Recently my wife and I have been catching up on Marvel Universe movies and series we’d missed the past couple of years. We’ve zoomed through Wakanda Forever, Hawkeye, Moon Knight. Up next is Black Widow, Shang-Chi, She Hulk. And when Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 comes to the big screen next month? You better believe we’ll be there.

When I dove into scripture to prepare this message it was hard not to get excited. Because when it comes to surprise heroes, flying creatures from other realms, supernatural strength, earthshaking action, bad guys getting their just desserts, and unexpected sequels?

Like a good Marvel plotline – this Easter tale has it all.

As with many memorable narratives there is a prequel. The backstory goes something like this. Religious elites and government empire types had been trying to get rid of our Hero for years. Every time danger was near, he got away.

Sometimes the Hero escaped with words. Other times it was a surprise getaway. And every-so-often? Divine intervention was the name of the game.

Realizing they couldn’t take our Hero out on their own the religious elites and government empire types cut a deal. An insider on our Hero’s team is what they’d need. From there it was a bribe, a betrayal, a trial, a death.

And that was that.
Hitjob complete.
Our Hero gone.

Usually this means –

Story over.
End scene.
Credits roll.

The screen goes dark.

Right?

But wait. This time there is more.

Story
Amid nothingness the atmosphere shifts slightly. What’s that in the distance? Can you see it? There, far, far away. Horizon. And with it the first glimmer of light. A new dawn appears.

As darkness dissipates two women enter. Women? In a superhero story from two millennia ago?

From divinely inspired words written by men?
From a society even more patriarchal than ours?

The Marvel universe has given us leading women for decades, with characters like Storm, Captain Marvel, the Scarlett Witch. When Marvel breaks new ground, celebrating the strengths of women, or racial and ethnic minorities, or orientations of all kinds, well, it often creates controversy.

At least at first.

But this story? Our sacred texts stirred up that controversy long ago.

These leading women, Mary Magdalene and another mysterious Mary, then walk towards our Hero’s tomb. It is they who first experience what happens next.

Without warning the earth begins to quake. There are tremors all around. Strong ones. They didn’t know it yet, but so much of what Mary and Mary thought they knew was about to get rocked, changed forevermore.

Then, in the distance, more light. Its source unclear. Is it a meteor? A falling star? It gets larger, closer. To the two Marys it appears as lightning, descending from above.

Their eyes slowly adjust to the new brightness.

And then they realize. Whoa!

The radiance originates from an angel of the Lord.

The angel looks around, gathers their bearings.

They are here for the big job.
They know just what to do.

The angel spots their target.
The angel advances on it.

There it is.
That’s the tomb.

With the strength of Thor, the angel rolls a massive stone from the entrance. It took only the flick of a wrist.

The scene makes clear –

A grave robber didn’t do it.
A sympathetic soldier didn’t either.
And it wasn’t a band of guerrilla disciples.

It was the angel who had descended from on high.

Heavy lifting now complete, the angel pops up on the boulder, sits on it, surveys their surroundings. They see two government empire types. The empire types are there to keep the Hero’s followers from stealing the body. Because if they did? A fake claim could be made that our Hero was back. That task, of fraud prevention duty, would be infinitely more difficult now.

The angel sat, looking down on the weaponized machinations of empire there to keep our Hero down. Perhaps the angel said something to the guards, having a little fun at their expense.

Hey Dudes!
‘Sup!

Paralyzed in fear, the guards fell to the ground. This time it was the empire who rolled over, as if dead.

The two Marys watch the action, trying to decipher what it meant. Looking to provide clarity the angel approaches. Phase two of the mission begins.

Do not be afraid, the angel shares.
You *just* missed our Hero.
Go, tell the men.

The men?

The leading women couldn’t help but crack a grin. You mean the group of guys that swore allegiance to our Hero and are hiding in fear?

You mean the group of guys known to –

Deny,
Betray,
Doubt?

The two Marys were always cleaning up the messes these guys made. They’d been doing it for years. They were now being asked to do it, once again.

It would have been difficult,
for the two Marys,
not to roll their eyes.

Never ones to shirk responsibility, the women entered the tomb, looked around.

Yeah, it’s empty.
Our Hero is not here.
Better tell the guys.

The angel pipes up again.

Our Hero has been raised.
He has gone on ahead.
Here are the coordinates.
Meet our Hero there.

And with that the angel departs.
Back from whence they came.

The leading women were ecstatic.

Oh my Gosh!
Our Hero is back!
Better tell the guys!

There was –

fear,
joy,
more.

Mary and Mary raced to share the good news with the team.

The plot then twists, once more. On their way, along the path, our Hero appears.

Mary and Mary lock eyes with him from a distance. Our Hero yells –

Greetings!
Hello!

The leading women approach our Hero, grab his feet, thrilled he was physically there with them, once again. And they worshipped him.

The two Marys knew, in that moment, they were in the presence of the risen Lord. The religious elites and the government empire types had been trying to get rid of our Hero for years. This time they thought they had him. Once more, their efforts were in vain.

Jesus tells Mary and Mary –

Go!
Tell the guys!
Here are the coordinates.
I’ll meet you all there!

With this, the two Marys became the first post-resurrection evangelists to see and share about the risen Lord.

End scene.
The screen darkens.
Credits roll.

Like any good Marvel movie, you best not leave the theatre just yet. Because this story too has a post credit clip. The teaser gives you a glimpse of what is to come.

The screen darkens, again.
Three words appear.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Dot.
Dot.
Dot.

Today
This partnership, of religious-based oppression coupled with the machinations of empire is an age-old story. Jesus experienced it firsthand. It has ebbed and flowed throughout history ever since. The partnership is designed to keep some people down and benefit others. It is sadly alive and well today. These days the partnership is best known for being against lots of types of people, including being against –

Women,
LGBTQ+,
Transgender,
The Black,
The Brown,
Immigrants, even
Children.

But that’s not what Jesus is about.
That is not how it should be.

For we are called to care for, love and serve our neighbors.
No matter who those neighbors may be.

Like today’s Easter tale, some of our leading characters come from these groups.

We’ve got to stop trying to remove them from our stories.
We’ve got to stop trying to remove them from our history books.

When you get down about the times we live in – sometimes I do –

Let us remember the two Marys. For it is often the overlooked, the belittled, the marginalized that are the stars of God’s show.

Let us remember the angel. They who casually sat atop the rolled away stone, beside an empty grave. They who watched the empire tasked to keep Jesus gone just fade away.

Like a good Marvel movie, even when the end credits roll it is never quite over. For Christ’s story is one of renewed hope. It is a promise that help is on the way. No matter how much darkness is around.

For Christ’s story is –

TO BE CONTINUED.

Dot.
Dot.
Dot.

Let us remember our Savior, who meets us on the journey. Today and every day. It is then our Hero tells us, triumphantly –

I’m back!
Go, tell the others.

Like any good Marvel Movie, it takes more than one person to save the world.

We’re not Avengers.
Or the Justice League.

We are, instead, called to be Guardians of the Galaxy. We do this work in the name of Christ. For we are not religious oppressors or tools of empire.

We are on God’s team.

Can you see it?
A glimmer of light!
A new dawn appears. Amen.

After leading a movement that informed so much for so many, change was in the air. There was celebration, yes. But also anxiety. And fears of what might next come.

Jesus knew.
The disciples?
Not exactly.

For Jesus every moment was a teachable one. Every interaction a lesson meant to last. Before a –

Garden,
Betrayal,
Trial,
Cross,
Spear,
Tomb –

there was a gathering of close friends. It is in this intimate setting Jesus shares three central themes of God’s plan for us here.

It is a –

Cliff notes of sorts.
Final summation.

Taken together the three help us divine all the rest.

It begins with food and drink. After a long day’s journey Jesus and the twelve did what they always do: they shared a meal. Being among people you care for it is easy to imagine small talk, jokes, favorite memories, laughter, troubling tales, plans being made. A room with so many would have been noisy, boisterous, lively.

Amid this animated scene Jesus –

took bread,
gave thanks,
broke it,
shared it,

saying:

Take and eat,
this is my body,
given for you.

Remember me.

After supper, he –
took drink,
gave thanks,
lifted it,
shared it,

saying:
A new covenant,
In my blood,
This cup is,

Shed for you,
And for all,
To forgive sin.

Remember me.

Before departing Christ ensured the twelve were fed, both in body and soul.

Stomachs filled,
drinks consumed,
their bodies were nourished.

Taking the bread,
drinking the cup,
Christ was within them.

And would be, forevermore.

It continues with water. The same element that cleanses our spirit in baptism, cleanses our earthly body too. After a long day’s walk Jesus and the twelve would have accumulated physical reminders of the journey. Dirt, sand, sweat, possibly pebbles, a cut, a bruise.

Amid this soiled scene Jesus –

Arose from supper,
Took a towel,
And a basin,
Poured water in,
Invited disciples over,
Washed their feet.

Peter objected,
Saying never!

Jesus held firm:

You must wash,
To be part,
Of the team.

You must wash,
To be made,
Fully clean.

Do you know why? His students didn’t say much. Perhaps they mumbled a few half-hearted responses. Once again, they never quite understood. Christ continues –

For you I set an example.
Do as I have done, to you.

For we are called to serve one another.
Regardless of what our status in life is.
Regardless of what our status in life is not.
For no one is too great to address human need.

Before departing Christ ensured the twelve were clean, both in body and soul.

They knew to baptize,
In the name of the Lord.

They knew to care,
For one another.

Cleaning up life’s messes,
As they go.

With this too,
Christ was with them.

And would be, forevermore.

It concludes with love. Bellies full, bodies clean, his time with the twelve was running short. This last lesson Christ shares sums up them all. It is a command so filling, so purifying it informs the rest.

It is what gives life meaning.
Without it our world grows cold.

The instructions simple.
The words few.

Love one another.
As Christ loved us.

To follow Jesus.
Just do this.
That’s it.

And a disciple you will be.

Nothing more.
Nothing less.

All the –
People feeding,
Foot cleansing,
Oppressed supporting,
Devil arguing,
Blind seeing,
Deaf hearing,
Dead rising,
Elite infuriating,
System challenging,
Government frustrating –

That Jesus did,
Which was CONSTANT –

All of it,
Was done,
For us,
Out of love.

And we are implored to do the same.

Our Iowa state legislature and governor recently passed a series of laws that actively harm some of God’s children. More such laws could be on the way. As Christ followers we are called to more.

Feed all.
Cleanse all.
Love all.

Be Christ to all.
No exceptions.

We too need to challenge unjust systems we are part of.
We too need to be the light in times of darkness.
We too need to love as Christ first loved us.

This is the way.  Amen.

A poem based on Ezekiel’s dry bones and Lazarus raised.

The valley is devoid of all,
The silence there sends chills.
What now, what next, which way?
God? Are you here still?

Body parts lay scattered,
Strewn about the ground.
Bone here, bone there,
Is any life around?

Just when I think it’s over,
Comes something from above.
What is that you say?
It is the voice of Love.

The voice then asks a question.
Human can these bones live?
Oh Lord, you know, I answered.
Feeling rather glib.

They can, the voice responded.
Listen up, you’ll see.
Follow these directions,
And new life? It shall be.

Say – Get up, dry bones!
It is time to be restored.
Say dry bones listen!
Hear the word of the Lord.

I prophesied as commanded,

There was –
A noise,
A rattling,
A shake.

I prophesied as commanded,
Them bones began to wake.

In flight they reunited,
Bone by bone by bone.
Assembling together,
Once again at home.

Flesh upon flesh,
A reunion begun.
Skin upon skin,
Together, as one.

But something was, well, missing.
These beings not quite alive.
Without motion it’s nothing, I reasoned.
But with breath? They could revive.

They can, the voice responded.
Listen up, you’ll see.
Follow these directions,
And new life? It shall be.

Say – come hither wind!
Breathe upon the dead.
Bring with it your Spirit!
Breathe new currents instead.

I prophesied as commanded,

There was –
A whish,
A whirl,
A wind.

I prophesied as commanded,
Fresh life then entered in.

Renewed, restored, remade,
All was if as new.
Should have known, I reasoned,
That’s what God can do.

What was lost, now found,
The Lord had done the deed.
Should have known, I reasoned,
God cares for those in need.

It happened too with Lazarus,
Mary and Martha there.
Four days dead, oh, it stunk!
He gave them quite a scare.

Enter Jesus, who was a friend,
This death had made him sad.
Where were you Jesus, they asked?
It made him feel quite bad.

Take me to this man,
Then roll away the stone.
Take me to this man,
For this is still his home.

Jesus then spoke clearly,
Lazarus come out!
The dead then rose and walked,
Of this there was no doubt.

Soon enough beloved,
Easter it shall be – that’s
One more stone rolled.
Resurrection sets you free.

Soon enough beloved,
Easter it shall be.
Salvation is here!
For you, and for me.

So when your bones feel dry,
And you can’t hardly cope,
Remember Christ’s promise,
It brings with it: hope.

When your bones feel dry,

Pray for –
A noise,
A rattling,
A shake.

It is then the Spirit enters in,
And your bones begin to wake.

Get up, dry bones, revive!
It is time to be restored.
It is time to come alive, my friends,
Hear the word of the Lord.

Two parts hydrogen,
one part oxygen.
Bonded together,
it is H20.

The formula is simple.
The ingredients few.
No recipe matters more.

You can’t taste it.
It has no smell (or shouldn’t).
You can even see right through.

It comes in a trinity of forms:
– solid,
– liquid,
– gas.
Each an important part of the whole.

It can –
cleanse,
cool,
quench –
offering relief when we need it most.

It –
grows our crops,
moves our products,
feeds our planet.

It is water.
It is life.

Without it we cease to be.

But not all water is good. Here are a few examples.

Hot and Cold
Earlier this week my wife Kathi mentioned her morning shower was running a little cold. Let me know how your shower is, she suggested. I got in, noticed it wasn’t quite as warm as usual, turned the handle to as hot as it would go. It was warm enough. Seems fine to me, I replied, dismissing her concerns.

That night, around 10:30pm, daughter Hannah came downstairs, hair dripping wet. I just tried to take a shower, she said, and it is ice cold! Hannah was furious. I can’t take a shower like that! Can you fix it please?!? She was begging us. It’s really late honey, I replied. We’re already in bed. I’ll look at it in the morning.

The next day, feeling rather optimistic, I hopped in the shower, hoping everything would be ok. And what do you know…the water was freezing! I yelled downstairs. Kathi, there is no hot water! We can’t live like this! It’s winter, in Iowa! What should we do?

Soon enough, Kathi found the cause: the pilot light on our natural gas water heater was out. Within minutes she relit it. Later that morning I tried the shower again. All was as it should be. Thank goodness for hot showers! I was ecstatic. Kathi just shook her head.

The difference between hot and cold water, at least for former Floridians who winter in the Midwest these days, matters a good bit.

Poison
Then there is the 2014 Flint Michigan water crisis. To save some money government officials opted to change their water source. With a bit of redirected plumbing they switched it from one river to another. Within days residents complained about the water’s taste, smell, appearance. Pure H20 shouldn’t have a taste, or smell, or much of an appearance at all. Something was wrong.

Travelling through old, decaying lead pipes, the impact of this change in water source soon became clear. The water was now poisoned with lead. As a result, twelve people were killed, another eighty-seven harmed, with up to 12,000 children at risk from the long-term effects these troubled waters brought.

Where you get your water from matters too.

Algae
When Kathi and I attended Valparaiso University – a good Lutheran school – apologies Wartburg, Luther and Grandview friends – she took an ecology class. During the course she researched the impact of fertilizer runoff on inland lakes. We were dating, so I tagged along to a local park, wanting to learn more. We noticed big blooms of green algae along large swaths of the water’s surface. The algae was seemingly everywhere.

Algae consumes oxygen and blocks sunlight, harming both plants and fish. Algae smells, making it no fun to be around. Algae attracts mosquitos. Pretty soon we were getting bit by them. The water was stagnant, stank, and breeding bad things. Research now complete we left what once was a nice park. Because who wants to be a part of that.

Well
But good water? The text of Jesus and the woman at the well has plenty to say about that. Here are some highlights.

First, good water unites us. That Jesus was in conversation with this woman at all is controversial. Jesus finds himself travelling through Samaria, away from home. Here he is the outsider, a stranger in a strange land. As a foreigner eyebrows would be raised.

John 4:9 plainly says that Jews and Samaritans do not share things in common. This is perhaps the greatest understatement in the entire Bible. When the two groups came in contact tradition requires that Jews return to Jerusalem for a ritual cleansing. Yet here Jesus and the woman sit all the same.

And that a rabbi is seen talking with an unmarried woman, in broad daylight? It is downright scandalous. Oh the rumors this could cause.

Good water washes away what separates us from each other. Good water overcomes the boundaries of –
Race,
Ethnicity,
National origin,
Religion,
Gender,
Cultural norms –
And so very much more.

Good water is also clean. It is much closer to pure H2O. The well Jesus and the woman gather over is deep. It is way down in the earth. Water from deep wells tends to last longer, requires less monitoring, offers more protection from contaminants. There would be no lead poisoning or algae growing in this water. For it is from a deep, pure source.

Good water sustains our body. “Give me a drink,” Jesus asks the woman. “You’re asking me,” the woman replies? She can’t help but be surprised the two are talking to begin with. Yet they both need water. It is why they came to the well. They know that water is life. Just a few days without it and we simply cease to be.

Really good water also sustains our soul. Jesus replies to her query with “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.” It is the first indication here that Jesus is talking about more than merely H2O. What is the nature of this living water?

Living water transcends our past. The woman asks Jesus, “Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? He gave us this well. His sons and his flock drank from it.” This is the Jacob who –
– stole his birthright from brother Esau, trading for it with a bowl of soup.
– ran from his family to escape the wrongs he had done.
– wrestled with an angel to get God’s blessing and received it.

Jacob did some bad stuff. And then ran from his problems. Wrestling with his Creator had an effect. For God blessed him all the same.

In gratitude to God Jacob made this well. It is a well that has offered good water to God’s beloved for generations and generations. It is over a conversation, at this same well, where Jesus offers this woman more than she bargained for.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,” Jesus responds. “But those that drink the water I give them will never thirst. For it is a spring that gushes up to nothing less than eternal life.”

Here Christ suggests that yes, I am more than Jacob. Christ infers he too can wash away your soiled past. He too can offer blessings from above.

The woman, beginning to understand they are talking about more than mere H2O, says, “give me this water, so I may never thirst again.”

Finally, living water offers a fresh start.

Baptism
This weekend we are blessed to celebrate four baptisms, three at our Saturday service, one Sunday morning. What I love about that is the baptisms are decidedly different. On Saturday a mom, her son and her daughter, called by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the grace and love of God said yes, we desire to be baptized in Christ.

Yes, they said, we want to be a part of the body of Christ.

And yes, we Lutherans totally baptize adults who have not yet been cleansed by this watery sacrament before.

Recent research suggests there are now more mainline Protestants in the US than non-denominational Christians and Baptists. All while the portion of religiously unaffiliated Americans continues to grow.

Based on that, as people continue to search for meaning in life, and ultimately God, perhaps we Lutherans will be doing more adult baptisms in the future.

Dear Lord, let us be all about that.

Then on Sunday we celebrated the baptism of a cute-as-a-button six-week-old girl, brought to the living water by her parents. With this her parents commit to help the young child grow in the Christian faith, encouraging her as she grows too.

Dear Lord, may we continue to be all about infant baptisms too.

For both we baptize with water, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

For both we give you thanks, O God, that through this water and the Holy Spirit you give them new birth, cleanse them from sin, and ultimately raise them to eternal life. Tho no rush on that last part just yet 😊.

For many of the rest of us this is an opportunity to remember our baptisms, and how we affirmed them as young adults in confirmation. We too are born anew, cleaned from sin in the living waters of our baptism each and every day.

And if you haven’t been baptized yet? You just need ask. For this living water is also for you.

As we say goodbye this weekend to our Transition Pastor Walter Still – and holy cow I’ll miss you brother – concluding our time together with a series of baptisms seems downright fitting. Pastor Walter, as you depart please know: St. John’s Lutheran Des Moines will continue to encourage, celebrate and embody this new life in Christ. We will continue to lean in to all this new life our baptism entails. On this you have my word.

Close
Two parts hydrogen,
one part oxygen.
Bonded together,
it is H20.

But living water?
That well runs deeper.

Living water’s formula is simple.
The ingredients few.
No recipe matters more.

You can’t –
taste it,
smell it,
see it.

But you can feel when it’s there.

It comes in a Trinity of forms:
– God,
– Son,
– Spirit.
Each an important part of the whole.

It can –
cool,
quench,
baptize –
offering relief when we need it most.

Receive it.
Remember it.
Claim it.

It is water.
It is life.
It is for you.  Amen.