Easter Day “NORMAN, WHY DO YOU WEEP?”

Readings: Psalm 114, Isaiah 65:17-25, Acts 10:34-43, John 20:1-18
 Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, March 31st, 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

Way back in time, in fact pushing 30 years ago, I was in my final years of college and had  the exciting opportunity of going into a recording studio to record some songs I had written. My first album, on the Solar Sound label, “Jester Before The Throne” was at the pressing plant being made into a 12” piece of black plastic with a hole in the middle. This was of course in the days of LP's... before 8-tracks, cassette tapes, CD’s , MP3’s and i-tunes came along.

The label were promising big things. Distribution deals. Nationwide coverage. Radio play. Interviews. It all looked very promising. So I thought I had better get something in ready for a follow up recording.  I hit on the idea of making a recording of twelve songs that went along with Christian themes that were emphasized in the 12 different months of the year.

January, a ‘New Year Song’. February, a love song for Valentines Day, March, something for Lent and Good Friday, April an Easter Song, May a Pentecost Piece, June, a song celebrating youth and the summertime, and so on. Furthermore, as I’d grown up with some guys who were really talented song-smiths and had helped me out over the years, I’d invite them to contribute songs on different themes, and so give their talents some exposure.

Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men! I had not calculated for a few major obstacles along the way. First of all my musical masterpiece on vinyl became stuck at the pressing plant, and when it finally appeared it had not been manufactured correctly, involving some heated negotiating with the manufacturers.

Then the record company went bankrupt. This meant that all their stock, including my efforts, were being held as collateral and of course any hope of distribution or nationwide coverage went out of the window. It appears that I was not predestined to become a rock star after all. Such is life!

But back then some of my friends had taken the task to heart of composing some songs on Christian themes related to months of the year. One of them sent me an Easter Song that was titled  “Norman, Why do you weep?”

‘Wow’. I thought “This is pretty radical dude.” Taking the concept of the Easter story and earthing it in the experience of an everyday man in the street, who is struggling to get through the disappointments life had sent his way, a man called Norman. Norman, in the light of the Easter had nothing to fear; so ‘Norman, Why do you weep!’

Of course the song wasn’t really about anybody called Norman at all. I misread his hand writing. It was “Woman, Why do you weep?” and based on the experience of Mary.  The reading we heard this morning, in which she encounters a gardener at the empty tomb, who asks the reason for her tears, and the gardener turns out to be the Risen Lord Himself, and Mary’s fear turns to joy. 

Such was of course no less a radical experience than envisaged for the mythical Norman, and although the song and the proposed recording of songs to do with seasons and months never happened, that title... “Norman, Why do you weep’ and the idea that the Easter message was something to encourage people of all places and all times, has stuck with me over the years.

It’s the message I want to share about Easter this morning. Whether our name is Mary, Norman, Adrian, John-Boy or Mary-Lou, whoever we are, at the heart of the Easter experience is an experience that changes tears to laughter and mourning into dancing.

In just a few words that experience is captured by the phrase
‘Christ is Risen” (He is Risen Indeed)

Grammatically, the phrase Christ is Risen (He is Risen Indeed) is badly constructed. We should say “Christ Has Risen” or “Jesus was Raised from the dead”, but by using the term “is” we seek to express that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a present reality, a current happening and event, something that can touch our lives in the now, something that was not just for back then, something that is not only for the future, but is an 'is' that is for today.

Our lives today have the capacity to be transformed by the Living Lord Jesus Christ. That is what we celebrate at Easter time. That the circle of birth, pointless existence and ultimately death and extinction, has been broken into pieces by God raising Jesus from death and promising that those who put their faith in Him can share in His resurrection life.

Such does not mean that life will not bring along it’s share of disappointments, it’s moments when tears are the only correct response, moments when the pain is all that can be felt or that the struggle is so much with us that we cannot see any light at the end of the road.  Life has it's moments when our best laid plans crumble into dust.

Indeed the message of the Cross is that life can be so desperately unfair, that sin continues to destroy and ruin and decimate the life we live on earth, so much so that even the Son of God cries out upon the Cross “My God. My God, Why have You forsaken Me?”

But the tears, the cry of anguish, the suffering, the striving… these are not the last word or the final word. The final word is 'Resurrection'. Christ is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed).

So today I stand and proclaim the Easter Message. That the Jesus who died for us, was raised for us. That He knows our name and knows our hurts and knows our hearts. That He is at the Fathers side and intercedes on our behalf. That God will send the Resurrection Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Re-forming, Re-Newing, Re-Storing our lives to all those who seek to do God’s will in sincerity and with whole heartedness.

And it doesn't matter if our name is Norman or Elma or Bob or Lucy or Mary or Peter. And it doesn't matter what may be causing our tears, our tears of laughter, our tears of joy, our tears of despair, our tears of joy. Jesus calls to us, “Norman, Why do you weep, Woman why do you weep?”

And that is an invitation. An invitation to place our lives into God's hands.
An invitation that needs responding to with an 'Hallelujah”.

    Hallelujah... there's a God who knows
    Hallelujah... there's a God who understands
    Hallelujah... there's a God who forgives
    Hallelujah... there's a God who sent His Son Jesus Christ

    who was raised for us
    who lives for us
    who lives within us by His Holy Spirit
    who has a purpose for us
    who has a way through the tears for us
    who has a hope for us
    who has a place for us
    who has a prayer for us
    who has a healing touch for us
    who has an encouraging word for us

    who see us as we really are
    knows us better than we know ourselves
    cares for us more than we care for ourselves
    loves us, loves, loves us,
    loves us enough to die for us
    with a love that is stronger than death.
    Hallelujah.

    Norman, why do you weep?
    Woman, why do you weep?
    Weep no more

    For Christ is risen.
    He is risen indeed
    Amen and Amen!

                                                     
Rev. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.