Sermon - Coffee Shop Resurrection

Welcome to 60 church street the podcast of trinity episcopal church in Asheville North Carolina, we're glad you're listening.

In the name of the blessed Trinity, one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Just the other day, I was in a coffee shop working on this sermon.

And as it turned out, the sermon happened.

You see, when people see me in my clergy collar, often they chat with me.

Sometimes they ask me theological questions.

Why do good people suffer? Try answering that in the coffee line.

More often they ask me about where

I serve and they express interest in attending, though they rarely do.

Upon entering the shop this week, one woman said, enjoy Sunday.

I replied simply, thank you, because I know that if I said you too,

it would likely ensue a conversation about why she does not celebrate and she's

not going. And that's a long conversation.

People like to tell me those things. I understand. But this week,

someone else in line asked me a new question.

Something no one has ever asked me before.

What do you actually do in church?

I was intrigued. I wanted to hear more.

I responded, What do you think we do in church?

A fascinating conversation ensued.

I think you're looking to find something to help you make your way in the world, she said.

I mean, religion allows people to get through life, doesn't it?

After all, we're all searching for the right spiritual path, aren't we?

I don't know, I said Are you?

Let this be a warning to you It can be dangerous to chat up a priest in Holy Week.

You might become the sermon.

Well, sort of, she said. Lately, something has been missing in my life,

and I think that church may be just what I need.

I gave her my card, and I told her what time services are today.

Maybe you're here, my friend.

If you are, thank you for being curious with me.

It's not uncommon, is it, to hear Christianity discussed the way my anonymous

coffee-loving friend did.

We do it ourselves. Christianity is

one among the many spiritual resources of life It's a set of ideas A feeling

you have about it That maybe assists you in making sense of life And supporting

you in navigating difficult times,

And I suppose there's nothing particularly wrong With viewing the faith in these

ways I'm not here to judge how anybody walks through these doors,

and we can never fully comprehend the mysterious ways of the Holy Spirit.

Yet, to answer my questioner most precisely, it's not really what we do here in church.

We don't come here to assure ourselves about ourselves.

We don't come here to fill our needs or to make ourselves feel good.

We don't even, I know this is radical to say, but we don't even come here to

find answers to our questions.

Don't get me wrong. Our faith strengthens us for the answers we seek in life

for sure But we don't come primarily for the specific answers To put it bluntly,

Christian faith isn't something that just comes from inside It doesn't come

from our hearts when our hearts are feeling good,

It doesn't come from cultivating a positive experience or outlook.

Faith doesn't depend on us to put it all together.

Church doesn't depend on us to be having a good day today.

It doesn't depend on us to be feeling it today.

It doesn't depend on us to have the right mindset.

It's not here for us to just get answers what do we do in church the exact opposite

of all of that we come here to celebrate.

We come to celebrate an event not of our own creation,

an event that reveals the character of God and an event that, thank God,

we did not have to make happen on our own.

What do we do in church? We celebrate and we give thanks for a power that is

alive and active even when we're not feeling it.

That's what this day is about. All of these flowers, this amazing music.

We come here, actually, to do the same exact thing every single Sunday to celebrate

that there is actually something in the world that is real,

that doesn't require me to make it happen.

We come to give thanksgiving for the possibility,

even the belief, that God's love is pouring out even now for you,

for me, for the whole created order, even when our faith fails.

We come here to give thanks for a God that is living and active even on the

days when I don't understand.

That's what Paul is getting at today. The people of Corinth are questioning

his authority, and he could have responded.

He could have responded with his educational pedigree.

He could have responded by describing to them how he has achieved a higher spiritual

level than all of them, and that's why they should listen to him.

But no, all he does is tell the story.

In a passage that is probably the very first telling of the story ever written down.

Brothers and sisters, pay attention to this good news which you received, in which you stand.

You are being saved.

Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day.

He appeared to Cephas, to the twelve, to five hundred, to James,

to the apostles, and even to me.

This is what we preach, and this is what you have come to believe.

There you have it, the heart of the Christian gospel.

What do we do in church? We come here simply to stand in the good news.

A Jew named Jesus was crucified by the darkness of humanity and raised from

the dead by the power of God.

And that same God is still using that same power to do likewise for you, for me,

for this whole creation and everybody in it.

Jesus comes to the disciples after the resurrection, and I want you to notice that he appears to them.

There's no, well, the disciples, feeling rather hopeful that this wasn't the end, saw Jesus.

No, they are discouraged, down and out, believing everything has been lost and Jesus appears.

This is the good news because our experience is that all other stories about

God depend on us to get it right and to muster up the strength to feel it.

This gospel that we come to church to hear every single week is good news.

And our presence here today in some mysterious way is a response to that good news.

Indeed, like my friend in line at the coffee shop, we are often searching for

more meaning in our lives.

We often find ourselves going through a difficult time.

We are trying to find our way in this complex and difficult world.

What do we do in church? In the midst of all of the complexities of life,

still we come to celebrate and give thanks for a God who has the power to raise

the dead and make all things new,

even my own life.

So, my friends, be careful in chatting up a priest during Holy Week.

You just might hear something about God that is, at the very least, a new take.

And you might even come to believe,

in a God that is out to love you in all things and through all things,

and even into the end of the age.

That is the good news that we

come here each and every

week to celebrate and to

give thanks for no matter what's going

on in our lives no matter how difficult the world is we come and we say Alleluia

Alleluia Christ is risen the Lord is risen indeed,

Amen.

Thanks for listening to 60 church street a podcast of trinity episcopal church

in ashville north carolina now go in peace to love and serve the lord

The Homily was offered by the Rev. Dr. R. Scott White.

Introductory and closing reflections were shared by the Rev. Amy Peterson.

Musical contributions were performed by Dr. Kevin Seal.

Sermon audio was prepared by Nanette Popa. Production was guided by Karen Marie Frederiken.