April 8, 2007 - Easter Day, Year C
Saint James Episcopal Church, Saint James, NY

Late last year
the Irish band U2
came out with a new single.
It was their first new song
for a while
and like most fans, I rushed to get hold of a copy.
I love U2's music,
not just because they are a great band — which they are —
but because in their music
I find many of the things I want to say
but don't quite know how.
It's true of the songs that have a political slant — my father comes from Belfast in Northern Ireland, and I share their passions
for peace in that land.
It's true of the songs that I guess you would say have a justice slant — human rights and the fight against AIDS and poverty and injustice are part of my life.
And perhaps most of all, it's true of the songs that have a spiritual slant. My Christian faith is an obvious part of my life — my collar gives it away — but the band members of U2 share a faith that is equally deeply rooted,
and has pervaded their music since their earliest album, "Boy,"
where its opening song echoes the language of the Old Testament book of Ruth,
through their most recent, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,
which is shot through with biblical references,
and in the American version culminates
in the song of self offering, "Yahweh."

If you don't know U2's music, don't despair.
This is not a sermon about U2,
but a sermon about the resurrection.
But one of the difficulties with Easter
is that it's kind of hard for us to work out
what it really is all about.
We know the story.
Three women
and perhaps some others
get up early in the morning
that very first Easter Sunday.
Likely
they had not slept;
their teacher, messiah, friend
had been executed
Friday afternoon,
and life as they knew it
had ended.
He had been rushed into the ground,
a nearby tomb pressed into use,
with the bare minimum
of preparation for burial.
Night fell too soon, and with it
came the sabbath, so that no more of the work of mourning
could be done,
and it was not until first light after sabbath
that they were free to return to the tomb
and care for him
one last time,
washing and anointing and rewrapping his body
in death.

And when they reached the tomb
is was already open, saving them
from finding someone, a night watchman or gardener
to roll back the stone.
And they went in,
expecting to find the body
that they loved,
but it was not there.
And they turned, and two men
in clothing brighter than snow
stood in front of them.
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!"
And they rushed out
to tell the disciples,
"Jesus Christ
is risen from death!"

We know the story, but if we're honest,
the idea of someone coming back to life
seems kind of fanciful;
and while scripture assures us
that we will join Christ in resurrected life,
it's pretty short on the details
of what that life will be like.
And in any case, what does it have
to do with us
here and now?
We're not dead — yet, anyway.

And so we end up
by trying to make do
with empty eggs
and the new life that we see around us in spring
and vague connections
with new hope in our own lives.
But it never seems
quite convincing.

And that's what got me excited about U2's new single when it came out last year. Some people have described it as the Beatles meet Billy Graham, perhaps not surprising, given it was recorded at the Abbey Road studios, recording home of the Beatles. But whether it owes anything to the Beatles and Billy Graham or not, this song stands out.

U2's music has always been full of faith, but most of it has focused around Good Friday, about our human struggle with sin,
and used the psalms to give voice to our lament.
But this time,
this time
they launch full throttle
into resurrection.
And once again
they have managed to put into words
what I most deeply
want
to say.

Listen.

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when there's none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

Oh can't you see what love has done?

The song itself
could be any love song,
But two lines give it away, give it another, deeper meaning. Did you hear them?
"The stone it has been moved
the grave is now a groove."
This is a song about Easter; this is a song about resurrection.
And what U2 get,
is that resurrection
is not just about what happens when we die.
It's about a fundamental change
in how the world works.
The rule was
that we are born
and we die.
Life runs out.
Death is the logical end
of creation.
But when Jesus rose
that rule was disproved.
It no longer applies.
Death is not the logical end of creation;
life is!
That first Easter morning
there was a fundamental shift
in the very foundations of this world of ours, and nothing,
nothing
will ever be the same.

It's a fulfilment
of those words Jesus spoke
back in Luke chapter 4,
when he began
his ministry here on earth:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

Prisoners will be free.
War will be over.
Sin is done with.

Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love where love may please
The soul and its striptease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
You let me in your heart
And out of my head, head…

No longer are we held captive to sin. No longer do we face the bullet,
the penalty of death.
No longer does hatred
determine our destiny.
And love, the one who is himself love
has brought heaven
within our reach.
A window in the sky.

Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?

The resurrection is real.
It's not just for when we die.
It's for here and now.
It has changed everything.
The resurrection
has become
a pattern for the whole of life.
No longer do we live in a world
where there are limited options.
No longer do we live in a world
consumed and bound by hate.
No longer are we locked
into the consequences of sin.
No longer.

Because everything, everything can be,
everything is
transformed by love,
by the love of God
in Jesus Christ
who died for us
and rose for us
and whose love spills out over into our loves.

Love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
Oh can't you see what love has done?
What it's done to me?

Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God.

©Raewynne J.Whiteley, 2007