Readings for the Day:
- Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood]
- Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea]
- Isaiah 55:1-11 [Salvation offered freely to all]
- Romans 6:3-11
- Psalm 114
- Luke 24:1-12
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
This Monday, there was a horrible fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, damaging the roof and spires of the Parisian Cathedral, among other parts of the building.
Many saw this as a devastating tragedy, and it was very said this happened. But even in the midst of tragedy, there is hope.
Many Parisians came together and sang hymns outside Notre-Dame during and after the fire. They weren't funeral marches or the like. They were just hymns. Some of the hymns were even joyful.
Président Macron has even stated that France will rebuild the church, with a time table of 5 years. Donations have also started pouring in, not only from Paris, but from around the whole world.
It's easy to look at events like this and only see tragedy. It's easy to forget what follows. Norte-Dame is not the first church to burn. I've served a church that had gone through a fire in the past, and I once worshiped at a church that had been through two fires that completely burned the church down. Churches rebuild. That's in our nature.
That's why Parisians were able to sing in hope on Monday. They know that this is not the end, not for Notre-Dame, not for the church, not for us.
We have just heard readings from throughout salvation history. In the Flood, God saved Noah and his family and restored humanity. In the Exodus, God restored the Israelites from slavery to freedom. Our title in the Prayer Book for the Isaiah reading tonight is "Salvation Offered Freely to All". In Romans, Paul tells us how we will be restored from death and brought into "newness of life."
And then there's Jesus, rising from the dead making it possible for us to do so too.
Our faith is all about rebuilding. It's all about renewal. It's all about Resurrection.
It's about Resurrection in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's how God has continued to act in history to this very day.
The fire at Notre-Dame de Paris could have been a time of mourning and hopelessness. Instead it was a time of singing and coming together. It was a time of hope and rebirth.
Recently, I've seen articles in the news talking about who, or what, is to blame for the fire with the recent renovations. To me, that misses the point. It's not about what happened, it's about how we move forward.
As Christians we always move forward with hope because of the Resurrection. Death and destruction will never have the last laugh, as we have heard tonight, but the Glory of God and the life that emanates from Christ Jesus will shine forth always.
Now we don't know exactly what the future will bring, for Notre-Dame or ourselves, but we do know that God will travel with us on the way. We also know that God will redeem the bad that may befall us, as we see in our readings tonight. Whether it is death, destruction, slavery, or sin itself, God can manage to transform our experiences for the better.
Our world keeps on changing, and there is often fear and anxiety that surrounds us in that change. But I have hope that no matter what happens the church will weather it. We have before and we will now. My faith is not because we do it alone, but because of the transformative and resurrecting power of God.
We can't always see what God is working until much later, and tonight our look through Salvation History is a clear sign of that. Who could have known that all God was doing was leading up to the moment of the Resurrection?
No matter what happens, we will, in one form or another, live on. We at Resurrection are a great sign of that. We continue the legacy from what was once a church in Tuskegee through our windows and our pews that we inherited from them.
No matter what happens, as long as we continue to put our trust in God, we will come through rebuilt, renewed, and resurrected. Noah faced the destruction of the world in the Flood, and yet he still trusted in God to see him through it. Moses faced the wrath of Egypt and survived because he listened to God. Paul, when he could no longer escape the voice of Jesus, turned from persecuting the church and because one of the most prolific writers and messengers of God. In Jesus, God even transformed death into life.
It's easy to feel anxious in the face of stress or disaster, but if we can put ourselves to the side for a bit and be open to what God is working in us, we will see that we don't need to be anxious at all. We may fear what might happen, but God will continue to walk with us. His work in this world is to rebuild, to renew, to resurrect. All that's required of us is that we open ourselves up to let Him.