For this episode of the podcast, Fr. Shannon has a sermon for Easter to share with y’all as our sort of virtual community and congregation of sorts! And there isn’t a coffee hour after, but if you would like to join in discussions, come on into our community at Sanctuary Collective. 

In this sermon, Fr. Shannon explores the significance of the resurrection of Jesus, emphasizing its relevance to our daily lives and the transformative power it holds for individuals and communities. This call is to revolution and to live out the principles of justice and love in the present. We encourage you all to actively participate in creating a better world, rooted in the hope and empowerment that the resurrection brings.

Takeaways

• Easter is often viewed as a future promise rather than a present reality.
• The resurrection of Jesus has implications for how we live today.
• Women played a crucial role in the resurrection story, becoming the first evangelists.
• The resurrection signifies a shift in community dynamics and relationships.
• The movement of Jesus continues to inspire hope and action against oppression.
• Living out the resurrection means engaging in justice and community service.
• The promise of resurrection is a message of hope for the marginalized.
• Fear should not prevent us from living fully and courageously.
• We are invited to participate in the work of creating a better world.
• Embracing our fears can lead to transformative action.

Chapters

(03:44) Easter’s Impact on Daily Life

(06:31) The Role of Women in the Resurrection

(09:30) The Shift in Community Dynamics

(12:25) Living Out the Resurrection Today

(15:29) Embracing Fear and Living Fully

Resources:

• Join our online community at  Sanctuary Collective Community 

If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology

This transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or omissions.

(9s):
Welcome to the Queer Theology Podcast. I’m Brian G Murphy. And I’m father Shannon, T l Kearns. We’re the co-founders of Queer Theology dot com and your hosts From Genesis, revelation. The Bible declares good news to LGBTQ plus people and we want to show you how Tuning each week on Sunday for conversations about Christianity, queerness and transness, and how they can enrich one another. We’re glad you’re here. Alright. Happy Easter y’all. So a little piece of Queer Theology podcast history is when we first started this podcast a million years ago, episodes used to come out, I think on like Tuesday or th on, I think it was on Tuesday, and we had this idea that like folks who were preaching that coming Sunday as we were going through the lectionary could sort of use it and be inspired by it and incorporate that into their sermons if they wanted to.

(1m 2s):
And what we quickly found was that some pastors were listening to it, but there are a lot of non pastors, a lot of just like regular Christians were listening to it in lieu of what were in addition to going to their church services that it became sort of a Sunday sermon for them that they listened to on Tuesday. I know some folks would say, I actually wait until Sunday to listen to it because it’s kind of become my queer church. That whether they don’t have a, maybe you don’t have a church in your area that feels inclusive and affirming or you that so you don’t go to one at all or you do go to one, but there’s just sort of like they’re affirming, but maybe it’s not like as queer forward as you would like, and so you would like a little extra queerness in it. And so sort of like in that style as an homage to that, Shannon has a sermon for Easter that he’s going to preach for you and share for you today as our sort of like virtual community and congregation of sorts.

(1m 57s):
And this is a podcast, so there isn’t a coffee hour unfortunately after this, after this. But if you would like to join in discussions, not just today, but all throughout the day and the week and and the years coming into our community at Sanctuary Collective and you go to queer thou.com/community to learn about that. And with that, I’ll turn the mic over to Shannon for today’s sermon. Our gospel reading today is from Matthew 28 verses one through 10. After the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven coming to the stone. He rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow.

(2m 41s):
The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, don’t be afraid. I know that you were looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here because he’s been raised from the dead justice. He said, come see the place where they laid him. Now hurry, go tell his disciples he’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. I’ve given the message to you with great fear and excitement. They hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples, but Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, don’t be afraid.

(3m 21s):
Go and tell my brothers that I’m going to Galilee. They will see me there. I grew up in a church where Easter was a big deal. We dressed up and had sunrise services and pulled out all of the stops. And yet at the same time, my church kind of sort of believed that the really important stuff theologically had happened on Friday with Jesus’ death. Sure, we believed in the resurrection and thought it mattered, but it mostly seemed to be about something that impacted what happened to us after we died. If we believed the right way, then we would get to go to heaven, but this idea of Easter of Jesus rising from the dead didn’t entirely have an impact on how we lived right here and now.

(4m 7s):
It was a future thing, so we celebrated but mostly about what would happen later. Well, I know the church that I grew up in was different than a lot of the churches you might have grown up in. I think for a lot of us, we carry the same kind of belief with us. The resurrection matters, but we’re not entirely sure why or it matters, but for the future, not for today, and before we can even get into that, it feels important to name that. I know Easter might bring up some disparate feelings for folks. For some of you, you absolutely believe in the resurrection of Jesus. No questions asked for others.

(4m 48s):
You might have some doubts or questions, some might not believe in it at all. Know that whatever you’re coming into the space with your questions, your doubts, your confusions are welcome here. And not only that, but centuries of scholars and theologians and pastors have had these conversations and don’t all agree. And yet we still have these stories that we keep on talking about and debating and telling year after year. Some of you might be hoping this sermon goes super fast that you can get back to music or to lunch still, others might feel like there is nothing new in this story.

(5m 30s):
You’ve heard it every year. You know the ending, And I hear you like Christmas. We know these stories. We think we have them all figured out, but I believe if we continue to grapple with them, we might still find ways to be surprised. So no matter how you’re entering this space today full of belief or full of doubt or just here to please your family, I hope we can go on a journey together to see what this story might have to say to us. Still in the newer testament, there are four stories of Jesus’ life and ministry called the gospels. Each of these stories tells about the resurrection of Jesus in a completely different way.

(6m 11s):
Each of the writers were trying to make sense of this story for their community and what they were going through. This story that we read today comes from the gospel according to Matthew. And we’re going to look at just this story and not try to cram all of the different stories together. Now in this account. Before we get to this moment in the garden, we need to pay attention to a few other things. Jesus’s disciples, the people who had been following him for years, the ones who left homes and families and businesses in order to join Jesus’s ministry and mission in this account in Matthew, the writer tells us that when Jesus is arrested, they all run away.

(6m 54s):
Peter Jesus’s right hand person is present during the trial, but he denies Jesus and then he too disappears. These men are now in hiding gone. They are not present at the cross. They don’t help to bury Jesus. They run away. And we can understand why Jesus’s ministry happens in the context of Roman occupation, the Roman government heavily taxes the people, earns money off of their labor and oppresses them at every turn. And when someone tries to fight back, they are killed. There are stories of lines of crosses. Lining the roads into towns is a symbol of what happens when you try to fight back.

(7m 36s):
Jesus comes onto the scene in this atmosphere picking up the mantle of many other prophets and activists and healers who say, we don’t have to live like this. We can live in a world where there is enough for everyone. We can live in a world where there isn’t oppression. We can live in a world where there is food and clean water and healthcare. We can look out for one another and well like many other prophets and activists and healers. This message doesn’t go over super well with the folks who are sitting at the top of the keep. The ones who are making money off of other people’s work, the ones who already have everything they need and worry. This call to help others means they’ll have less.

(8m 19s):
We’ve seen this story before. We see it still. And so Jesus is arrested. He’s tried as a criminal, as one who’s stirring up descent and his followers, his friends know that they might be next. And so they run and they hide. They’re heartbroken that their friend and leader is dead. They are terrified that they will be killed next. They feel like this movement that they have given everything to is a failure. They thought this time it was going to be different, but now here it is ending up like all of the other movements. Rome is still in power. They are still being crushed and now their friend is dead.

(9m 1s):
And so we can understand their desire to hide, to protect themselves. And yet after the Sabbath is over, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb in this account. They don’t come to anoint Jesus’s body because that’s already been done by the woman with the perfume before Jesus’ death. In this version of the story, they come to sit vigil. They come to make sure that no one can steal the body of Jesus. They come to make sure Jesus is not disappeared like so many others, they come to make sure their friend’s body is left alone. They come to the tomb knowing there will be guards there knowing they will be at risk and they come there anyway.

(9m 45s):
And when they arrive, they’re met with an earthquake and an angel and the angel rolling the stone away. This is an echo of stories and prophecies and language from Daniel language that the community would’ve known and recognized. Not only is something incredible happening here, it’s happening as part of our tradition. The women are given the call to go and tell the brothers that Jesus has risen. This is really beautiful for a couple of reasons. First, Jesus calls the disciples, his brothers, even after they ran away, even after they left him, even after they didn’t show up and denied. Jesus is saying restoration is possible. Not only that, there is still work to be done.

(10m 27s):
The movement isn’t over. So Jesus restores these men to relationship. And second, it’s the women, the faithful ones, the ones who showed up who get to be the bearers of this good news. They’re given the role of evangelists and as they turn to go and fulfill their role, they see Jesus in the garden and become not only evangelists, but also the first witnesses to the resurrection. In a time when women’s word wasn’t allowed in the court of law, in a time when women were on the margins, they become the first ones to see Jesus. They become the ones given the message and told to share it with others.

(11m 7s):
Share. In this story we see that something new is happening, A new way of being community, a new way of showing up for one another, a new way of organizing ourselves that doesn’t fall into the old notions of power and hierarchy. It’s important to pay attention to how radical it is that we even have this story. The gospels written years after Jesus’ life and death could have covered this up. They could have realized that this story would’ve made their claim about Jesus less likely to be believed. And yet they left it in. The fact that we have this story tells us that something new is happening, something important, something beautiful.

(11m 47s):
As we’ll see over the next several weeks, if you keep reading the lectionary texts, that even though Jesus is alive, people are still afraid, they’re still doubting, they’re still in hiding. Jesus was resurrected, but the church didn’t spring up, ready to go. They’re still floundering and nervous. They still didn’t quite know what to do. They still couldn’t really absorb how the resurrection changed things. One thing was clear, though nothing would ever be the same because the empire, the kings, the rulers had killed a poor prophet and leader of a nonviolent movement. And in the past that would’ve been the end of things. The movement would’ve scattered or changed directions or found a new leader.

(12m 27s):
But this time the leader comes back to life, the powers that be tried to quell a movement. But God said, no, not this time. And in the moment it became about more than a movement. People started to realize that now everything was different. This inbreaking of God into the world in Jesus shifted it all before the powerful always won. The poor were always beaten down, the people who had the most weapons and soldiers and might always won. But now it’s the little guy, the marginalized, the poor, the women, the oppressed living in occupied land. Now there something to hope for because if the empire can’t kill you, there is nothing really to fear and a people who aren’t afraid of dying, a people who cannot be killed, these people are dangerous.

(13m 21s):
As that started to sink in, the whole movement of Jesus followers shifted. They started carrying themselves differently. They started speaking with more confidence. They started making noise and making changes. And one could say that they changed the world. And we are inheritors of that. We are part of that movement that when lived out is still shaking things up and is still striving to bring about the kingdom of God right here and right now. And that my friends is good news and that is also our invitation. Will we do what’s right for each other, for our communities, for the least of these, even when it’s hard, even when it’s scary, even when it’s dangerous?

(14m 4s):
And that is the message for us here and now. It’s not about some future reward, it’s not about heaven when we die. It’s right here in this moment, in your city, in your state, we are called to continue the work of Jesus, which he laid out for us in Matthew 25 to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit those in prison. A reminder that when we do things for the least of these, we do them for Jesus. And a promise that if you are one of the least of these, if you live on the margins, if you are oppressed or left out or beaten down, that God is on your side. The promise of resurrection is God’s yes to you and God’s no to the powers that oppress.

(14m 48s):
And so whatever you’re carrying today, grief or stress, doubt, fear, know that God is with you. There is a word of hope for you in this ancient story. And know that the invitation to create a better world, to participate in the kingdom of God is open to anyone who will do their part. You are invited to play a part in the new creation right where you are by planting a garden, by feeding your neighbors, by working for justice, by standing up for someone who’s being beaten down. Every little bit helps. Will you answer the invitation? Will you do your part where you are? Can you imagine what would happen if we really lived this way, if we really believed that we can make a difference if we really believed that none of us were too small or too unimportant or too afraid, and instead did whatever we could to bring about the kingdom of God here and now, that would indeed be good news.

(15m 47s):
This call of Easter is for all of us to believe that God invites us into the work to believe that we can carry on the mission of Jesus, to trust that we can do it scared or full of doubt, the mission is entrusted to us just as we are. So may you play your part. May you seek justice. May you be a witness to the good news you have seen and invite others to join you in the work. And may we bring about the kingdom of God right here, right now, right in our midst. Amen. And I offer as a benediction a prayer for a remembered death by the Reverend Mike Abusey.

(16m 29s):
I was hemming and hawing about my fears. Will my body be safe? Will my mind be safe? Will my heart and lungs be safe? Should I make this choice? Should I raise my voice? Should I put my privilege and my life on the line? And my sweet and my sweet sister smiled and said, I once met a woman who shared that when her fear for her own life started to pull her back from actually living, she stopped and said to herself, I am already dead. And my brain broke open. I am already dead. I am dust And I am stardust. A fragile collection of glitter crumbs, ages old already honed by countless supernovas who decided to come together and dance for a short sacred time as one magical me made shape.

(17m 17s):
My cells and my soul will move together until the moment they tear apart and drift off to become another star, another shape, another fear-filled already dead living thing. So live you are already dead. And every tiny shiny particle that makes up your parts knows how to dance a revolution because they’ve done it all, endured it all and danced it all before you are new and you are infinite and you are finite. And that is freedom. So move with the courage of the supernovas who continue to shape this world. You were born to die like the brave beings who have blazed before, who looked fear in the eye and said, I’m already dead, so I’m gonna go outlive in.

(18m 4s):
You are dust in your stardust. And to both will you return. So turn it out while you’re here. Feel the fear, but also feel the fire that is not only burning you alive, but burning you to life. Amen. Alright, thank you so much for that message, Shannon. And to everyone listening who is celebrating Easter today, I hope you have a very happy Easter. The Queer Theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at Queer Theology dot com, which provides resources, community, and inspiration for L-G-B-T-Q, Christians and straight cisgender supporters. To dive into more of the action, visit us at Queer Theology dot com. You can also connect with us online on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

(18m 45s):
We’ll see you next week.