5th Sunday in Lent

Neal and I spent nine years in the Upstate New York Synod. Bishop Jerge, who was bishop for most of that time made sure every congregation knew the synod’s mission statement.

“We are a resurrection people, who pray first, walk together and change lives.”

It’s a fabulous mission statement. It’s short, and easy to remember and emphasized at every opportunity.

But what does it mean to be “resurrection people?”

(pause)

In the fall of 1994, after several years of difficulties due to the economic recession, the closing of a local military base and a conflict between two families in the congregation, the little church where I grew up closed.

Well, technically it merged with a larger congregation 20 minutes away, but our building was sold, and the people scattered, many who found the drive to the merger congregation too difficult.

And so, while we technically merged, it felt more like we closed.

But Resurrection Lutheran Church in Rochester New Hampshire did not just disappear.  True to its name, it brought forth new life.

Our building sold almost immediately to another church.  In the last thirty years since the merger, that building has not ceased to be a church. The original church which bought the building later moved but now a Korean Presbyterian congregation worships there.

More importantly, a tithe of the money from the sale of the church building was given to a mission church to build their first building.  Messiah Lutheran Church in Amherst continues to worship today.

One of the beloved pieces of furniture from Resurrection was a handcrafted altar, made by a retiree for that congregation.  The altar was gifted to the merged church, where it is still used today.

Two of us, who grew up in that congregation became pastors after the church closed.

As people who believe in resurrection, we proclaim that death is not the end, in fact death is often required for new life.

Whenever I read this passage from John’s Gospel, I am transported to the days before the merger, to our last worship together as a congregation.

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Despite being a small church, Resurrection was very active in our community. We volunteered monthly at the local soup kitchen. We were active in the ecumenical community and were visible in the community.

When we merged, some of our active members joined the local UCC parish, and others chose to attend a different Lutheran Church on Lake Winnipesaukee.  Those people then became active in their new churches.

(pause 1.2.3.4.5.6)

What does it mean to be resurrection people?

As resurrection people we understand that death is never that last word.

As Resurrection people, we recognize that life and death are cyclical.

I suspect that the reason God created seasons is so that would see this cycle in the world around us.

The trees drop their leaves, which dry up and sink into the soil around the trees, decomposing and providing nourishment to the next cycle of life.

God created snakes who shed their skins, and caterpillars who turn into butterflies.

Sometimes it is hard for us to see beyond the physical world around us, to believe in life after death and the promise of resurrection, and so God shows us day after day how life and death are intertwined.

We see the butterfly emerge from the chrysalis, and we see the buds on the same trees that appeared lifeless a week before.

Being resurrection people means acknowledging that we cannot fully understand how God works.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds us that we are not to think too highly of ourselves…

^“Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”

And so, as resurrection people we must rely on faith, and trust in the mercy and goodness of God. Meaning that when endings come, we need to trust that God’s plan is bigger than our loss. We need to trust that life will emerge from the ashes of death.

As resurrection people, we cling to the story of Jesus rising from the dead on that first Easter Sunday so long ago.

As we approach Holy Week, and we hear again the story of the suffering and torment Jesus experienced both before and after being nailed to the cross, it is tempting to want to skip the gory details, to close our eyes to the pain.

But resurrection people understand we must not rush the story.

We can’t skip ahead from Palm Sunday to Easter morning. And, because we know the ending, we can sit in with the discomfort.

When Neal and I arrived in South Carolina together on New Year’s Eve, 2014, we came on faith. I left my call in New York to follow Neal who had been offered a position in the bishop’s office here. Anything that did not fit in the 16 ft truck we rented was left behind. We were convinced then and now this was God’s will for us.

But coming to South Carolina has blessed us in ways we never imagined. We experienced resurrection, new life that came from the loss of leaving what we knew for God’s call.

Looking back, I hope that each of you can see a point in your life when there was a significant change, a loss that required you to take a leap of faith, uncertain of what lay ahead. A loss that lead you to new life, new joy, new relationships, and many blessings.

We are resurrection people, even if we do not have a mission statement that names it for us.

As Christians we believe that we are the beloved children of God, worthy of God’s love and grace simply because of who we are and not because of anything we have done.

And we believe that Jesus died for us, a grain of wheat, dying to bring forth a bountiful harvest of human hearts. Amen.