The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee



Easter Day, Year A, 2008, March 23, 2008, Christ Church Cathedral Nashville

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43).

In the 1983 movie Tender Mercies, Robert Duvall plays a broken-down Country & Western singer named Mac Sledge, who wakes up one morning in a flea-speck motel on the Texas prairie, in what seems like the exact center of nowhere. He’s broke, has a terrible hangover, and has literally hit rock bottom. He’s got it all: a substance abuse problem and a dysfunctional family, proud possessions that amount to less than nothing. His drinking companions have left with his ride, and it’s a long way to anywhere, so he goes to work for motel owner Rosa Lee. What follows after is a story of redemption, in which the taciturn Sledge is redeemed by the love of Rosa Lee and her young son. Robert Duvall won an Oscar for this role, and watching him is the best part of the film. His character has borne some great losses in his life, and he bears some more in the course of the film, as Sledge struggles with the consequences of his past and with the grief that comes his way. In the face of death, Sledge can’t explain the ways of God, which are troubling and severe, but in the midst of grief he’s grateful for the tender mercies that he’s received.

Part of the Good News of Easter is the possibility of new life, a fresh start; and the certainty of the abiding love of God in spite of who we are and what we do. The New Testament is full of the language of “the forgiveness of sins” as an integral part of the Easter proclamation. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ brings us face to face with the human capacity for sin, and also with God’s self-giving capacity to absorb violence and to overcome it. We are complicit in the story of sin, but at the same time also the recipients of grace. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have the palpable sign that violence does not have the last word, that death is not the end. In the face of death, in the midst of their grief, Mary Magdalene and the disciples discover that Jesus Christ is alive, not dead. His resurrection means that there is forgiveness for the human race, the chance for a new start, the opportunity to come to grips with the past and to discover God’s abiding love in the face of the worst that we can do.

We have a hard time coming to grips both with ourselves, and with the truth of God’s forgiveness and love. In the film, Sledge doesn’t even want to admit who he is, when he’s quizzed by some musicians at the motel; neither do the disciples want to admit who they are, when bystanders ask on Good Friday. It’s not modesty, but fear, that makes it difficult for us to admit who we are. And in our Gospel today, standing at the tomb, Mary Magdalene can’t even tell who Jesus is. We have convictions about who we are, and about the way the world is, that make it hard for us to see the new life that is all around us. Faced with the resurrection, Mary Magdalene sees what she is expecting to see, but not the One who is right before her.

So what do you see at the tomb today? There are real possibilities here for you, if you have the eyes of faith. You might see a sinner who has been redeemed by love; a person made by God who is loved in spite of the worst that he can do. You might see the opportunity for a new start, for a new life, for the victory of life over death. The signs of life are literally all around us. You might see as well a tomb that is empty, that no longer contains the remains of your own past mistakes and misdoings. There are new possibilities here for you, through God’s grace, and they begin today. And you might encounter Jesus Christ, who is alive and not dead, and be able to recognize him for who he is. And in recognizing him, you will come to know yourself as what you are indeed, a recipient of forgiveness and God’s tender mercies.

The Rt. Rev’d John Bauerschmidt, Bishop of Tennessee 

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