Resurrection Sunday/Easter

ALLELUIA!!

Let’s say it again:
Alleluia!
Hear the Kids shout:
Alleluia!

We can’t say it enough.

Because today is SUCH a holy day.
The holiest of all days.

And Holy: Does not mean prim and proper.
It does not mean quiet and perfect.

Maybe some of our young people can tell us what Holy means?

Holy.
Sacred.
Special.

Special.
Today is THE most special day of all.
And a truly special day calls for rejoicing.
For shouting.
Alleluia!

Today is a day that is truly special.
But do you know what else is special?

YOU.
And I’m not just talking about kids.
Each and every one of you--
Are special:
Sacred.
Holy.

Today we heard the resurrection reading from the Gospel of John.
And I think that John has the best resurrection story.
Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb in the early hours.
And the stone has been moved away.

John tells us that Mary came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed.”
In other words:
The tomb is open.
Notice: Open.
Not just empty.

The tomb is open.
Open to some new thing.
Open to possibility.
Open and inviting.
It’s almost as if there’s a welcome sign:
“Come on in!”

Jesus has the same Open and inviting message for each of us:
You are deeply holy.
You are deeply special.
You are welcome with me.
Come on in.
But Mary doesn’t get it.

Not yet.
She’s devastated over Jesus’ death.
And she weeps.

Angles appear to her,
But she’s too heartbroken to understand.
Her unbearable grief is all she can see.

And that’s why she doesn’t recognize Jesus when he appears to her.
It’s not until Jesus speaks her name that she recognizes him.

It’s when Jesus says, “Mary.”
That She realizes.

Why is that?

It’s because Mary’s name is HERS.

Because our names are ours.
Belonging to each of us individually.
When someone calls our name,
We turn to look—to see who it is.

Jesus doesn’t say: “Hey You!”
Or: “excuse me, ma’am”

He calls Mary by name.
And when he does that,
It’s like he’s saying to her:
You are deeply holy.
You are deeply special.

You are welcome with me.
Come on in.

Jesus does that for us too.
Every day—Jesus calls out to us by name.

But we will particularly witness it today.
Another reason why today is So holy.
So special.

Today we celebrate the joy of baptism.
Of being resurrected with Christ Jesus.
Of Jesus calling the name of Sawyer.

Because here’s the thing about baptism:
We don’t just randomly baptize people.
And we don’t baptize people in big groups.
(If we had more than one person to baptize today:
We would still baptize each one individually.)
By name.
Each one of them deeply special, holy, and unique to God.

Each individual person:
Called by name:
Marked as Christ’s own FOREVER.
For Exactly who they are.

The prayer book tells us that
“The Bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble.”
Indissoluble: As in Completely UNABLE to be destroyed.
Ever.

The bond of baptism can never be broken.
No matter what.

Seriously.
No matter what.
No Judgment.
God Loves you forever.
NO MATTER WHAT.

No matter how many missteps:
How many sins.
The bond of baptism can never be broken.

And no matter what:
God knows each of you by name.
God LOVES each of you by name.
God sent his only son:
To die and rise again for each of you by name.

There’s nothing holier than that.
More Sacred than that.
Nothing more Special than that.

And it’s all for you.

And one more thing:
At the beginning of Lent: we packed up our Alleluias.
Everyone was given a piece of paper with “Alleluia” written on it.
And each INDIVIDUAL person:
Came up and put their Alleluia in a box:
A box that we kept closed up at the Altar all throughout lent.

Thanks to Jesus:
Our Alleluias not only return:
But even they have been resurrected into something new and beautiful.

At this time:
I’m going to move over to the baptismal font:
To prepare for the baptism.

And at the same time, I invite you:

Each of you as individuals:
To come forward to receive a paper flower:
These paper flowers were made out of our trapped Alleluias:
Take one As a reminder of God’s amazing love, grace, and mercy:
For YOU:
By name.

No matter what.
Amen.