Episcopal Church of the Incarnation
Easter Day (Primary Service)
Acts 10.34-43 Psalm 118.1-2, 14-28 1 Corinthians 15.1-11 John 20.1-18
May the Lord be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart, that
I may rightly and truly proclaim His holy Word. Amen.
Outline of a
Sermon Delivered Extemporaneously
1) Alleluia! He is risen! Like Mary
Magdalene in our Gospel lesson today, we have come here seeking our Lord, and
like her we are told by Him, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father.”
a) Like Mary we can proclaim
the Good News, “I have seen the Lord”!
b) We can proclaim what Jesus
told us, and what all Scripture points to:
that all God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
c) The Gospel translation we
have heard today says that Mary “announced” to the other disciples that Jesus
had risen from the grave.
(1) In fact, the word John uses
in saying that Mary women “announced” of this is from the verbs apaggellō,
“to proclaim a message”.
ii) And that is which
each of us is called to do in our Easter joy, to proclaim the message, to
declare that the risen Jesus is Lord of all.
2) “Hang on!,”
you say. “You’re acting like I am
supposed to be some kind of evangelist.
I’m not sure I’m equipped to proclaim a message. After all, Mary found the tomb empty. She had first-hand experience of Jesus.”
a) She was with Him at
table. She heard Him teach. She saw Him perform miracles.
b) He spoke to her and taught
her at the Last Supper.
c) She saw Him die, and found
the tomb empty, and to be told by Him, “I am ascending”.
3) Ah! But we are equipped. You are equipped. As
4) But, each of us is also
equipped in our own experience of the risen Lord.
a) Like Mary, we are with Jesus
at His table each time we break the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of
our Lord.
b) Like Mary, we experience
Jesus’ teaching when we hear His holy word proclaimed in the Gospel.
c) Have we seen miracles, like
Mary? Well, I doubt if anyone here today
has seen a person raised from the dead, but think of all the times you have
seen somebody’s life–maybe even your own–changed radically by the power of our
risen Lord.
d) Have we seen Jesus die? Yes, in the darkness of Good Friday, in that
one day of the whole year when we do not celebrate the Holy Eucharist.
e) Have we found that tomb
empty? Yes, in this Easter joy when we
receive the message of the angels, “He is risen,” that
we might proclaim it.
5) You see, we are
equipped. You are equipped in your own
experience and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that when we believe in Jesus
in our heart and confess Him with our lips, we can do all things “in him who
strengthens [us].”
6) And not only are we
equipped. Like Mary we are empowered by
the presence of our Lord Himself, for as we gather here we gather in the
assurance which He Himself gave at Matthew 18.20: “[W]here two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
7) We are equipped, you and I,
to proclaim the Good News, and that is what each of us promises to do as a
Christian.
a) In a moment I will stop
preaching [Can I hear a “Hallelujah!”?], and in the liturgy we will
proceed to the renewal of our baptismal vows.
i) In this renewal we each
reaffirm the content of our faith, and renew the promises we made at baptism.
b) One of the promises we renew
is to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ,” promising
to do this “with God’s help.”
i) With His help indeed.
(1) With that power, that
victory over death which we this day celebrate.
(a) Alleluia! He is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Thanks be to God!
In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.