

-         From fear to trust – In one passage Jesus counsels his followers not to worry, not to be anxious, but instead to trust in God. (Lk 12:22-31)

Throughout the Bible salvation concerns individuals; it is personal. Yet, at the same time, it is also consistently corporate. It includes how we live together in communities, societies, and nations. Salvation in both the Old and the New Testaments is about the kind of life we live in the here and now and in the kind of world that we live in – in the here and now.

Borg concludes his chapter on Salvation with these thoughts:

…whenever Christianity emphasizes the afterlife as the reason for being Christian the result is invariably a distortion of Christianity. It becomes a religion of requirements and rewards. The message is, ‘Be a Christian now for the sake of heaven later.’ It focuses our attention on the next life rather than on this world…The answer pointed to in this chapter is that salvation is the twofold transformation of ourselves and the world. Moreover, I think most people yearn for this. We yearn for the transformation of our lives – for a fuller connection to what is; from liberation from all sorts of bondage; for sight; for wholeness; for the healing of the wounds of existence. And most of us yearn for a world that is a better place…Salvation concerns these two transformations – self and world – this is what Christianity at its best is about.” (p 54)

Today, Easter Sunday, is the ultimate day of salvation. It is the day on which Mary who went to the tomb to pay homage to Jesus, found the tomb empty. It is the day on which Mary, who after moments of terror and inconsolable loss, saw Jesus standing beside her and heard him say to her, “Mary.”

Today is the day that Jesus spoke of in the Gospel of Matthew when he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" ^{(Mt. 20:17-19)]}

Today is the day we stand together and say, “Alleluia, Christ is risen; The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.”

Christ’s apostles understood the resurrection as heralding a new era; but,  forming a theology of the resurrection fell to the Apostle Paul who had never even seen Jesus.

Fundamental to Pauline theology was the connection between Christ's Resurrection and salvation. Paul understood the resurrection of Jesus – the lifting of Jesus to the Kingdom of Heaven - as the cause of and basis for the hope that all Christians would share a similar experience. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 he wrote, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.”

Paul never imagined Jesus’ resurrection alone and by itself - a single event, involving Jesus only. Paul understood the resurrection of Jesus as the start of a general resurrection – the final act of cosmic justification transforming our world from an unjust society to a just society – an opportunity to transform ourselves and the world.

In Ephesians, Paul writes, "Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children---this was his pleasure and purpose."  (Ephesians 1:3-5)

Paul goes on, "God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God." (Eph 2:8) Jesus Christ – his life, his death and his resurrection – our gift from God.

John Dominic Crossan in discussing the resurrection in his book “Excavating Jesus,” writes: “If Christian faith has been in vain, that is has not acted to transform itself and this world toward the justice of God, and if Christian proclamation has been in vain, that is, has not insisted that such is the church’s vocation, then Christ was not raised. Christianity could certainly still claim that Jesus was exalted and had ascended to the right hand of God. But, resurrection presumes the start of a cosmic transformation, not just the promise of it, not just the hope of it, not just talk about it, and not just theology about it.”

As we go forward on this Easter morning, witnesses to Christ’s resurrection, let us remember that our salvation is more than just going to heaven; it is a here and now event.

Let us remember that salvation means making just an unjust world. 

Let us remember that, “…salvation is the twofold transformation of ourselves and the world.  – this is what Christianity at its best is about.”

Let us remember that, “…God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16) 

“Alleluia, Christ is risen; The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.”