It's Still Easter!

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Luke 24:13-35

    Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  This past week in conversation with someone I said, “Happy Easter!” and they said, “well, it’s a little late for that.” I let it go, because I know I am a pastor nerd, but I had to really hold myself back from saying, “You know, Easter is actually fifty days, it’s a season, not just one day. It’s still Easter!”  And in fact, we believe that every single Sunday of the entire church year is a little Easter, a celebration that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed, Alleluia!  As Christians, we are resurrection people, whether it’s Easter or not.  Fiercely, we hold on to hope that second chances, a fresh start, and new life in spite of sin and death is possible because God makes it possible through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  We celebrate Christ’s resurrection not just one day a year but daily – it’s a one-time historical event that has everlasting, eternal impact.
    We have to admit though, it’s tempting at this point in the Easter season or at other points in our faith journey to get tired and settle back into old habits and routines.  We ignore that fire burning in our hearts, we forget to look for Christ showing up all over the place in different people and situations, and it’s easy to just go about our day to day apathetic if not depressed about the state of the world.  Even as strong people of faith and committed followers of Jesus, we can lose heart and forget that God has already done something about all of this through Christ’s death and resurrection.  We can relate to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They are leaving Jerusalem that Easter day discouraged and afraid.  “We had hoped that he would be the one to redeem Israel,” they tell the stranger walking with them.  They have heard the good news that some have seen a vision of angels promising that Christ is alive, but they are struggling to believe it.  This isn’t how they expected the Messiah to return.  Is this how God plans to save the world?  It’s a funny way of doing it.  These two disciples certainly are not expecting that Christ himself is walking with them down that road, talking with them and even eating a meal with them.  Why would the Lord of the universe choose to share a meal with them at this moment? It’s so ordinary and unexpected.
    For us, every Sunday that we come to worship and share Holy Communion together is an opportunity for us as individuals and as a community to jolt us out of just going through the motions. Worship brings us back to God’s resurrection promises.  Regular worship in a community of believers reminds us to keep looking for Christ to be among us even in the ordinary! Together, we dare to hope that positive, healing transformation is actually possible!  Every week we see that yes, Christ is alive and among us in the breaking of the bread.  How many times have we, just like those disciples on the road to Emmaus, looked back at a particular conversation or encounter with someone else and only later realized that that was a powerful conversation, that was Christ meeting me through that other person?!  How many times have we later thought, “Oh, that feeling in my heart or in my gut was telling me this was a holy God moment, but I didn’t get it.”  Weekly if not daily, we need to be reminded that Jesus lives, not just in heaven where we can one day join him but here among us and through us, offering healing, hope, and forgiveness NOW.  
    Just a few weeks ago, I was at an event where I met someone I had only met on Zoom in-person for the first time.  It’s amazing to me that because of the pandemic I’ve met new people and gone to meetings now for years where I have never actually seen the person face to face.  I know I am not the only one in this room to have this experience.  I did not recognize her at first.  Her two-dimensional Zoom video was different from the fully embodied person before me.  I hesitated to introduce myself. It felt weird – because I speak to her on Zoom about once a month – we already know each other, but we don’t really know each other.  But at the event there was food.  And we got to know one another better in the breaking of the bread.  It took a few minutes, but I was able to recognize someone I already knew.  
    The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus encourages us to take a few minutes regularly to recognize the Christ we already know in ordinary daily life events.  How many of you have run into someone you know in New York City, of all places?  (Show of hands).  If we can run into someone we know in the largest city in the country, we can certainly run into Christ at work in people we know, and in people we don’t know.  When we see reconciliation take place between two people we never thought possible, Christ is there.  When we see people working to feed, shelter, and clothe those who are barely making ends meet, Christ is there.  When we visit the sick and the lonely and welcome the stranger, Christ is there.  It’s still Easter, after all, and Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia.  
    The good news of Easter is that even when we fail to see Christ among us, even when we know we should be able to see him and have hope in the life that he offers, Christ IS there, even when we miss it.  Christ nudges us to see him in what we already know, because Christ first knew us.  Look for Christ, be Christ, strive to share God’s love in Christ – because Christ lives in us.  It’s still Easter!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.