SERMON, EASTER 6C, JOHN 14:23-29

I could wish that the Easter gospels consisted of more post-resurrection stories than they do. Matthew has Jesus appearing to the disciples in Galilee. The long, tacked-on ending of Mark has Jesus appear a couple of different times. Luke gives us the story of Emmaus and one other meeting. And John has the appearances with and without Thomas, the fishing story and the call of Peter. So theoretically you could have a post-resurrections story every Sunday through Easter. The question is whether or not we would want to.

For the past several weeks we have been basking in the glow of the resurrection. My personal opinion is that Holy Week this year was the best since I've been here. We had record attendance at all the services. And the Vigil, despite beginning oh-dark-thirty, was an amazing experience. People I've talked to have relayed that same sense of amazement.

With the new fire still glowing fresh in our memories, echoes of the Vigil stories in our head, and joyful thoughts of the sunrise, the church being lit up, the bell ringing and joyful noises being made, we celebrate this Easter season knowing that Christ is alive. He has conquered death and we know that we have been resurrected with him to new life. So I could wish for more post-resurrection stories in the lectionary.

As I asked earlier, would we want more of those stories? We all enjoy Easter and everything that goes along with it. The new fire, the lights, the celebration, the alleluias returning after their Lenten banishment; these are all tangible elements of the mystery of our faith. If we focused exclusively on the post-resurrection stories, however, we would ultimately trap ourselves. We would create a lectionary system that kept Jesus frozen in time, as well as keeping ourselves trapped in that post-resurrection state of mind.

And while some of us may not think that too bad -- more music, more candles, more Alleluias -- it would only lead to turning the celebration into the status quo. We would be opting to make worship the ultimate goal of the faith.

Where have I heard this before? Oh yes . . . at the Feast of the Transfiguration. "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us build three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

Just like then, when the lesson is that we can't stay on the mountain, today the lesson is that we can't simply bask in the glow of the resurrection and hear stories of how Jesus appeared amongst his disciples. Eventually that new fire will become old and die unless we work to keep it burning. Eventually the new candles will burn down to nubs unless we work to replace them. Eventually even the Alleluias will sound old unless we find a reason to sing them. That means we can't simply sit around praising God. A few weeks ago I said that worship is central to our being; it informs who we are and what we do. Worship, however, is NOT our be all and end all.

We need to get off the mountain. We need to get out of the locked room. We need to get out of our pews and begin working for the kingdom of God, making disciples of all nations. And that is why we don't hear post-resurrection stories all through Easter, because we are being prepared to become leaders in Jesus' absence.

Last week he told us that he would be with us only a little while longer and that we were to love one another. He is setting the stage for life without him. "Don't let your differences divide you. Love one another."

Today we hear again Jesus' stress on how important love is. But he is also telling us that we won't be abandoned. The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, will be with us in Jesus' absence. While the Holy Spirit isn't physically present with us, we believe it guides us and directs us. The Spirit calls us into vocations. The Spirit guides our scriptural study. And she gives us wisdom that leads to the knowledge and love of God which surrounds us and protects us.

Jesus said that he would leave us his peace and send us the Holy Spirit. Peace is not that happy mountain-top experience or the nice warm fuzzy feelings we get at certain times. Peace is also not the opposite of conflict, because conflict always has been and always will be part of our lives. Even in the church. We all have different ideas about our faith, and sometimes that leads to conflicts.

The peace that Jesus leaves us is the absence of fear. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid. The peace of God is the lack of fear. We shouldn't be afraid of proclaiming our faith. We shouldn't be afraid of working for the kingdom of God. We shouldn't be afraid to make this thing we call Christianity a priority in our lives; whether through our actions or our financial and physical support. Be not afraid.

In short, we don't hear more post-resurrection stories because we are being prepared to be on our own. We are being prepared to go from followers to leaders. We all know that feeling of being sent out on our own, of being afraid. But we are well-prepared. Jesus has given us everything we need to know.

All we have to do is stop basking in the glow of the new fire and work to kindle other new fires. Jesus is no longer with us, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is. Go forth and be not afraid.