Lose Your Road Map and Find a Wise Guide to Walk with You
Matthew 28.1-10
Easter 2008
The Unobvious Sermon Series Conclusion
Rev. Matthew M. Fry

As we continue to experience The Word of the Lord together, Let us Pray. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, O God, so that we might be moved in this time to heights we cannot achieve on our own. Grant unto us now the ability to go beyond our limits, so that we might experience you more fully. In the name of the Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hear now The Word of the Lord as it comes to us in the Gospel of Matthew. Listen for God’s Word for you today.

Matthew 28.1-10.

1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

The Word of the Lord…Thanks be to God.

Happy Resurrection Day! May the news of Christ’s risenness touch the dead spots in your heart and bring them back to life, so that you become part of the good news that flows forth from this place today. May you be springs of living water in all the dry places on this sweet, parched earth. May the fresh life that God has given you spill over to freshen all the lives that touch yours – in your homes, in your work, in your schools and neighborhoods. May you be Easter people, this day and forever.

The choir tells of the anthem “Easter People” so often that it has been built up so much in my head that if the choir ever does sing it, it would be impossible to live up to the hype. Or down to the hype, as the case may be. Being Easter People is hard work. It is to do those things I just said, to bring back to life the dead places in our hearts. To be springs of living water in all the dry places on this parched earth. In Georgia, we understand parched earth a little differently than we did 12 months ago. How do we be springs of living water in all the dry places on what is clearly a parched earth? How do we live in such a manner as to touch all the people of our lives, in our homes, workplaces, schools and neighborhoods, and to touch them with grace? It’s not an easy task. Being Easter people is a shocking call.

Which is historically accurate to the first Easter morning. Two Mary’s, Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to see the tomb. Then an earthquake, an angel of the Lord, the stone rolls back, the guards shake in fear and the angel says, “Do not be afraid.” Right. Cause this is just a normal Sunday morning. Business as usual.

Mary and Mary are given instructions. “Go and tell the disciples ‘He is risen from the dead.’” Well, I’m not sure how anyone could stop them from telling such a bizarre and unbelievable event. So they move quickly, as it reads, with fear and great joy. And then something amazing happens. Jesus meets them. Jesus reiterates the “Do not be afraid” sentiment, and tells them where the disciples are, in Galilee.

One of the things that makes me sad is that we’ve turned the Christian experience into a road map. We’ve turned the Bible into a simple set of rules, a list of dos and don’ts, and we’ve turned the God of creation and the incarnate Jesus into a simple set of moral codes, a way to live better and happier instead of a way to connect with the Transcendent, Ever Present, Almighty One. A worse crime against all I hold dear is hard to imagine. The ironic part of all of that is that Jesus himself was never about the rules. In the Bible, we do not see a Jesus who is always pulling his disciples over and saying, “This is a learning experience. We can do better next time, right Peter?” Instead, when the people around him bumble it up, as they are prone to do, he tells them a story, and guides them on their way. He doesn’t say things like, “That’s not in the instructional manual, is it?” or “Where did you ever hear or read to do it like that?” No. Jesus says I’ll show you. “Want to walk on water? Come on out and do it with me.” “Want to get close to God? Come and do it with me.”

There’s something to that. Maybe it is a good idea to lose your road map and instead find a wise guide to walk with you. If it were up to me, when it is, I always would choose a guide over a map. It’s an easy decision. The main difference? Guides are alive. They live and breathe. They are at least three dimensional. Maps are not alive. They are stagnant and inanimate. They are at most two dimensional.

I’m not saying lose your Bible. I’m saying that we need to remember to view it as a living Word, a document that is not meant to be a Road Map, or a list of do’s and do not do’s, but is to itself be a guide and a friend. It’s up to you. You can read the Bible like a road map, like an instructional manual, or you can read it like a wise guide, like a living Word.

In seminary I had a friend named Amy Snow. After we graduated, she married another seminary friend named Ed Goode. We get their Christmas cards every year. She hyphenated her name, and became Amy Snow Goode. Or, as I call her Amy Snow Goode. Seriously, you can’t make that stuff up. Anyway, Amy had spent 2 or 3 years in China, teaching English. Perhaps some of you have heard of something like this? As such, she became fluent in two things. The first was the language, and the second was in Chinese cooking. When she made dinner, it was some of the best food you could imagine. Now, I fancy myself a little bit of a chef. So I asked her to give me some recipes. “Can’t do it.” “Why not?” “I can teach you, but I can’t just write it down. You’ve gotta come cook with me, and then you’ll be able to do it.” The sad and awful thing for me is that we never got around to doing that, and I can’t even come close to making the deliciousness that she did, and I hope still does.

One of the things that I have counted myself lucky about is the opportunity to get to know people, especially when I get to do so in the nick of time. Leeonia Langley was one of those people. When I met her, she was about 98 years old. And if you spent any time with her, you knew what a wonderful laugh she had. When she told me that she was a baseball fan, well, I knew we were going to have some great conversations. I took Kayla over for a visit, years ago. Lillian and I blew bubbles while Kayla and Leeonia laughed and laughed and popped them. For weeks after that, Kayla would ask, “When are we going to see the fun ladies again?” And when we drove by Leeonia’s house, where she made our communion bread for so many years, Kayla stated, “That’s where the fun ladies live!” And I’m thankful that I got to spend some time being guided by saints in the flesh.

I got to regularly visit Elise Birmingham regularly before she passed. And watching Ken and Elise interact with each other was a lesson in love for another human being. I suppose I could read books on how to care for someone you love. But I’ve chosen instead to witness it, to have the Birminghams be wise guides who have walked with me.

The same holds true for Theresa Herron. She loved her family, her church, her animals, her husband, and her God. Talk about a wise guide to teach you how to live and to love.

Look to your left and to your right. Look and see folks who have been your guides, and folks for whom you have been a guide in the efforts to grow closer to the God of creation, the incarnate Jesus, and the Spirit of Life and Love.

These guides will help you to let go of big things and embrace little things. They will help you ignore loud things and listen for quiet things, to put aside obvious things and seek out hidden things. You will be strengthened in your attempts to forget easy things and learn hard and ancient things. With guides, you can stop saving your life and start losing it. You can let your thinking and believing become doing and serving. You can quit trying to arrive and become at home on the journey.

Love the idea of God with all your heart, soul, mind, body, life, work and strength. And while you’re at it, try loving other people. And try very hard to love yourself. You won’t be able to do any of those, but trying will be very good for you.

Do these things all of your days and forever. Do these things and live. Amen.