{"id":4212,"date":"2016-03-27T08:30:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-27T15:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=4212"},"modified":"2016-03-27T08:30:09","modified_gmt":"2016-03-27T15:30:09","slug":"this-is-sunday-all-day-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2016\/03\/this-is-sunday-all-day-long\/","title":{"rendered":"This is Sunday, All Day Long"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

What if I told you that you could change the world using only the first 3 things that you touched this morning?<\/p>\n

For instance\u2026 I bet shortly after waking this morning, you touched a cell phone. Turned off the alarm that woke you up. Checked the weather to plan the shoe situation and, oh look at that, it\u2019s SNOWING. On Easter. Maybe you also answered a message or checked the news to see what kind of day it\u2019s going to be.<\/p>\n

And then, maybe you had a cup of coffee. Before you got dressed, before you spoke to anyone\u2026 before you were good and awake even. How is a person supposed to look the world in the eye?<\/p>\n

And maybe\u2014just today, because it\u2019s Easter\u2013maybe you had a donut.\u00a0If not, just roll with me for a minute\u2026<\/p>\n

The point is\u2014think about the first 3 things you touched today. What are they for? The obvious? Or\u2026 some miraculous purpose that your day has yet to reveal? \u00a0\"mobile-791394_640\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the third day, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to see the place where they had laid her friend and teacher. The past 3 days had been spent in wordless grief; 3 days behind closed doors; 3 days of furtive conversations, of \u201cthis is just what he said would happen,\u201d and \u201cwhat are we supposed to do now?\u201d 3 days in darkness.<\/p>\n

And now\u2014the place where they left him is empty. Mary walks back out of that dark empty cave, squinting into the just-risen sun. It\u2019s blinding. They\u2019d known this might happen. Of course this might happen. Everyone hated him. His disciples had known that his body might stolen\u2014further abused, if that was even possible. This is exactly why they\u2019d put the heaviest stone they could find at the mouth of the cave; this is why they\u2019d posted watchmen outside.<\/p>\n

She wandered through the garden, not really seeing. This changed everything. Not only was it painful to think about his body being desecrated, after everything he\u2019d suffered\u2014it also meant the end of what small hope remained\u2026 They\u2019d been holding on, however loosely, to those mysterious words that he\u2019d left them with\u2026 That he would be raised from the dead; that they would see him again. They didn\u2019t understand any of it, but it had been something. It had been enough to keep them breathing.<\/p>\n

But now\u2014even his body was gone. How could he possibly come back to them now? The tomb was empty.<\/p>\n

Mary walked on, through that garden path, still in that blinded daze. Not noticing the flowers that came awake with the morning, not seeing the clear blue after-the-storm clarity of the sky; and certainly not noticing\u2014never suspecting\u2014that right there in front of her, was the one she sought so desperately.<\/p>\n

\u201cWoman,\u201d he said, \u201cWhy are you weeping?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause all is lost now,\u201d she said. \u201cUntil just now there was hope. But now, he\u2019s gone. He is just gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the gardener, who was not a gardener at all, called her by name. \u201cMary,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was Friday. But this? THIS is Sunday!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday turns everything upside down. Sunday shakes off the dust of Ash Wednesday, and melts the ice of Thursday\u2019s betrayal, and calls awake the victims of the Friday storm. SUNDAY is a game-changer. Sunday is life.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This week, like that one long ago, started in darkness. That first, early morning scan of the newsfeed brought the news of death and destruction\u2014 a terrorist bombing at the Brussels airport; unknown number of casualties, unknown perpetrators, yet-unnamed victims\u2026 So many questions and so much senseless loss.<\/p>\n

And yet, even as the number of casualties emerged throughout the day, so did the other news\u2026 Images of those rushing to help; the prayers and words of compassion expressed from all over the world; and the stories of instant community, formed as ordinary citizens of Brussels picked up their cell phones and posted on social media\u2014a hashtag with the simple phrase #PorteOuverte \u2014which means Open House<\/a>. The message pouring across the city through Twitter,\u00a0 Instagram and facebook\u2014that doors and homes were open to stranded travelers and victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n

When is a phone not just a phone? On Sunday.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Another image was popular this week\u2026 this one from Portland, Oregon, at a Dutch Brother\u2019s Coffee<\/a>.\u00a0 The young man working at the register noticed, as he handed a woman\u2019s order out the window, that she was really upset, visibly shaken. When he asked what the matter was, she told him that she had just lost her husband the night before. The kid at the window\u2014he was 19\u2014 asked if he could pray with her. And two of his co-workers saw what was happening and came over to join them. In\u00a0the picture, captured by the driver of the next car back in line\u2014these three young men are bunched together, leaning out one small window together, and clasping the hand of this grief-stricken woman; all their heads bowed together in prayer.<\/p>\n

One of the men, later told an interviewer that he doesn\u2019t consider himself to be religious in anyway. \u201cBut in that moment,\u201d he said, \u201cif that lady had told me she\u2019d wanted an apple? I would have gone to plant a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

When is a cup of coffee not just a cup of coffee? On Sunday, of course.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In St Louis last week\u2014early in the morning, while it was still dark\u2014a crowd began to gather. A line began to form\u2026 people willing to wait hours and hours to see Donald Trump later that day. A man named Syed, director of the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wanted to meet those people, who were up so early for this purpose. He thought it might be good for them to get to know some actual Muslims who live in their own community.<\/p>\n

The best way to do that? Show up with donuts<\/a>. And that\u2019s what Syed and a few friends did. They circulated through the crowd, visiting, shaking hands, and sharing morning treats.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t always nice \u2014some shouted obscenities at them, told them go to back where they came from.\u00a0But most of that early morning crowd received the offering, said thank you, and engaged in conversation. Some even shared hugs. Syed says \u201cA lot of people come to these events expecting hostility, even conflict. and when you have a bunch of Muslims coming to you, bringing you a donut and just wanting to talk, it took a lot of people by surprise,\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprise, it seems, is what resurrection is all about.<\/p>\n

When is a donut not just a donut? When you are an outsider, in a place where you may not be welcome. Or when you harbor hate in your heart for neighbors that you don\u2019t really know, and find yourself face to face with one of those neighbors\u2014and he turns out to be the gardener.<\/p>\n

When is a donut not just a donut?\u00a0On Sunday. Always on Sunday.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And guess what.\u00a0It\u2019s always Sunday\u00a0<\/em>somewhere.<\/p>\n

Maybe not in the same the way that it\u2019s always 5:00 somewhere. But every day is Sunday, philosophically speaking \u2014because we are Easter people. It is always Sunday somewhere, because resurrection is always taking shape. In that in-between place that we first thought was emptiness. New life is always unfolding in the darkness, under the frozen earth, in the cold of the tomb\u2026 It is always Sunday somewhere, because we follow the way of Christ. And Sunday is all he knows how to do.<\/p>\n

The thing about resurrection is\u2026 It\u2019s not just life. It\u2019s not even just new<\/em>\u00a0life. Resurrection is new life in a place where it shouldn\u2019t be. New life in a place where all was death and awfulness. New life in something completely ordinary that you never knew had miraculous properties. Resurrection is new life that surprises.<\/p>\n

Remember that, the next time you are wandering, unable to see what\u2019s in front of you\u2026 through whatever haze of grief, pain or uncertainty is clouding your vision; keeping you from seeing the life that might take shape around you. Remember that, the next time the world is so violent and hateful and what is the point anyway\u2026 Remember that, the next time you think God is all out of surprises.<\/p>\n

Remember that Sunday is all Jesus knows how to do<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And in those places where it feels like Friday has spoken the last word,<\/p>\n

That is exactly when you will look up and see\u2014<\/p>\n

A stranger w\/ an open home<\/p>\n

A coffee guy who prays<\/p>\n

A neighbor with a donut.<\/p>\n

The gardener.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it always the gardener?<\/p>\n

Yes, there is terror, and violence and suffering in the world. Yes, there is death, and the impossible loss of people we love; yes, there is hatred and fear of our neighbor, and people shouting loudly and calling names and building bigger\u00a0walls. But you know what?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all Friday. And this is Sunday. All day long, it\u2019s Sunday. And Sunday is full of surprises.<\/p>\n

And what other ordinary thing might have unseen miraculous properties? What other every day thing might have surprising, resurrection potential?<\/p>\n

Well\u2026what else do you have in your hand?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What if I told you that you could change the world using only the first 3 things that you touched this morning? For instance\u2026 I bet shortly after waking this morning, you touched a cell phone. Turned off the alarm that woke you up. Checked the weather to plan the shoe situation and, oh look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1154,"featured_media":4213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,100,9,77,968],"class_list":["post-4212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church","tag-easter","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-resurrection","tag-sermon"],"yoast_head":"\nThis is Sunday, All Day Long<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if I told you that you could change the world using only the first 3 things that you touched this morning? 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