A Sermon by The Most Rev. John T. Cahoon, Jr.,
Metropolitan, Anglican Catholic Church, and Rector of
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland, given at the parish on Easter Sunday, 1997
We have spent much of Lent thinking about the crowd, but there was no crowd around Jesus on the first Easter morning. That is one of the reasons the New Testament doesn't have a description of the actual moment of the resurrection. We've seen pictures of Jesus coming up out of his tomb or emerging from the cave where he was buried with soldiers lying around asleep. But those pictures are just speculation.
The arresting thing about the section of St. John's Gospel we read on Easter is that Jesus is not in it. The Gospel describes a tomb, and Jesus is not in it either. Jesus' two closest associates, St. Peter and St. John, are running to the tomb to check out a story.
The story came from their friend Mary Magdalene who went to the tomb herself earlier in the morning--to pray or to grieve or to finish the perfuming and embalming job that got cut off Friday afternoon. When Mary saw that the stone which had sealed the cave was now rolled away, she concluded that someone had stolen Jesus' body.
She came to tell Peter and John, and it is just possible that she thought they did it. The Jewish leaders were certainly afraid that someone was going to steal Jesus' body. The reason there are sleeping soldiers in pictures of the resurrection is that the chief priests and Pharisees got the Roman governor to assign them to guard duty the day before.
They told Pontius Pilate, in the delicious words of the King James Version, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, when he was yet alive, 'After three days. I will rise again.' Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, 'He is risen from the dead': so the last error shall be worse than the first."
The disciples did say unto the people, "He is risen from the dead," but it was no error, and it was not because they had stashed the corpse somewhere no one could find it. The disciples said Jesus had risen from the dead, because he did rise from the dead, and they saw him and they talked with him and they ate with him.
I have believed in the bodily resurrection of Jesus for a long time now. I don't have much difficulty taking the New Testament at face value. I am impressed that the people who claimed they saw Jesus alive again after he was dead were willing to be killed themselves rather than deny it. I perceive the live Jesus when I receive Holy Communion, and in the persistence of the church for two thousand years despite the best efforts of human beings to wreck it, and I know I am experiencing Christ's resurrection when God forgives my sins.
But I also find an argument St. Paul makes quite appealing, because he reminds me what I would lose if I did not believe in the resurrection.
He writes, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
In other words, if there is no resurrection--either of Jesus then or of us when Jesus comes back--then the Christian religion is a blasphemous waste of time, I am stuck with my sins, the dead people I was looking forward to seeing again are just lost and gone, and the only place I can look for hope is in this world--not a promising prospect, given the morning newspaper and what I know about history, and the condition of my mind and my heart.
So I am going to stick with the old country gospel song whose refrain goes, "Somebody stole his body?! It must have been the Lord," and I am going to stick with my friend St. Paul, because he assures me, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
He is risen. The Lord is risen indeed.
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Services & Events
Easter Sunday, April 5, Striking of the New Fire at beginning of 9:00 AM service
Easter Sunday, April 5, 9:00 AM and 11:15 AM Services, for online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland
Monday, 7:30 PM, undercroft, Discussion on the Saints, with Fr. Bragg, all are invited even if you have not been to prior discussions. For online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland
Wednesday at Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing
Sunday April 12 (Low Sunday) a combined service at 10 AM will take place at St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland. (There will be no services at 9 nor 11:15 AM.) Following the combined service there will be a special reception honoring our Rector Fr. John Roddy for his many years of service to us and to the parish.
Saturday, April 18, 8:30 AM, Men's Breakfast, cooked by the one and only breakfast chef extraordinaire Claude Crump, and an always inspirational Bible study by Father Bragg; good food, good fellowship, and great Bible study!
Monday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. Vestry Meeting, undercroft
Thursday, April 30, 7:30 PM, undercroft, Inquirers class (everyone invited): Since Bishop Johnson will visit the Parish on Sunday, June 14 to offer the rites of Confirmation and Reception. Father Chris will be offering an Inquirers’ Class leading up to the Bishop's visit. This class will introduce and explore the life, faith, and practice of the Anglican tradition using Archbishop Haverland's primer, Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice. Together we will look at the foundations of the Christian faith, the meaning of the sacraments, the structure of the Church, and the distinctive spirituality of Anglican worship shaped by the Book of Common Prayer. It is also an opportunity to ask questions, reflect on one’s own faith journey, and grow in understanding of what it means to live the Christian life within our Church. While the class will prepare those who wish to be confirmed and received into the Anglican Catholic Church, anyone who wants to learn more about Anglican faith and practice is warmly invited. If you are new to the parish, exploring Anglicanism for the first time, or attending for years and like a deeper understanding of the Church’s life and teaching, this class is for you. Please let Fr. Chris know if you would like to attend.
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MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center: Just Updated
Critical Needs & More
Instead of presenting the whole list of needs, we are emphasizing the critical needs that MaRiH Center has and listing some other needs. The critical needs list below has just been updated:
Diapers, sizes 5 and 6
Spring/Simmer clothing (Boys & Girls), size 0-3 months, size 2T
Wipes
Baby Blankets
Baby formula: Similac Advance Formula
Bibs: toddler
Other needs:
Diapers, newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4
Spring/Summer Clothing, 3-6 month, 9-12 month, 18-24 month,
Bibs, infant
Maternity clothes (Spring/Summer)
Wash cloths
Hooded towels
Diaper rash ointment
There are two options for helping the Center with these needs!
Option 1
Amazon has all the specific items needed. You can order the specific item(s) and have them delivered directly to the Center.
The MaRiH Center
3230B Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-4521
703-370-4774
Option 2
Go to your local store, purchase the items requested and drop them off at church on Sunday. We will deliver them to the MaRIH Center.
Food Bank Needs
The food bank continues to need our assistance to feed the hungry. Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). Also lower sodium products are better and more healthy.
Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
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