1st Sunday after Easter

There is a bluegrass song, popularized by Jim and Jesse in the 50's, and Jack Kelly, Jim Wolber and Banjo Bob in 2005 called Y'all Come. It would make a great theme song for the church. It starts off

When you live in the country everybody is your neighbor
On this one thing you can rely
They'll all come to see you and never ever leave you
Saying y'all come to see us by and by
Y'all come (y'all come) y'all come (y'all come) y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come (y'all come) y'all come (y'all come) y'all come to see us now and then

When the Pharisees asked Jesus, who is our neighbor, he replied, by way of a story about a good Samaritan,

everybody is your neighbor
On this one thing you can rely

Later in his ministry here on earth, he was asked who can come to the banquet? We saw him eat with sinners and tax collectors by the dozen
And right after dinner they ain't looking any thinner
And here's what you could hear Him say
Y'all come (y'all come)...

Well, liturgically, in the life of the church, we are in the third verse.

Now grandma's a wishing they'd come out to the kitchen
And help her do the dishes right away
But they all start a leavin' grandma's a grievin' you can hear my grandma say
Y'all come (y'all come)...
Oh y'all come to see us now and then

Last Sunday, here at the church, we had a party, didn't we? Somebody say Amen. We had friends and relatives that we haven't seen ages come and join us for the awesome event- To come and see nothing - the empty tomb. People came from states around to join us the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. Which is great. That is part of what we are here for. But, not surprisingly, only about half of us are here this week.

Last week, we were let in on the most important event in human history. We were able to share in the awe and majesty of the conquering of death... To participate in a story created before the beginning of time. A chance to sit back and marvel, and receive the awesome gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to get a foretaste of the feast of the heavenly banquet.

But this week, this week, the savior comes back- not to treat us to another service of celebration, another cause for a holiday to get dressed in our finest and eat and exchange gifts, but to tell us to get to work.

And now we're a wishing they'd come out to the kitchen
And help us do the dishes right away

Please turn with me to the 21st vs in the 20th chapter we read
21Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'

Jesus did not come back just to say hi. No, he come back to say, I have done my part to bring the Kingdom of God on earth, now it is your turn. The Father has sent me to redeem creation and I have done it. And just as he sent me, so I send you. We can imagine Jesus reminding us, hey, remember when Judas asked me a couple weeks ago 'Why was the perfume that Mary anointed me with not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' and I told you that "8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." Well, now is the time to do unto the least of these. The time of feasting and relationship building, when I was in human form, is ended. Now is the time to feed my sheep. Now is the time to care for the poor that, in this fallen world, are always with us.

Again, vs. 22

22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'

This is a serious weight of responsibility. It is little wonder that our numbers have dwindled.

3If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'

"Easter is not just coming to a wonderful, inspiring worship service, it is being sent back into the (hostile) world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to bear witness to the identity of God as revealed in Jesus." http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19e2.htm

So is this kind of a drag? Kind of like when you go out to eat with ten people and the bill is hundred dollars and each person gives you ten bucks to cover their portion and you are left with paying the $7 tax and the $20 tip. Did we stick around too long at the banquet and get stuck with the bill? Maybe it isn't so great to be given the responsibility of saving the world, of being responsible for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the sick and binding and loosing sins.

But let us look at the promise of the text once again. Look at vs. 19, vs 21, and vs. 26. "Peace be with you." Some translations say, "My peace, I give to you." What do we get for lingering and doing the work of Christ? Not just the great story of Easter, but nothing less than genuine peace. If you could use a little more peace in your life, please say "Amen". In this text and throughout Scripture, we are promised this peace. True peace. Lasting peace. Deep peace that is not simply the absence of war and strife, but is in itself something to behold. The kind of peace that can only come from the source, from the Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus Christ.

Is it unfair to think that to whom much is given, much will be expected? I don't think so. Besides, when we are truly in ministry, and it is truly inspired with the breath of the Holy Spirit and infused with Christ's peace, there is wonder in the work and great joy in the harvest.

That is why we are

a grievin' when they all start a leavin'

Not because we are bummed that we are left with all the work. But because we know what a gift the work and the peace that comes with it is. If we truly love our neighbors, we want to get them in on the action too. We want them to receive this peace. And so we sing out with whatever voice we have...

Y'all come (y'all come) y'all come (y'all come) y'all come to see us when you can
Y'all come (y'all come) y'all come (y'all come) y'all come to see us now and then