And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; -- it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." Mark 16:1-7

Taking risks: as believers we are called to take risks. We connect risk with following Christ. There is a risk associated with participating in Easter, instead of simply observing Easter. Many believers at times come to a place where they are frozen in their Christian life. But we must always remember God's promise of faithfulness -- that he will never abandon us. The risk of Easter means taking the risk of participating in the power of the risen Lord. Will we stay on the sidelines, or will we take the risk of being involved? The symbols of our faith are the cross and the empty tomb. Easter is about risking all we have, because Jesus risked it all, and gave himself as a sacrifice for us. God has done something for us, and so we are called to do something for him. Easter is about accepting responsibility, and not about placing blame. We may all let each other down in this life, but Jesus did not let us down -- he accepted responsibility for us by dying for us. How might you get off the sidelines, and participate in Easter? What might be your sacrifice for the Lord? What sacrifice are you called to give for the Heritage 2000 campaign? Remember that it is not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice. God does not ask us to sacrifice beyond what we are able, but he asks us to take the risk, and move forward with him. God said that he will give his all -- he has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He came to this earth, with no reserve, no retreat, and no turning back. Let us do the same for him.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 1 John 5:4-7

For us as Christians, it is not an empty tomb, but it is the fact that Jesus Christ is risen that fills us with joy and peace.  Soon we will be offering the Life in the Spirit Seminars, which help us to focus on trusting the promises of Scripture and the promises of our Lord. During these seminars, we will be praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a baptism of holy love that allows us to live a new kind of life. These seminars have always proven to be a powerful experience for the participants. We must remember that Pentecost is a repeatable experience. In Acts, when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they preached, and spoke in tongues, and proclaimed the Good News. This is still an experience we can have today. We are all at different places in our spiritual walk, and that is where we should be -- always in a process of spiritual growth. Some are at a certain place, while others are at a different place. But no matter where you are in your walk with the Lord, be open and receptive to the Spirit. We are not going to "get the Spirit," but the Spirit "gets us". And we can live from that point on in a new and radical way of life.  If you feel a special tug in your heart, and if this has captured your interest, be sure to sign up, and you will learn how to find new life in the Spirit.

Jesus himself stood among them. But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and the repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." Luke 24:36b-48

Imagine and recall someone in your life who has died. If suddenly that person were to open the door and come in and sit down, what would you think? That is what happened with Jesus and the apostles. Jesus suddenly was among them, and said, "Peace be with you". Intellectually we know this to be true, and we even state this fact every Sunday as we recite the Nicene Creed; but what does it really mean to us today as Christians? Let us take a look at each aspect of this momentous event, as we read today in the gospel of Luke. The first reaction from the apostles is fear. Jesus asked, "Why are you afraid?" He encouraged them to touch his hands and feet, and they did. They wanted to convince themselves of what was happening. As the apostles became convinced, joy replaced their fear. Then Jesus did something that is quite out of place -- he asked them for something to eat! Why did he do this? Did he want to make sure that he was really accepted as the Lord risen from the dead? Perhaps; but an even more probable reason is that Jesus wanted to remind his disciples of what they last did together before his crucifixion. On the night before he died, they celebrated the Last Supper together, during which Jesus gave them some instructions. Jesus' asking for something to eat was his reminder to them that they were to have fellowship with one another. And this is what we are to continue to do today, to be involved in community and to be involved in relationships. We are to offer each other hospitality. Do we just come to church every Sunday, and then forget about our church family until the next weekend when we see them again? Or do we do something more? What does it mean for each one of us as St. Markers? It means that we are to ask God how we are to become involved in the community. It might mean signing up for a prayer time during the Heritage 2000 Day of Prayer, or it might mean singing in the choir, or it might mean participating in the Clean Up Day, or it might mean taking an additional class, such as a Bible Study or the Life in the Spirit Seminars. God helps us to find ways to be involved in the community of believers. Next in the gospel passage, Jesus opened the disciples' minds in order to fully understand the scriptures and to visualize his kingdom. Jesus loves us just the way we are, but he does not want us to stay where we are. We are called to stretch and to grow in our spiritual lives. Finally Jesus calls the disciples to proclaim the good news. As Christians, we are not called to merely take up a place in the pew every Sunday, but we are called to evangelism. For us that means asking a friend to church, or accepting the call to missions work -- perhaps overseas, or witnessing to our children in Sunday School.  In summary, remember that Jesus always is calling us to move closer to him and to evolve in our spiritual lives, and to participate fully in relationships with one another in the community of believers and in the world.

Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need. Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (which means, Son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field which belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.  Acts 4:32-37

Grace -- it is kindness in spite of what we deserve. Jesus is the perfect example of grace. He gave his life for us, even though we didn't deserve it. All we have to do is accept his gift of salvation. We often see examples of grace exhibited amongst our friends and acquaintances. I saw one example of grace recently at a school track meet. Youth from opposing teams, who had come to compete against each other in a track meet, were speaking to each other. They were talking about the upcoming race, and contemplating what they might do since they were on opposing teams. They decided that they could run right next to each other during the race, and perhaps even cross the finish line together! This was an example of true friendship and grace: a willingness to give up something for a friend, without even a second thought. Our scripture reading for today shows us that the early believers were willing to give all that they had. They still had a choice as to whether or not they would give, but they knew they were doing it for the church as a whole, and so they gave willingly. Our congregation today is in the same position. We still have a choice about what we will sacrifice. We often forget that sacrificial giving is not easy. Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, was in so much anguish that he wept tears of blood; but still he said, "Not my will, but yours be done." It was a gift given at great cost, and given out of love. True sacrifice causes tears and pain, but in the end, it brings life. Oftentimes we think we are giving sacrificially, but are we? When it hurts the most, then we know we are making a true sacrifice -- given out of love, not out of obligation. This is true grace: giving with pleasure.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." John 14:15-21

Jesus, on the night before he dies, speaks a word of hope to his friends and disciples -- "I will not leave you as orphans". Before he dies, he wants to assure his friends that they won't be alone, that they won't be destitute. In this way, he prepares their hearts for what is coming. He gives them a promise that they will not be left as orphans. Liturgically, we as a church commemorate this promise in the next few weeks as we celebrate Pentecost --  the coming of the Holy Spirit, which strengthens and fills us. Apart from Christ and the Holy Spirit, we are all orphans; we are hungry, in an unsafe place, and have no one to nurture us. But our inheritance in Jesus Christ is that we will never be left alone -- we have the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who will be with us forever. Other words that describe the Holy Spirit are helper, teacher, guide, and advocate. He will come along side you, to guide and direct you. In the Old Testament, we see that God used external signs to guide his people, but in these New Testament times, we have the Holy Spirit who guides us internally. God puts his Spirit in us to lead us and guide us. The promise that we celebrate at Pentecost is that God will guide and direct us. During our lives as Christians, and our life with our Parish family, we experience many "crossings," when we cross over to some new way of life into some new spiritual place, where there is no turning back. As we make these types of life decisions, the Holy Spirit leads us. We can be sure that we have been given the gift of a Counselor who will never leave us or forsake us.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another." John 15:9-17

Have you ever heard such consecrated good news as in this passage? Jesus calls us his friends, and speaks these words so that our joy may be complete. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God." God is the source of our love. The one who does not love does not know God. What sign do we have that tells us that we love God? It is that we love one another. In these days, there is much confusion amongst Christians. Do we love God because we hold certain precise Protestant Reformation views, or maybe practice Eastern Orthodox traditions, or perhaps pray in tongues? No, the Bible doesn't tell us this -- it only tells us that you love God if you love one another. We know that we have the Spirit because we know and accept that Jesus is Lord; we wouldn't be able to say, "Abba, Father" without the Spirit enabling us to do so. And the Spirit likewise enables us to love one another. It's been said many times before: love boils down to giving. We must show love by what we do. If love is a matter of giving, and it is, then we can categorize love into three different types of giving. The first is self-giving love. The entire New Testament is a thesis in self-giving love. Jesus teaches us, loves us, prays for us, abides with us, and finally dies for us, and sends the Holy Spirit to us. The second type of love is forgiving love. In our marriages, and in all of our relationships, we practice constant and mutual forgiveness. We have to keep forgiving over and over again, and this is how we learn not to judge. We learn that the persons we are called to love are persons who are precious in the sight of God, just as we are precious in his sight. This is how we can have a special sparkle in our eye, and joy in our heart, every day, because everyone who we pass on the street is beloved by God and precious in his sight. Everyone who we see every day, and even those in prisons, in hospitals, and in homeless shelters -- all of these people need to know that God considers them precious in his sight. Someone must tell them how important they are, and we can do this through forgiveness. Only by practicing this type of discipline can we remember how beautiful and loved all people are. The third type of love is thanksgiving love. This is especially important in our relationship with God, but it is important in all of our relationships. Always thank God for the people around us; learn how to appreciate them, thank God for them, and through this we will ultimately grow in our relationship with Christ. There are all kinds of ways to cultivate this discipline of thanking God for those around us.     The whole of the New Covenant is that God loves us, and he enables us to love one another, and makes us co-creators with him, co-redeemers with Christ, and collaborators in this huge plan that God has for us and the entire world.

"Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth." John 17:11b-19

Two weeks ago, we remembered how Jesus promised us that he would not leave us destitute or as orphans. Last week, we learned about three kinds of love: self-giving love, forgiving love, and thanksgiving love. Today in our gospel reading we hear Jesus praying for us, that we would not be taken out of the world. Life in Christ is walking with Christ as we walk through the world. Jesus, on the night before he dies, wants us to know that the challenge we face will be choosing how we will walk through the world as Christians. Oftentimes, we define Christianity by a set of rules, by the "thou shalt nots," and by a series of regulations. In fact, the very first heresy that the first believers faced was this challenge, which was called Gnosticism. Gnosticism taught that the world is bad, and heaven is good. To be saved, Gnostics taught that you needed to escape from your body, since the body was of the world, and was inherently evil. The book of 1 John, which was in fact written to counter this heresy, teaches that if you believe in the Son of God, you have eternal life right now, not when you leave the body and get to heaven. Salvation is never an escape from the here and now. This heresy led people to miss out on who Jesus really was -- he was not a ghost or a spirit, but was a person who walked the earth. Another heresy found amongst early Christians was that of the first Christian Ascetics. They taught that as you walk through life, you must whip and punish your body into discipline. Some Gnostics, on the other hand, said that if the body is evil, then it doesn't matter -- you can do whatever you want, and live a life of licentiousness.  Neither of these extremes -- punishing the body and living only by a set of strict rules and regulations, nor living a life of complete licentiousness -- lead us to the life that Jesus wants us to live. The world that was created, was created to be a gift for us. We can pretend that all of the joys of life are not there, or we can just live for this fleeting moment; or we can choose to live life fully, to live the life that was intended for us, and to go through life celebrating.  How will we keep on living then? Jesus told us, when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will experience more, see more, love more and do more. "He who has the Son has life." (1 John 5:12) Today is just the beginning -- the best is yet to come. Jesus promises us wondrous adventures for each and every one of us who believes in him.  When you look at the world and at your life, don't be amongst those who fall into the trap of not enjoying the life God has given us. These Christians haven't heard Jesus say, "Don't take them out of the world." If you are a believer, than you have life. The question for each of us before Pentecost is: Are you living?