Peter Bankson
April 27, 2025
Second Sunday of Easter
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday, on Easter morning, John Hassell reminded us that the Resurrection doesn’t involve Jesus alone, but rather all of us:
We aren’t passive observers or spectators – rather we, Adam and Eve, are participants in the Resurrection. We’re rising up out of death into the aura surrounding Jesus as Jesus steps out of the tomb.
In these chaotic times, when our lives are being disrupted every day in so many different ways it’s a real challenge to find much hope in the idea that we’re rising up like Jesus – WITH JESUS! The conundrum of being raised WITH Jesus has really pushed me around during this chaotic Lent, and particularly during the past week.
- Resurrection is a surprise recovery of awareness;
- The risen Christ calls us to new, fresh action built on stable core values;
- Kindness can be a rudder guiding us through chaos toward an unknown future.
WAKING UP AFTER RESURRECTION
After the tragedy of Jesus’ crucifixion and the mysterious disappearance of his body, the disciples have their doubts about reports from the women close to Jesus, that when they went to wash his body for burial, he wasn’t there. The women reported that they’d heard from some mysterious “insider” that they should go back home and wait.
Then the disciples and their gathered community began to experience the presence of Jesus in more and more convincing ways. When Peter asks Jesus if this was the time he would restore the sovereignty of Israel, Jesus tells him: “It is not for you to know the times or seasons the Creator has set…” Jesus told them to gather in community and wait to receive power “when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses … to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) So much for strategic planning!
And here we are, huddled together in a room overlooking a changing street just eight METRO stops from the White House, wondering what’s next. We’ve heard from others that somehow Jesus has overcome death. But everywhere we look the chaos is mounting, a rushing current running toward a dark canyon downstream, over the falls, where plans and hopes and dreams are washed away by the torrent of arbitrary, retaliatory action.
Our plans have gone awry, and our capacity to reach out efficiently to provide compassionate support seems blocked, not so much by red tape, but by that yellow tape that law enforcement uses to try to keep folks from getting involved in ways that might complicate their investigations. More and more often these days I feel like I don’t know what’s really going on.
But I’ve begun to wonder if this dark time when it feels like hope has been crucified and there’s no resurrection in sight can be a time of watchful waiting. As we wait for news from the Creator, we need to get ready to keep working together for just peace sustained by compassionate collaboration. “Together” might be found in organizations or communities or governments. Those social structures might be new and unfamiliar, like the energized crowds gathering across the country to cry out for justice and peace. Or they might be older, well-established communities like church congregations or community associations. But by the grace of God we’ll know they are seedbeds for God’s call on us as individuals and community. What’s next after the resurrection? Wake up and wait, and be ready for action.
FRESH NEW ACTION BUILT ON CORE VALUES
Getting ready for fresh action during a time of chaotic confusion may take some recovery, repair and restoration. We’re living with a lot of unanticipated damage to institutions and programs. Finding the help we need to do what we’ll be called to do takes longer than we’d like.
The Scripture gives us an image of the disciples in a time of recovery, believing and doubting, and being amazed at the presence of Jesus with them, but frustrated that the good news of Gods peace hasn’t yet take over the world. When they woke up to the realization that Jesus Is still with them, immediately they want to know when God’s reign will be launched and they will “win the war.” Jesus’ forecast wasn’t very encouraging: “God only knows…”
In times like these it helps to know you’re not alone. Being part of a committed group where you can share your challenges AND your joys helps a LOT! I see that kind of support in many places here in Seekers Church, beginning with the prayerful support that flows informally as we gather for worship and other activities like the School for Christian Growth and Martha’s Mob. It’s more consciously present in our mission groups and ministry teams, where the call of the group is often focused on community action working for just peace. Our Racial and Ethnic Justice Ministry Team is a nucleus for advocacy that is growing deeper and broader. Our monthly gathering on Zoom to reflect together on supporting spiritual companionship offers a regular opportunity to share about ways to invite deeper commitment and inviting new understanding of call.
“Thank God we’re in this together!” takes on a deeper meaning as we live into our commitments to work together for peace and justice, even when our efforts are small, or awash in the chaos of our painful time.
What’s next? What can we do as we wait? What will Jesus do?
Today after worship all of us are invited to help decide how our core values are expressed in the choices we will make to allocate our international giving for this year. We will gather in the conference room to decide how the $60,000 allocated from this year’s budget will be given to international missions and ministries. By the grace of God, the discernment of our international giving will embody these values in different ways. I encourage you to join others as we prayerfully discern how to respond to this year’s requests which are more than 20 percent larger than what we have allocated! I’m praying that our conversation will be guided and sustained by our core values. These contributions and the advocacy work of our mission groups and ministry teams, as well as the extensive personal witness by many of us are all expressions of the core values that guide us.
Our core values help bind us together a family of faith. The front window calls out “welcoming,” and “inclusive, working for peace and justice.” Our membership commitment summarizes them this way:
- Nurture our relationship with the Creator;
- Care for every part of God’s creation;
- Foster justice;
- Be in solidarity with those in need;
- Work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
- Respond joyfully when we are called by God, and
- freely give our selves as the Creator shows the way.
As I’ve thought about expressing a commitment to live through our core values, one quality has often come to mind: Kindness. In many ways, we seek to be a kind community, even in turbulent times … PARTICULARLY when times are chaotic. Taken together, one way of viewing these core values together is “kindness.” Wikipedia describes kindness as an attitude:
Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. (Wikipedia)
That’s definitely NOT a description of the transactional values that dominate the daily news!
STAYING ON COURSE IN THE TURBULENCE
The resurrection means getting ready for new action based on our core values. It also calls us to stay on course through the turbulent times. Here is another place where our core values can help us navigate through the turbulence, finding new ways to remain steady and discern new directions. It’s easy – almost inevitable – that when programs we have been counting on change without warning, we lose our balance and our sense of direction. I know that many of us are living through the challenges of unexpected change. Staying centered is easily upset by the loss of resources or support.
It can be a challenge to stay calm and pray for those we see as our enemies. But even in those cases where anger boils over and indignation feels righteous, we are called to “love our enemies.” And to the extent we can be creative, we help build an environment where fresh paths to just peace can emerge.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus challenges a law-abiding leader to plant the paddle of his good will (his knowledge of the difference between good and evil) in the current of his legal rectitude and pivot toward a path to deeper compassion. It’s a challenge for us all: to know that we’ve been good at “this level,” but see the call to deeper commitment in the call to follow Christ. It’s a call from God to a law-abiding leader to open his heart to a deeper need. And what would that call look like to me? What am II hanging onto for dear life? Sometimes the current that challenges us is flowing at an inner level, as it was with the rich ruler, who was committed to giving from his excess, but had trouble maintaining that generosity when his wealth felt threatened.
And sometimes the current that changes is external, when public well-being or civil rights are threatened by some force that seems beyond the power of the people to change. How can my core values (like kindness) help me stabilize and stay on course through the turbulence? This question led me back to a metaphor that I shared some weeks ago, about how a particular paddle stroke used by kayakers to navigate white water rapids can help us use the energy of the turbulent current to stay afloat and change course as needed. I’m talking about the Duffek, or bow rudder stroke. Here’s a description from Wikipedia:
Duffek/Bow rudder
When paddling downstream, paddlers can use some advanced paddle strokes along with differing currents to quickly turn their boat. One of these strokes is the Duffek. In a river, current generally moves downstream, but behind rocks or on shore the water may be still or actually move upstream. When a paddler moves from one of these currents to the other they can use the Duffek stroke to quickly turn their boat into the direction of the current. (Wikipedia)
A good visual representation of the Duffek in real life is thinking about someone running down a sidewalk, grasping a pole on the sidewalk and swinging around it with legs outstretched to end up running in the other direction, with their momentum intact.
How might this shed some light on our direction and stability in these chaotic, post resurrection times? Here’s a thought. If I think of a working expression of our core values as “kindness,“ I can imagine kindness as the paddle that enables us to navigate the river of life. When the river gets turbulent – when crosscurrents force us in unexpected and threatening directions – we can work to stay upright and change directions by planting our kindness deep in the raging current of fear and anger, and use the energy of the countercurrent our actions to get back on course.
One important thing is to keep your paddle in the water until you’re back on course. If you pull out too soon the raging current can tip you over again. Here’s an example from my (limited) kayaking experience.
To celebrate my birthday in 1989, Marjory and I enrolled in a whitewater kayaking class at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. At that time, we had a two-person kayak that we enjoyed using on the calm portion of the Potomac River near our home. Whitewater kayaking looked exciting, so we decided to celebrate my 50th by learning some new skills. It was a wonderful experience, that reminded me a lot of parachute training 30 years earlier, a challenging learning experience in a protected environment.
Toward the end of the week, we were introduced to the Duffek technique. We practiced on increasingly rough water, learning how to spot the changing current, place our paddles firmly in the opposing current and use it as a base for maintaining stability and changing course. It felt really good to be learning a new skill like this. I was getting confident in my ability to change course without being swamped.
One of the last exercises was to kayak over a modest waterfall and use a Duffek stroke to navigate through the rapid at the foot of the falls. It was about 10 feet high as I recall. I watched as several other students took their turns, with only a few getting caught by the downstream current. I planned my actions carefully, and felt pretty confident when my turn came.
Well, as you can guess, I came through the initial drop as planned, upright and headed for the shoreline. But then, in my confidence, I declared a victory and pulled my oar out … and promptly got turned on my head by the still-violent current. I needed help to make an underwater “wet exit” to get out of my kayak!
CLOSING
It was an important learning, to remember to keep my paddle engaged until I made it through the turbulence. I thought the closing reflection in this week’s “Inward/Outward” by Kate Lasso was directly on that point:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” is a beatitude for all of Christ’s followers today. It calls us to trust in uncertainty, to believe that God’s love can transform even the most impossible of situations. God’s peace can withstand any hurricane that might come our way. What matters is resting on faith, surrendering to the deep certainty that God is here. No need to fear. Through us, God can breathe peace into the world.
Reflecting on Lent and Easter this year I can see that resurrection is a surprise recovery of awareness. The risen Christ calls us to new fresh action built on stable core values. And kindness can be a rudder guiding us through chaos toward an unknown future.
Today, as we engage with the turbulence all around us, waiting for deeper revelation of Resurrection in this day and engaging with kindness where we can put our weight down. may we give thanks that we are not alone: We are in this together – and the risen Christ is with us!
Amen!