Alleluia—it’s an unusual word. Not English, Greek or Latin…the usual languages of our worship. If someone came from another planet, they might think maybe we had rocks in our mouths, or maybe our dentures were loose. Maybe we’re still drunk from Thursday’s Seder dinner. Maybe it’s the babbling of a child. Alleluia.
“Alleluia” is like the word, “amen.” We bandy it about on Sundays, especially today, but most of us may not know what it means.
It’s a Hebrew word and, like ‘amen’ remains in our worship to remind us of our Jewish roots. It is a cry of jubilation meaning, “Praise the Lord.”
But the translation doesn’t even begin to explain why the church chose and retains this word.
This morning, I want to put this word out front and center! If you carry from this morning, nothing else, I pray you will leave this place…saying Alleluia!
In the celebration of the mystery of Jesus’ triumph over death and the power of his ministry; in the presence of our redemption, our usual vocabulary is inadequate. When faced with the superabundant mercy of God in our lives, we can only stammer in amazement and exclaim…alleluia!
Noted author Nora Gallagher (who happens to be an Episcopalian), made famous the notion of “practicing resurrection.” I’d like to tweek that a bit and talk about practicing alleluia.
This is the Easter message. This is the splendid truth that will carry us from this place into a cold dark world. This is an ‘alleluia’ that we so desperately need.
It does seem like in so many ways, people are longing for alleluia in their lives.
- A widow whose husband died at a much too early age.
- A man who is struggling with a new career at midlife and doubts his ability to cope with new challenges.
- A colleague who falls into a deep, clinical depression and struggles to live through the day with meager energy.
I think that’s where the women and the disciples were at, emotionally, after Jesus’ crucifixion and death. We saw at the beginning of this service, the two Marys arriving at the tomb in need of alleluia.
Think about it. They had gone to the tomb to attend to Jesus’ body. This was going to be the last loving service they could provide for him. They had witnessed death. There had been no time for a proper burial. They came with spices and linen to complete the burial rite. As we just heard; their hearts were very heavy.
And, there must have been fear mixed in with their grief. They had put all their hopes on this one man’s life. Those hopes and dreams seemed to have died with Jesus.
That is what often happens with hopes and dreams; love often is trampled by the world. The world can be a cruel and fearsome place.
But, as we know, something amazing happened when they reached the tomb. They entered that place of death and yet, they did not find death. They were the first to receive the news that Jesus had conquered death itself and had risen.
Five will get you ten that those women eventually uttered the word, “alleluia.”
And in that moment, they changed. The women grasped the amazing importance of the moment and went and told the men. They began to practice their alleluia on the disciples.
The disciples, being men, took a little longer to comprehend this new alleluia. After coming to the tomb themselves, they slowly came to grips with the fact that even death couldn’t contain the power of Jesus—God made man.
And, slowly, they began to realize that maybe there would be the same life-transforming power in his teachings and ministry too! They began to realize that Good News isn’t news until it’s shared. And the alleluia went forth.
The good news of Easter is not only that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and lives now, but also that the power of alleluia can transform our lives as well.
You might call this “Alleluia in the mean time.” And, by ‘mean’ I mean ‘mean’!
Cruelty will not be the last word. Sin and evil will not be the ultimate powers of the universe. Death will not get the last laugh.
Forgiveness and love and life and “making all things new” are the real things in life. These are our alleluias!
If we live in the awareness—the alleluia—of the Easter event, we can relive some of the confidence we need to carry on… to withstand the negative rhetoric of the day, the negatives that assault us every day.
We can become a living alleluia by practicing alleluia, practicing resurrection.
No other model could be more appropriate right now than that of the Haitian people after the terrible earthquake.
In his letter to the world, Bishop Duracin writes, “this situation delivers us into faith. I look at this as a baptism. …life must continue. We must see within this situation the possibilities that exist. Jealousy, anger, hatred—this is not the time for these. We turn to Jesus Christ, who did not fall into temptation; though he was in hard situations, he overcame death in victory.”
Alleluia.
Not long ago, I heard our own bishop ruminate over this and he offered me a whole new take on what I am now calling “alleluia.”
He told me that he had come to the conclusion that we need to stop looking at life merely as a blessing. Life IS a blessing, but if we invest in that passive ideology, it can become an end in itself.
Instead, he feels as though we need to begin to see the life that God gives us as an “opportunity” and more specifically, an “opportunity for blessing”–living that is active rather than just passive. I would add…looking for opportunities for Alleluia.
From this day on, may we live life as an opportunity for Alleluia. May we seek to be a blessing, an Alleluia for someone else.
Don’t count your blessings, count your opportunities for Alleluia.
Let me suggest that you let some regular part of your life become your Alleluia.
- Determine to practice alleluia until it becomes second nature.
- Do something that flies in the face of whatever death you face in your world.
- Take some time to read the Bible.
- Open your prayer book to page 304 every month and renew your baptismal vows.
- Set aside a portion of your garden this summer to raise veggies for the food pantry.
- Visit that neighbor you’ve been meaning to visit.
- Volunteer at church or the charity of your choice.
- Ask someone if they’d like to come to church with you.
Jesus put death in its place. He is alive today…in every one of us! His resurrection did take place. We are assured this day, that a similar future awaits each of us.
Let’s help each other to remember this. We need to be reminded of the truth of the alleluia over and over again.
In the mean time…become a living Alleluia.
May our lives sing Alleluia into our world!
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