"Glimpses of Resurrection"

by Rev. James Farrell

Many years ago, while I was working for General Motors out of Barrie, Ontario a dealer trade needed to be made with a dealer in another community a few hundred kilometers from the dealership. I can't remember if Jane and I were married at that time but since I had to take a Cadillac and return with a Corvette, I thought she might like to go with. She did and she did but it meant taking the day off work to be with me. It was a great trip, until a dog ran out from a yard and got smacked by the big caddy.

Please Note, here, when there is a confrontation between a dog and a Cadillac, the Caddy wins every time.

I felt horrible and didn't want the homeowner to come out to find her dog dead so I stopped went back to the house and tried to prepare myself for what I was sure was going to be a very difficult conversation. It took a while for the homeowner to appear but when they did I started into my speech and while I was still telling the story of the accident, the dog got up and walked around.

Resurrection? Well, perhaps more like resuscitation, but in either case you only imagine how exalted my mood was.

As it turned out, the dog did not belong to the homeowner and had just dropped by and then, after this situation, it proceeded to carry on its way without any noticeable limp or confusion or bleeding injuries…he was just as right as rain. The gloom of death had been lifted and the rest of our journey was a delight.

In a way it is a metaphor for "a glimpse of resurrection".

Glimpses of resurrection give us a sense of what is possible in the economy of God. They show us the surprise of life and color that can transform our expectations into moments of levity and joy from what only seems bleak and black.

The good news is that the joy we feel in the surprise is also part of the joy that can then be lived out in others.

We told the story quite a number of times and I suspect the relief and wonder we felt was also felt by those with whom we shared it.

"When he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!" Colossians 3:4. We share Christ's life every time he appears to us or through us in ways that really don't have to make sense to another person. That's what faith is…that's what the personal journey of faith is. We make that trek and things happen along the way that catch us unaware and they speak to us. They may not speak to another person or they may be stories that speak to others too. Like Luke's account, of Peter retelling his experience…it has spoken to people for centuries—or John's account of the first Easter morning…it too has spoken to people for centuries.

But stories in our own lives, that speak to us of the resurrection power of God in 'our lives' may only speak to us, but they are no less powerful and no less real for speaking only to us. When we share those stories they may offer hope to another or they may only help to remind us of God's power in our lives but in either case the power is in the telling.

At my ordination in Kenora, Ontario, my parents were both in attendance though they had not lived together for many years. While they were most often present at all the important festival times in my life, getting them together and doing the dance of reconciliation was always a part of any gathering…my ordination weekend at the annual meeting of Manitoba and North Western Ontario Conference of the United Church was not an exception to this rule.

Yes, it was great to see them both there and I believe it was genuinely important for them to be there. But the tension was also there and the busyness of an ordination weekend meant planning and holding in tension not only my folks, but other family members, friends, congregants who had driven in from Clandeboye-Winnipeg Beach Pastoral Charge and one couple who attended from Saskatchewan from the pastoral charge I was currently serving.

You see, I had been serving in Saskatchewan at the time of my ordination so this was a particularly generous gift for Ray and Lorraine to make as they made this trek across two provinces for the occasion.

Well, let me tell you, for me, Ray and Lorraine were as much angels as the two who spoke to Mary in the garden tomb. Ray, a guy who likes to chat, kept my dad busy with conversation and they genuinely enjoyed each others company. Lorraine, a quiet unassuming person, was the perfect companion for my mother.

So by the time the ordination service of Sunday morning came around things were as smooth as they could be. That was really important because there were other things going on that made that morning more than a bit bizarre.

You see another dear friend, dying of cancer had made the trip to be present at my ordination and while I had not seen him arrive or take a seat with his wife in the same restaurant where we were having breakfast, I did see him get removed by ambulance after he collapsed during breakfast. Ron was taken to Kenora Hospital, and we would have to wait until after the service, now just an hour away, before learning of his condition or being able to visit with him.

Through all of this Ray and Lorraine, the two angles in what was quickly becoming a tomb of experiences for me, held their composure and ministered to everyone around.

Jesus was present through that experience and the words from Colossians rang true, "When he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!" and they did. Ron's stay in hospital was short, and while he missed the ordination service he was pleased that he tried to be there. It was a couple of months later that I was able to return the gesture when I officiated at his funeral service.

Like so many others he lost his life to cancer but not his spirit. He was always a gift to Jane and me and there aren't many weeks that go by that I don't think about him, his generosity, his selfless commitment to our relationship and his courageous death.

But just as his own story had moments of resurrection there are stories of hope that live for others too.

Another friend of mine had a terrible battle with cancer as well. His was the kind of cancer that only 2% of people survive so it was understandable that many people had him dead and buried in their minds. But things in God's economy have a way of turning out not as one expects and for this friend, the cancer was not going to have the last word.

A struggle ensued, of course, as the battle went on, but he lives vitally and has been cancer free for more than five years.

When 98% of you is considered dead, it is nothing short of a miracle to survive that sentence and to experience new life out the other side of it.

The story of the Garden Tomb is the story of resurrection that we all know. We weren't there but we can share in its power… the wonder and majesty of God is that we get to share in resurrection stories all the time. Some with pictures of life that is sustaining some that don't have physical life as their final result. But stories that give us glimpses of resurrection joy that sustain us along our journey...Stories that we can share to help empower others on their journey.

"When he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!"

I invite you to think about the angels that have been present to you, and the times that Christ's appearing have allowed you to appear with him. These are not one-time events, they recur and transform us and assure us that God is in our midst and that life moves among, within and because of the spirit of God, there is our faith, and our hope, our strength and our joy.

Is there resurrection news this morning? You bet there is! Have we faith sufficient to abandon our tomb and live the Life God offers? I trust that through Christ's appearing in our lives and the lives of others, to that question we can proclaim a resounding yes! Amen.