JOHN 20:1-18
Gordon E. Ellis
Easter Sunday
April 11, 2004
ON THE LOOSE
LAST Sunday, we had a GOAT in church, & the whole SERMON focused on the goat and a High Priest. And it was truly a WONDERFUL experience! However, shortly after 12:30, after nearly EVERYONE was GONE from church, I looked out my office window and saw the GOAT running up Academy Hill, OUTSIDE the fence. Well, my mind pictured him getting HIT by a car, and ME having to tell the OWNERS, whom I didn’t really know at all, that their favorite goat, the GENTLE one of their flock, was now road-kill. SO, I ran outside! Roger Dietz was picking up his son from choir practice. I said: Can you help me catch a goat? He said: SURE, I’ll take the car around the block. In the meantime, I took off on FOOT, in my SUIT and TIE, and good SHOES. The goat went through someone’s back yard toward the ATM machine behind Banknorth. Then he circled back, through someone else’s back yard. I wasn’t far behind. He went down Oak Street. I passed some kids. They said, Was that a GOAT we saw? I said: Yes, and if he comes up to you, hold onto him for me. He went behind another family’s home on Oak Street and circled BACK through the big parking lot out here. THEN, he ran between the church and Lincoln-Lewis apartments. I think some of the elderly folk enjoyed the SIGHT. I’m not sure whether they thought the goat was funnier or I was. I was losing ground now, but I kept going. Pat & Kelly Nelson noticed our dilemma, and THEY followed by CAR as well. We did the circle AGAIN, and the kids on Oak Street shouted: He went THAT way! Dave Rossi spotted us THIS time as we came across the parking lot, and HE joined in the chase. The THIRD time we did the circle, the kids on OAK Street shouted: Boy, the GOAT’S a lot faster than YOU are, Mister. I said: No kidding! Then, Roger pulled up in his car. He said: Hey, you’re going to have a HEART attack. Listen: I do a lot of HUNTING, and animals ALWAYS run in a CIRCLE. If you just WAIT here, he’ll come back AROUND. I said: NOW you tell me! So, I waited at the entrance to the Lincoln-Lewis parking lot. BUT, BEFORE the goat could come back around again, I saw Roger jump out of his car at the top of Academy Hill. He CORNERED the goat in someone’s back yard and CAUGHT him. Roger handed him over to ME, and I DRAGGED the goat, with lots of fits and starts back down the hill and around the church and INTO the play yard out back. First he didn’t want to go, and I dragged him. Then he decided to go like crazy, and he dragged me. Then he would stop on all of a sudden and I’d keep going. It must have been hilarious, and if it were videotaped, I’m sure it would win some money for us on America’s Funniest Home Videos. When we go to the play yard and decided not to leave him there again (I was going to put him in the back stairwell for the afternoon), Pat had a great idea of making him a SMALLER pen where the air conditioner is. I pictured the hoses and wires chewed, but Dave found plywood to make keep the goat hemmed in. And so that he would jump out, we put a TARP on top of the whole thing. And finally, at about 2 o’clock, I got home. But ALL I could THINK about all afternoon was the GOAT and how easy he could become road-kill. SO, I was BACK here by 4:00 to check on him. I sure didn’t want that GOAT on the LOOSE again!
Now, you’re PROBABLY asking: WHAT does this GOAT story have to do with our Scripture Lesson for today, or with EASTER. Well, it’s LOOSELY connected, VERY loosely. You see: WHAT does JESUS say to MARY when she goes to HUG Him? And of COURSE she wants to HUG Him. He was DEAD, and now, He’s ALIVE again! SO, she WANTS to get her ARMS around Him and SHOW Him the AFFECTION that she FEELS for Him. And MOST of all, she wants to make SURE that she doesn’t LOSE Him again! And who among US wouldn’t do the SAME, either to JESUS, OR to a lost LOVED one? SURPRISINGLY, however, Jesus instructs her NOT to HOLD onto Him. And it IS a surprise, because after everything He’s BEEN through, you’d THINK that He would APPRECIATE a HUG. I certainly would. And even though He EXPLAINS to her that TOUCH is out of the question, because He has NOT yet ascended into Heaven, His REFUSAL seems a bit INSENSITIVE, at least for JESUS. What happened to the One who was ALWAYS willing to TOUCH someone? WHY does He refuse her?
Well, AS I told you a couple of WEEKS ago: when you read JOHN’S gospel, you need to wear BIFOCALS. You need to look at the SURFACE story, but KNOW that there’s a DEEPER meaning as well. And I believe that Jesus REFUSES to be TOUCHED here because He is NOW the RISEN Christ! He is NOW the RISEN Savior! He is NOW like that GOAT, so to speak. He is ON the LOOSE. You see: JUST as He could NOT be HELD in that dark and dingy TOMB, NEITHER can He be CONFINED, or contained, by OUR limited EXPECTATIONS of Him. And let’s FACE it: MARY’S desire to hold ON to Him SHOWS her desire to hold ON to the MOMENT, to hold ON to what she KNOWS about Jesus. But JESUS, here, is DECLARING that He can NO longer be HELD! He is ON the LOOSE in this world. He is the RISEN Christ! And He has WORK to DO!
And DOESN’T that make SENSE? During His EARTHLY ministry, Jesus CONTINUALLY challenged the IDEA that ANY person, or any GROUP, had ANY kind of special HOLD upon GOD. And ISN’T that why the JEWISH leaders found Him to be such a THREAT? After all: THEIR job was to teach the JEWISH people that THEY were the CHOSEN people, and that their adherence to the law would bring them special FAVOR from God. IN fact, they thought they had SUCH a hold on GOD that they EVEN believed that the Almighty could be contained in a BOX, in what wa called the ARK of the Covenant. And this BOX was hidden away behind a CURTAIN in the Temple, in what was called the Holy of Holies. And THEY believed that THIS is where God LIVED -- in this BOX!
JESUS, on the other hand, tried to teach them, and show them, that God was ON the LOOSE throughout the world, that God was everywhere, especially WITHIN people of FAITH. For JESUS, the Holy of Holies could be found in the HEARTS all those COMMITTED to living a NEW form of RIGHTEOUSNESS, a righteousness NOT based on the letter of the LAW, but on the SPIRIT of law, which is LOVE and FORGIVENESS. And over and over again in the gospels, Jesus tries to TEAR DOWN the artificial BARRIERS that His religion constructed in order to keep GOD in and keep PEOPLE OUT. In fact, we EVEN see this message proclaimed in the DEATH of Jesus. The gospels tell us that, as Jesus breathed His LAST, that CURTAIN in the Temple that surrounded the Holy of Holies, was TORN from top to bottom. Now, there are TWO ways to interpret this: either it means that EVERYONE can now ENTER the Holy of Holies, and not JUST the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, OR, it means that God has now ESCAPED from the PRISON of their NARROW and confining THINKING. And I believe it’s the LATTER. I believe that Jesus is constantly CHALLENGING us to consider how WE, like Mary, try to HOLD ON to Jesus, try to contain GOD within our OWN self-constructed BOUNDARIES, and maybe try to create God in our OWN image.
MAYBE for us, it’s by the LANGUAGE we use. For SOME of us, God is our FATHER, and that’s the ONLY way we can envision God. And SO, when we PRAY, we address God, Heavenly FATHER…. And when we TALK about God, it’s always, HE did THIS and HE does THAT…. But DON’T you see? That LIMITS God! God is NEITHER He NOR She, but BIGGER than BOTH! And God is MORE than Father OR Mother, and to call God either ONE makes God too SMALL.
OR, we may try to contain God with our THEOLOGY, whether we’re CONSERVATIVE or MODERATE or LIBERAL. But don’t you see: God is greater than all 3. And all 3 can LEARN from one another, so that ALL of us can experience God more FULLY and completely.
OR, maybe we try to CONFINE God by HOW we interpret and practice the SACRAMENTS. Do we baptize INFANTS or ADULTS? Is the bread and wine SYMBOLIC of the body and blood of Christ, or is it the ACTUAL body and blood of Christ? OR, what about the BIBLE we READ, or the HYMNAL we use? Will we use only CERTAIN ones? And IF so, how does that LIMIT God? And what about how we EXPRESS ourselves in WORSHIP: do we think that God hears and enjoys only TRADITIONAL worship, or only CONTEMPORARY worship? Well, I suspect that God loves ALL kinds of worship, and the differences are only to help US to worship God more fully and joyfully.
Friends, WHY do we DO it? WHY do we prefer to maintain such a LIMITED perception of God, and HOW God WORKS in this world, and WHAT God LIKES, and HOW God wants US to act? WHY? Well, I believe we DO it because we LIKE to have things manageable and PREDICTABLE, in nice little BOXES, something that we can get our ARMS around, and hold ON to, just like MARY.
But DON’T you SEE: God CANNOT and WILL not be CONTAINED, or CONFINED, by OUR finite, little minds. And it’s ARROGANT to think OTHERWISE! Friends, WE will NEVER fully understand the MYSTERY, or the MAJESTY, of God! NOR will we EVER grasp the POWER and PRESENCE of God’s Holy Spirit at WORK in our lives and world! NOR will we EVER fully COMPREHEND the REDEMPTION and REBIRTH that is available TO us, and THROUGH us, because of the WORK of the Risen Christ. And I guess that’s GOOD, because given the CHOICE between a God who is SMALL enough for ME to fully comprehend, OR a God who is LARGE enough to KEEP me GUESSING, I would choose the LATTER each and every time, wouldn’t you?
And so, MY question is: HOW does Jesus’ refusal to be HELD by Mary CHALLENGE you and me? What BELIEFS do WE cling to that LIMIT our encounter with God? How do WE refuse to STRETCH our spirits with NEW ideas and NEW images, NEW language and NEW worship styles? And what areas of our LIVES do we FAIL to make into MINISTRIES because we somehow want to be CERTAIN of the OUTCOME of our efforts? Yes, WHERE are WE trying to HOLD on to and LIMIT the Risen Christ, instead of letting Christ be ON THE LOOSE in this world?
Friends, DON’T you see: when WE shout, CHRIST is RISEN, WE are proclaiming much MORE than just our belief in the PHYSICAL resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We’re ALSO declaring that the RISEN Christ is ON the LOOSE in this world! And therefore, INSTEAD of trying to LIMIT and CONFINE Christ, WE need to OPEN ourselves to SEEING, and EXPERIENCING, and CELEBRATING Christ in NEW ways, because Christ is very much ALIVE and AT WORK, bringing NEW LIFE, bringing resurrections, and bringing hope OUT of our pain and suffering, and OUT of our trials and crucifixions. Yes friends, the RISEN Christ is ON the LOOSE in this world, and REFUSES to be confined! And SO, WE need to pray that the RISEN One will be on the LOOSE in and through US as well, and that He will come ALIVE in OUR hearts, and use US to DO His WORK of bringing REDEMPTION and NEW LIFE to one and all! And may THAT be our PRAYER on this Easter Sunday! Amen.
(With appreciation to my colleague in ministry, Phillip Myers, for his article, On the Loose, in Church Worship, January 2004, p. 19)