Sustaining the Enthusiasm of Easter

I don't know when I've been more inspired on what is typically titled "Low Sunday" than this past one, the Second Sunday of Easter. On Easter Sunday well over a thousand people, passed through Holy Comforter to get a glimpse of the Easter miracle, the empty tomb.  Then for most, it was back to the familiar routine of the day to day.  Usually less than a third of those who worship on Easter day will show up for the second Sunday of Easter.  Is it that difficult to sustain the enthusiasm of Easter once Easter Day is over, once the memory of it fades as we encounter the real human situation we live in?  Isn't the whole point of Easter to practice resurrection in the here and now?

In the Gospel reading from John's resurrection narrative (John 20:19-31), Jesus speaks peace into the midst of his anxious disciples and gives them a powerful commission.  In essence Jesus says, “You are no less sent than I have been. You represent me. There will be no more hiding behind locked doors, no more holding back in fear – you are sent-ones, directed toward the world in love with the message of forgiveness on your lips and in your lives.”  The disciples receive the breath of the Risen One, and are told that being a community of forgiveness is in fact a sign of new creation. 

It begs the question, "What would our church look like today if we would stay close to the mission of forgiveness which Jesus sees as the defining characteristic of those whom he sends into the world?"  Instead of the current polarization over internal matters within the Anglican Communion, might a third way emerge, a way of creating legitimate space for difference while claiming our resurrection identity given in baptism and nourished through our attempts to follow the way of Christ?

Sin is what separates God from the world and people from one another. Jesus has taken away the sin of the world, replaced the separation between God and the world with communion.  It is we, his followers, who must facilitate the conditions where forgiveness may occur.  If we hold onto sins that separate, then separation will continue.  If we let go of (forgive) those sins, reconciliation will develop, or at least have a fighting chance.  This is the power of the resurrection, the capacity to overcome separation and create a new beginning, a fresh start, a new life.

Looking into the eyes of the eight children I baptized on Sunday, I could not help but feel the eye of God glancing in my direction.  As the waters of baptism washed over the candidates and those gathered recalled their own resurrection identity and the power of forgiveness in their lives, I whispered to myself, "My Lord, and my God." 

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