Well, how is life for you now that Easter is over? Does it go on as usual or has something changed about you as a result of it? That's the question I want to challenge you with which I tried to answer in yesterday's sermon. It was entitled "After Easter, THEN What? based on John 12:1-3. Here are my remarks in full...

 The day after Easter on the Christian calendar is traditionally known as “Easter Monday”- a holiday that is predominantly celebrated by members of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. In Germany, for instance, people go out into the fields early in the morning and hold Easter egg races. In Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, the tradition is not NEARLY so pleasant. Early in the morning, boys awaken girls by pouring a bucket of water on their head and then striking them about the legs with long thin twigs or switches made from willow branches. With more Eastern Europeans living in modern cities and in tall apartment buildings, young people celebrate the day by throwing plastic bags or balloons filled with water onto persons passing by. For most of US, however, I suspect that the day after Easter is never quite so mischievous, that everything kind of returns to normal. We rise up early, eat our breakfast, kiss our spouse goodbye, and then head off to work as we would on any OTHER Monday of any OTHER week.

I wonder what “Easter Monday”--the DAY AFTER Jesus’ first resurrection appearance to his disciples--must have been like for THEM. After all the confusion and horror of watching their Master die three days earlier, they had to have awakened that next morning feeling like Sunday had been a crazy but marvelous dream, and yet a dream they knew would never end. His personal appearance to them following three days in the tomb had been the most important moment of their lives and now they were certain that everything he'd taught them about the kingdom of God was true and would surely come to pass. What’s MORE, they ALSO had to have been convinced that from then on, he would never leave them leaderless again. I think we can be sure that on the day after Easter, EVERYTHING had changed for them. 

First, their UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY was changing. Prior to his resurrection, they believed that they were in the “last days” and that it was only a matter of time before the world would come to an apocalyptic conclusion, that history would consummate in a violent and cataclysmic ending. But NOW they would begin to realize that the “last days” had ACTUALLY begun with Christ’s resurrection and that it would CONTINUE to unfold hundreds, possibly even THOUSANDS of years into the future as his kingdom began to take root and spread throughout the four corners of the world.

If their understanding of HISTORY had changed, so did their understanding of RESURRECTION. Jesus’ resurrection had demonstrated that resurrection was not merely a case of resuscitation as Lazarus had experienced but that he had a TRANSFORMED body- one that could appear in as many places as there were sorrowing and despairing disciples to comfort and receive his peace. If there was one tearful eye to dry or one case of wavering faith to address, he would be there for that person. Furthermore, it was a body that could enter locked rooms with shuttered windows and throw those doors and windows wide open to allow the fresh winds of his peace and his joy, his faith and his hope to flow through their empty, cheerless lives once again. He had proven to them that there was no cell STRONG enough nor bars WIDE enough to keep him from getting to and ministering to them in their time of need- EVER!

And their understanding of their RESPONSIBILITIES AND MISSION had been changed ALSO. Now they would begin to take his message to the ends of the earth, not simply to convince people that CHRIST had risen but that THEY would rise AS WELL. Furthermore, with the outpouring of his Spirit upon them, he would make each of their hearts his new home. Thus they would begin to preach and teach with a new-found conviction and courage, even if it eventually led to their dying in the same manner HE had. And so for the past two thousand years, with Jesus’ resurrection from that tomb, his followers have lived on the FAR SIDE of Easter where for US, even as it was for THEM, everything is CHANGED, everything is NOW NEW. For the Church, Easter is never just "over," that is, another church holiday to begin preparing for again NEXT Lent, but rather, it is only the BEGINNING! Thus my question for you this morning is this: Is there an “Easter Monday” in YOUR life? How has this event changed YOU and how has it affected your understanding of YOUR responsibilities and mission- in regard to the Church and to the world? If it HASN'T made a difference, then why should we make a the big deal about Easter ANYWAY?

Our scripture lesson in John 12 just might help provide us with an answer to this question. However, that scene makes little sense unless it is first connected to the events in the previous chapter involving the raising of Lazarus. I have lived in this particular gospel ever since I first became a Christian more than four decades ago and I regard this account of Jesus at Lazarus' tomb as the centerpiece of John's account. For John, the raising of Lazarus at the very midpoint of his book becomes a most potent symbol for the church for in it he is describing that which occurs to EVERY person who is a child of God, for everyone who places his or her trust in the Lord. John wants the reader to know that even as Jesus had the power to unloosen Lazarus from the chains of death, so too will he raise any of US up who place OUR confidence in him- and not just from the physical death Lazarus experienced but from all EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL deadness as well. As Christ called forth Lazarus from his sepulcher with the words, "Come forth!" he no less summons us from out of our OWN tombs filled with all manner of sensuality and selfishness and pride, with grief and fear and despair which continue to chain us to our old nature and old ways. And as he commanded the bindings to be removed with the words, "Be ye loosed!" he likewise promises to deliver US from all that which binds and prevents us from experiencing the fullness of God's love and peace and joy. Lazarus thus becomes a very important sign to the church- he become a symbol of OURSELVES. This account shows Christ's WILLINGNESS and ABILITY to raise each of US up into new life with him and to equip US with NEW desires and NEW attitudes even as he did his FIRST disciples.

However, when we study the story of the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11, we tend to be SO caught up in the incredible circumstances surrounding HIS resurrection that we overlook two OTHER resurrections that take place in the very same account- I'm speaking of the EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL resurrection which occur within his two sisters. With the death of their brother Lazarus, something within Mary and Martha had died AS WELL. We discover that Mary is SO grief-stricken that she cannot leave the house, while Martha, her sister, is SO despondent that she cannot believe Jesus when he says to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." Thus, a miracle EQUALLY as great as the emergence of Lazarus from his tomb occurs in this chapter. It is the resurrection of Mary and Martha AS WELL, the emergence of them from out of their OWN tombs- from out of the prison house of their OWN hopelessness and sorrow which had been theirs since the death of their brother four days earlier. 

This all becomes evident in the beginning of the very NEXT chapter, John chapter 12. There at a dinner party in Mary and Martha's home, we AGAIN encounter all three persons, but NOW they have become COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED- EMOTIONALLY and SPIRITUALLY. In contrast to the tomb that had held Lazarus’ body for four days and reeked of death, the room in which they are NOW sitting is filled with the fragrant scent of the spikenard-ointment used by Mary to anoint Jesus with. As LAZARUS had returned from that mysterious abode we call death, so had his TWO SISTERS so that instead of unbelief , we now see faith; instead of grief, there is joy; and rather than despair, they are given to new hope. Not one but all THREE had experienced resurrection in the previous chapter and life for them could never again be the same.

For John, these three figures all become "types" or "metaphors" for the Church. They symbolize what it is that happens in OUR lives after WE have experienced "resurrection." In this scene, MARTHA is portrayed as a model of the PERFECT SERVANT, as one who waits selflessly upon Jesus, attending to his every need. She is busy cooking and serving and cleaning, trying to make Jesus and the rest of the disciples as comfortable as possible. Thus, she is representative of those who tirelessly work on behalf of others. She is essentially the first DEACON in the church- one of those who draw little attention to themselves but leave their mark by helping to prepare for Holy Communion, serving at congregational dinners, and visiting the sick and shut-ins to pray with and help alleviate their suffering. The MARTHAS of the church are primarily “DO-ERS”- those who go about their tasks quietly, gently, and humbly. They let their deeds speak for themselves and WITHOUT them, there would be little outreach or social witness to speak of.

MARY, by passionately pouring her heart out to her Lord, becomes for us a model of the PERFECT WORSHIPER. In contrast to Martha, Mary is primarily a "BE-ER." Her spiritual gift lies in her "devotion," through the offering of her pure and selfless heart to Christ. She pours a fortune's worth of perfume upon Jesus’ feet because she understands that NOTHING is too costly when it is presented to him in love and appreciation; because she knows she owes everything TO him, its value in economic terms is thus MEANINGLESS to her. Mary is every bit as important to the church as Martha is as she serves the church with her constant prayers and personal spirituality. She possesses the gift of intercession, a woman who demonstrates to us how prayer can move mountains often when our own efforts cannot. The MARYS of the church are its spiritual anchors for they remind us how service to others without devotion to God is empty activity.

And then there is LAZARUS. To John and the early Church, Lazarus is the model of the PERFECT DISCIPLE. He is the one who sits at the feet of Christ, digesting his every word. He is every bit as active in the service of Christ as his two sisters are for by intently listening, he thereby absorbs his Master’s teachings. Lazarus possesses a deep hunger to learn of the things of God and eventually he will become a powerful preacher and teacher so that when he proclaims Jesus as "the resurrection and the life," it will be spoken out of the conviction of his OWN resurrection experience. The LAZARUSES of the church are its pastors and seminary instructors, its Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders. They are serious students of scripture and Christian doctrine who understand that faith must be shaped by theology and practical instruction as much as by personal piety and humble service.

Thus, in this scene of Martha serving, Mary worshiping, and Lazarus being discipled is a picture of the church and its three essential components of service, devotion, and discipleship all working together. ALL THREE are needed if we are going to remain a vital and healthy witness of Christ to the world, and no one of these is more important than the other two: SPIRITUAL WORSHIP is shaped and directed by CHRISTIAN PREACHING AND TEACHING which in turn is channeled into the world through EVANGELISM AND SOCIAL ACTION. A worker MUST be a worshiper for worship is the one true source of the Christian's power; and a worshiper MUST also be a disciple for in discipleship, our values and understanding of God and the world are shaped and developed; and a disciple MUST be a worker, for WITHOUT putting our faith into practice, it then becomes overly-personalized and individualized, a deformed and ingrown faith that is incapable of witnessing to the reality of Christ WHATSOEVER.

To be sure, the CHURCH ITSELF is never stronger than when it contains a balanced corps of workers and worshipers and disciples. When we as church members agree to serve as ushers or greeters, when we fold bulletins or answer phones, when we help at church dinners or visit shut-ins, when we go on mission trips to build new homes for the poor or provide free meals to the community, then we are actively being the PHYSICAL WITNESS, the LIVING PRESENCE of Christ to others through Christian service. We are showing how Jesus Christ is alive and at work in us- through the use of our hands, our feet, and even our voice. Similarly, when we practice daily prayer and Bible study, when Sunday worship is not treated merely as an option but as the single most important hour of the entire week, then our bonds to Christ and the rest of the church are strengthened. It leads to greater spiritual maturity in our lives which is, after all, the goal of the Christian life to BEGIN with. And when we yearn to be discipled at the feet of Jesus, when we fall in love with his word—the scriptures—and learn that it is God’s love letter communicated directly to us, when we seek to discover and utilize our God-given gifts to teach Sunday School or assist with our young people, then we are doing the work of passing on Christ’s OWN wisdom and values to others. I repeat, the church is never stronger than when it contains a balanced corps of workers and worshipers and disciples- all THREE are necessary ingredients for maintaining a vital and healthy CHURCH.

And WE, as individual members of the church, are never stronger than when we participate in one of these three activities in the life of the body, than when WE are active as either a worker, a worshiper or a disciple. Regardless of how young or old we may be, each of US is called to one of these three ministries if we are to function as vital and healthy CHRISTIANS. In this scene, John is instructing the early Church that once we’ve experienced Easter in our OWN lives, then the “day after” is when all the HARD work TRULY begins. It is then that ALL OF US are summoned to become either workers or worshipers or disciples if WE are ever going to be spiritually whole and properly equipped for the mission he places before us. It isn’t enough to come on Sunday mornings just to socialize over donuts and coffee with friends we haven’t seen for a week, nor is it enough to sing a few hymns, pray a few prayers, hear the Bible read and listen to a sermon, and then think that our obligation to God for the week has been fulfilled. FAR FROM IT! Christ doesn’t call us to be SPECTATORS! We’re not summoned to just sit on the sidelines while OTHERS do our work FOR us. Rather, it means that our work as MODERN-DAY disciples is just BEGINNING!

My friends, today is “Easter Monday,” the equivalent of “the day after.” Thus, each of us must contend with the question of whether the presence of the resurrected Christ in our lives has actually made some sort of difference, whether it has affected our understanding and relationship to the Church and to the greater world at-large? However, the answer to THAT question can only begin to take shape once we have asked ourselves one OTHER question: “What AM I essentially? Am I a WORKER, or a WORSHIPER, or perhaps a DISCIPLE?” And if I discover that the answer to THAT question is actually I’m really "none of the above,” then perhaps I may have to ask the most FEARFUL question of ALL- “If NOT, then am I even a CHRISTIAN!” Amen and amen.