What were you expecting_

Christ is Risen Today! 

Hallelujah! 

Grace and peace to you from the Risen Christ, Jesus, God’s only son and the power and joy of the Holy Spirit be with you today and every day. 

Thank you for being here, here in this beautiful church, made of the wonderful fruits of creation; wood, metal, and the crafts people that built and care for our church and community here in Finland. 

In Luke’s gospel we are filled with expectation. 

Like seeds planted in rich soil, bursting from their tomb, sprouting into new life with joy. 

Joy which seemed stuck in the mud to the women that witnessed and felt the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Up early, at dawn, to care for the body of Jesus, who had been placed and sealed in a new tomb. 

What do you think they were expecting? 

Do you have expectations for today, for right now? 

I know that I do and together, with God’s love we can harvest joy. In the simple arithmetic of life you are born, you live and you die. Not very joyous or uplifting. 

That is the common understanding and expectation. 

Fortunately, God often works outside of what we understand as common and expected.

When I was in High School I was a very good student. 

I did well and I enjoyed going to school. 

That was until my senior year when I suddenly faced a new challenge. 

I felt that I was pretty good at math, although I was more interested in other subjects like social studies and music. 

Not wanting to damage my GPA, and affect my opportunities for college I signed up for Calculus, even after struggling a bit with Algebra 2-Trigonometry. 

Anyone else struggle a little bit with math? 

I knew this course would challenge me, and the instructor was none other than Mr. Skie. 

He was also the football coach and he stood about six and half feet tall, probably weighed 230 pounds, and in all love he had the physical presence of Herman Munster. 

Mr. Skie was as imposing physically as academically. 

Being on the football team at that time I figured that I might get special treatment, if I had trouble, he could help me through. 

I immediately began to struggle. 

All of the previous math courses provided little if any foundational support for me. I sat in class, frustrated and defeated. 

I wonder if Mr. Skie felt the same way, frustrated and defeated, as he did his best to educate me. 

I think I heard this phrase from him many times, “Michael, you look perplexed.”

Oh, how I wished there were angels there to help me. 

My brain for calculus felt like an empty tomb, there was nothing there. What did I expect? 

I didn’t expect Calculus to be so hard for me, it is truly one of those academic subjects that my mind couldn’t grasp. 

Mr. Skie asked me to see him after class. 

As a great teacher he saw my defeat, and he had compassion for my situation. Rather than blaming me or suggesting that I was incapable he offered a remedy. “Why are you taking Calculus?”, he asked in a calm comforting tone. 

I responded that I was looking for a challenge and I thought it would look good on my transcript. 

In the reality of the situation he replied,” I don’t think that failing this class is what you’re looking for.” 

There are some other options that might serve you better. 

Like the women at the tomb, expecting to deal with death and failure they were changed from perplexed to looks of expectation, if not joy, with the Good News that Christ was alive. 

I was dying academically in that Calculus class and like an angel Mr. Skie had me looking elsewhere, into new possibilities. 

“You know we offer an applied Calculus course that I can help you transfer into.” 

Those words were like new life to me, an option to face reality, mourn the death of calculus for me and get on with life.

I made the transfer and found the creative wonder of applied calculus that put practical examples and fun back into learning. 

My expectations of a teacher, whether Jesus, a parent, aunt, uncle, and even Mr. Skie, teach us to practice love by caring for their students. 

Mr. Skie reminds me that through our struggles and the support of others there are options and new life. 

Pursuing calculus was like looking into an empty tomb, an end, a death without a body. 

Imagine the faithful women going to the tomb to anoint Jesus and care for his body. 

The wonder they must have felt, staring with a familiar look of being perplexed at what they found. 

An empty tomb. What they expected was to find Jesus and carry out their rituals. They expected death, that is what they knew about life. 

The calculus of life is a complicated and complex relationship and predictable. Birth plus life equals death. 

Do we accept death or is there something else, some other course we can take? That course is a life with Jesus. 

Jesus who turns that equation back on itself where birth plus life plus death equals life. 

“You look perplexed!” 

Faith in Jesus equals everlasting life, life to share, with joy and love.

God who gave his only son, “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 

That is the Good News of Jesus. And I want Good News. 

Don’t we all want to hear some Good News! 

Christ is Risen! Hallelujah! 

I cannot imagine a slow walk back to tell the others, I’m sure the women raced to tell the apostles. 

While most of them hesitated, Peter heard the Good News and ran to the tomb. Peter who had denied Christ three times, feeling defeated, lost and scared. 

Peter was also expecting death, but suddenly found new life from the womens WORD. 

Jesus is all about life. 

A life he freely gave for the forgiveness of our sins and the ability to love one another. 

That is the message of Easter, the amazing grace to love abundantly in a life that ends in life. 

That is some math I can understand, to celebrate that Christ is Alive. For this we can joyously say, “Thanks Be To God!” Amen