LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE...

At 10.25am Fr. Andrew took three small children and two adults into the vestry and they watched him tear a telephone directory in half. (He’s a man of great talents...) He then told the children to go out and tell the congregation (individually) what they’d seen.

Come the sermon slot, here’s the week’s terrible joke:

A priest, an American Pentecostal preacher, and a Rabbi, all worked together ina small town. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop. One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. A real challenge would be to preach to a bear.

One thing led to another and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it. Seven days later, they're all together to discuss the experience.

Father Jim who has his arm in a sling, is on crutches, and has various bandages, goes first. "Well," he says, "I went into the woods to find a bear. And when I found him I began to read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation."

Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts. In his best fire and brimstone oratory he claimed, “ WELL brothers, you KNOW that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus."

They both looked down at the rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a complete body cast, and traction, with intravenous drips everywhere and monitors running in and out of him. He was in bad shape. The rabbi looks up and says,

"Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start."

WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE YOU BELIEVE SOMETHING?

... All the preaching we have stems from the resurrection.... because it is Good News that we have to share, centred around transformed lives made possible by the resurrection. But how can we believe it? What affects how we think about it?

Did anyone hear any strange rumours about what happened before mass this morning?
[A few hands went up (maybe a quarter) and somebody said they’d heard about a phone book being ripped in half.]

So, stand up if you believe that’s what actually happened... (only one person stood up!)
Would you believe if you saw the two torn halves of the book? (most said yes). [On production of the torn halves:] stand up if you think that I did this... (about a quarter stand up...!)

[Still not convinced I had to tear another one in half in front of them. Huge applause (of course!)]

There’s something about trusting the person who tells you a piece of news; there’s something about whether or not it’s likely to have happened; and there’s something about evidence.

TAKEN BY SURPRISE

For the disciples the resurrection seems to have taken them by surprise... although Jesus had done a pretty good job of warning them they weren’t expecting it. They were gutted on Friday. They didn’t believe the women’s news at first.

And the evidence of the empty tomb doesn’t seem enough for everyone - apart form the disciple who Jesus loved who saw and believed (John 20.8) - most others seem upset and distressed by the empty tomb (Jn 20.11 Mk 16.8).

It’s the experience of meeting the risen Christ which convinces them... and for Paul and others it is in the transformed life (from persecutor to apostle in his case) that is the “evidence” or the “earthing” of the resurrection experience.

So we can look at the resurrection story as an interesting tale, we can debate how it actually happened, we can compare and contrast literary devises and the way the evangelists recorded it... or we can allow the risen Christ to meet us in our upset and distress... we can step in to the story ourselves as we invite Jesus to transform our lives by the touch of his resurrection - nobody can argue with that evidence!

Fr. Andrew Perry
Rector, St John the Evangelist, Pevensey Rd, St Leonards on Sea