(Homily with the Help of Children for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on April 23, 2017, Easter II)
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Different Than Usual
It was a normal day at school. No assemblies, no special events, no early dismissals. But Jason was different than he normally was. It was almost like he was living in a different world. When one of his friends teased him in the hallway about his new haircut, he didn’t even seem to hear the joke. He just smiled and kept walking. When the class had a little free time at the end of the day, and the teacher allowed the students to have silent time to read or write or draw, he wasn’t tempted to talk to his friends. Instead he was busy with his pencil and his eraser. He drew pictures of himself and someone else. He wrote out a list of games. All the while, he was smiling. When the bell rang, he was first out of the door.
Why do you think Jason was different than usual?
It’s a lovely day out on the farm. The sun is out, there’s hardly a cloud in the sky, and there’s just the occasional breeze. But the animals are acting strangely. Down by the pond, the frogs are croaking louder than they usually do. Across the sky, the birds are flying unusually low. In the fields, the cows are agitated and anxious, swatting flies with their tails, and the sheep are all huddled together. The garden by the house, where the bees and the butterflies usually buzz about, is oddly quiet. On the ground, the ant mounds are bigger than they normally are.
Why do you think the animals are acting strangely?
Karen has had a really busy day. She had a doctor’s appointment in the morning. Then she went to the supermarket and stocked up on groceries; she’s been really hungry lately. After the grocery store, she had to go shopping for clothes. From one thing to the next, she has hardly had time to catch her breath. Normally after a day like this, she would drop on her bed and fall right to sleep. But tonight, she does not. Instead, she lies on her bed and rests one hand gently on her belly. A smile grows on her face. Her eyes are aglow. She hums a favorite song from her childhood.
Karen knows things that no one else knows. What does she know?
Living in a Different World
Jason, the farm animals, and Karen all remind us that there is more to life than what we can see. They all know something that the rest of the world does not know. And this changes them. It’s almost like they’re living in a different world because they know something that they cannot see.
Think back for a moment about Karen, the pregnant woman. How do you think she knows that she is pregnant? She feels the baby kicking within her. She feels extra hungry now, because she has to eat food for both her and the baby. How do you think she will prepare for the baby’s arrival? Maybe she will prepare a crib, paint a room, sew some clothes.
It’s almost like she’s living in a different world than everyone else. She’s living in a world that she cannot see. She cannot see the baby, but she loves the baby. She cannot hold the baby in her arms, but she lives like the baby is alive and with her already.
The World Is Pregnant
It’s a bit funny to think about…but the early followers of Christ thought that the world is pregnant (cf. Rom 8:22; 1 Pet 1:3). They said that there is much more to life than we can see. And for them, it all has to do with Easter. When they think about Easter and Jesus coming back to life, they begin to feel a little bit like a pregnant woman: they can feel a kick inside them, and they get really hungry. God’s love is alive! Life is on the way!
Listen to the way that our scripture describes Jesus. It sounds a lot like a baby to me: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” (1:8).
Easter:
A Kick in the Womb, a Deep Growl of Hunger
I can’t speak from experience here, but I’ve heard that pregnancy is sometimes a difficult and painful process. Your body changes shape, it needs a lot of nutrients, there’s something new and not-you inside you! But I also know that it can fill the future mother with love and with an indescribable and glorious joy. She begins to live in a different world—loving what she does not see, smiling at what she cannot hold, laughing and singing songs into thin air.
When Jesus came back to life on Easter, the world trembled a little bit. Like a kick in the womb. Like a deep growl of hunger. Because of Easter, we Christ-followers know that the world is pregnant, that it is filled with God’s love, that life is on the way—even to the saddest and most difficult places. And so we love what we cannot see, smile at what is not there, laugh and sing songs into thin air. We take special care of the world and ourselves because something special is on the way. All creation will be made new. We can feel it kicking inside us! We are hungry for it!
Prayer
God of new birth,
Whose love makes our world
Tremble with hope:
Bless us with hearts
That can feel
The gentle kick of life
In all creation.
May we cherish
The unseen goodness
That fills all people and things.
In the name of the risen Christ: Amen.
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