Sermon: "Resurrection’s Perspective"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

On our church calendar, this is the Second Sunday of Easter - that is, the second Sunday in the season of Easter … and the first, of course, was Easter Day. Therefore, again in terms of our calendar, the last ten days included Jesus' betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. And now, according to the calendar, we begin the period of time during which Jesus appeared to his followers after his resurrection. Thus, by paying attention to the calendar, we have a pretty clear picture of the details and sequence of our Lord's life - from Lent, through Holy Week, and, now, into the Easter season.

However, such a calendar is created in retrospect - after those events had happened. Jesus and his followers did not have the advantage of checking the church calendar to see what would happen next during the time that they lived. The experiential journey from betrayal, to arrest, to trial, to crucifixion, to resurrection must have created confusion at least for the disciples … and, probably, panic as well.

Today's Gospel reading provides a snapshot picture of the disciples, following Jesus' resurrection. We read, "When it was evening on that day…"(Jn 20:19). And it is important to realize that the day referred to - "that day" - is Easter Day, the very day that Jesus' body was reported missing. Many of the disciples were gathered, and they met behind doors that were not only closed but also locked.

The disciples were afraid, we read. Of course, they were afraid! This group had counted on Jesus to be there - to lead them, to support them, to guide them. Some - perhaps most - thought there would be an uprising and that Jesus would claim a kingship on earth. And then, his close followers would be in good shape. After all, they would be the associates and advisors of the new king.

But things had not turned out that way. Jesus got himself arrested because he was not very careful. Then he was tried, convicted, and put to death. Some religious authorities had predicted that Jesus' followers might try to steal his body - and now, the body was missing! No, things had not turned out the way the disciples had planned. And so, they hid behind locked doors because they were fearful of what the future might bring. They feared, in fact, for their own lives.

How many times in our lives have things not worked out the way we planned? How often have we counted on someone or on certain events - and then been disappointed? And if the plan was important enough and the hopes, big enough, then our disappointment might have led to an empty room and a closed door and a lock against intruders. Whether the room, the door, and the lock were literal or figurative, I suspect we have all known such places. And from that vantage point, the future can indeed seem fearful.

For instance, a child facing serious surgery, a relationship with a loved one gone bad, a promise for promotion broken - we have known such disappointments as those … and others. They have driven us to our room of isolation and to our perspective of fear. We have been there, with the disciples, in that room.

Part of the Good News of the Gospel today can be found in what the risen Jesus did in response to the disciples, huddled in their room of isolation and fear. We read, "Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'"(20:19b).

The message for us from this encounter - the Good News - is that Jesus will not let us go. He will not desert us. No matter how thoroughly we isolate ourselves, no matter how fearful the future looks, Jesus will be there with us. In our disappointment, our isolation and our fear, Jesus comes and stands with us and says, "Peace be with you."

Something else that is truly remarkable happens when Jesus comes to us in our isolation and our fear … something else, that is, besides the wonder of Jesus' presence. When we become aware of Jesus with us, our perspective on the original disappointment is transformed. The disappointment itself will not go away. However, somehow it seems smaller, less fearful. With Jesus by our side, all our disappointments - even death itself - become opportunities for fulfillment and occasions for hope.

Therefore, on this day - the Second Sunday of Easter - our affirmation joins that of the early disciples: "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

Copyright © 2005 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee