The Diocese of East Tennessee
Sermons

April 30, 2000
Easter II
Delivered at St. Peter's, Chattanooga

Sermon: The Valley Beyond the Peak
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

I am grateful to the good folks of St. Peter's for your kind and hospitable welcome of Annie and me. This is my first official visit here as bishop, and I look forward to many happy returns. In addition, I want to thank your rector and assistant rector, both for the good work they accomplish at St. Peter's and for what they do on behalf of the diocese, as priests of the diocese. Thank you, both.

There is an old song that I remember vaguely, "There's Got to be a Morning After." And the sentiment of the title, anyway, offers something about an initial point I want to make this morning. That is, after any major event, there comes a letdown. After a mountain peak, there always comes a valley. The day after the prom or graduation brings with it the necessity of coming face to face with the reality that the big event is over. In the world of sports, teams train in the preseason, work hard during the regular season, and then in the playoffs or the tournament or the World Series, there comes the moment that the team's year is ended. The peak has been climbed, and all that remains is the valley beyond. Indeed, "There's Got to be a Morning After." And, in this same regard, the week after Easter Day is known as "Low Sunday."

The long journey of Lent has been accomplished. The trip to Jerusalem has been made. The Last Supper and the Crucifixion have been remembered. The Resurrection has been wonderfully celebrated, complete with many "Alleluia's". And then comes "Low Sunday" - today.

For our Lord, however, "Low Sunday" was not low at all. True, he had been betrayed, suffered, died on the cross, and then, raised on Easter Day as the fulfillment of life's victory over death. But his story did not end there. In fact, today - "Low Sunday" - we read of the appearance of the resurrected Lord in the upper room - actually, not just one appearance, but two. And such an occasion can hardly been classified as "low."

The disciples, without Thomas, were gathered in fear, feeling deserted by their leader and believing their own lives to be in danger. They were experiencing an especially low "morning after." But suddenly, Jesus - the resurrected Christ - was there with them. And the disciples were overcome as they witnessed evidence of the victory for which they had prayed - but for which they had scarcely dared to hope. "The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord", we read, and rejoicing they most certainly must have done.

But remember that Thomas was not there. So, the others found him and told him the good news - the wonderfully good news. However, Thomas was still in his "morning after" funk. He really did not believe that the cause for celebration could be real - that the "morning after" could be as wonderful as the day before. He must have thought the news was too good to be true. He said something about seeing is believing - and that attitude has haunted his memory ever since. Nevertheless, Jesus later appeared again to the disciples, and this time Thomas was there. And then, even Thomas believed - and rejoiced.

Now, this episode comes immediately prior to the conclusion of St. John's Gospel. The final two sentences of the Gospel follow, and they were part of our reading too. "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name."

I remember quite well a sermon on this very passage presented by a seminarian friend of mine in our preaching class. He said that the points to remember from the passage are "See, believe, and tell." These were the points that Jesus made to his disciples - including Thomas - and these are the points that we should remember as well - "See, believe, and tell." And then, so that all of us would remember, my friend did a remarkable thing. He took out a flower and began to eat it, pedal by pedal. After he had eaten the entire flower, my friend concluded the sermon by saying that we had all seen him do that. Therefore, we could believe it, and we would go and tell others about it. Thus, see, believe, and tell. But my professor had the last word. As we gathered our chairs together to critique the sermon, he said, "I saw it, but I still don't believe it!"

You see, Jesus made sure that his "morning after" was not a "low Sunday" at all. He appeared with great drama to his disciples. They saw and believed so that they might tell others of the wonderful news of the resurrected, living Christ.

For us - like the disciples - the most important message today and always is that Christ is alive. Jesus Christ - who was born and lived, who suffered and died - this same Jesus was raised on Easter and lives even today. Further, his Spirit offers us power and hope in our own lives.

Along with that primary message there comes another one that is made more real by the Easter story of Jesus. That is, our "mornings after" include valuable experiences, too. Our days now - after the first Easter Day - are filled with the reality of the living Christ. Even in our "mornings after", even in those valleys that inevitably follow the peaks, even then and there, we may encounter the one who was raised from death on Easter Day. And so, this day and every day, we proclaim with joy, "Alleluia! Christ is risen!"

Copyright © 2000 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee