1 On the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices
they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They
found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find
the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were wondering about this,
suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
5 In their fright the women bowed down
with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for
the living among the dead?
6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember
how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over
to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they
told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
11 But they did not believe the women,
because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the
tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went
away, wondering to himself what had happened.
There is an old joke about a man who wondered
where the sun went each evening when it set. One day, he decided he would stay stayed awake until he
learned the answer. He found a
comfortable place one evening, watched the sun set, and began to ponder where
it went. After pondering all night,
it finally dawned on him. I just said it was an old joke; I
didn’t say it was a funny joke.
This morning we are talking about and
celebrating Life! We proclaim life each time we come
together to worship, but this day, this morning, it is Easter Sunday morning,
when we proclaim with greater enthusiasm.
Life!
What a wonderful gift!
1. Easter Promises Life Now!
Even if it has been awhile
since you’ve been in school, like it has for me, you may remember what you
exclaimed when you finally came to understand a concept that had previously
eluded you. What did you say when understanding came to you? Most likely it was
not I understand, but now I see! In light of the resurrection
we can say now I see!
The crucifixion confused and
frightened the disciples. In spite of the fact that Jesus told them about his
death and resurrection they could not understand or comprehend it until after
the resurrection. The resurrection
illuminates everything about life and illuminates everything Jesus taught. The
resurrection teaches us, most of all, of the triumph of life.
What has changed in your life since
last Easter? A job change? A family change? Married? Had a child?
Lost a loved one? A lot
happens in a year, and not all of it is easy. The struggles of life can really wear us down, but Easter
brings the promise of new life. The
promise of life is not just a future promise; it is very much a present
reality. Resurrection is often thought
of as a future event, as it ushers us into eternity, but it is also a present
event. Resurrection reflects upon our eternal destiny, but it is about our
destiny in this world as well. When Jesus walked out of death and the
tomb and into new life he invited us to walk out of death and into new life as
well. It was an invitation to become
new people in this life. If anyone is in Christ, Paul writes in
II Corinthians 5:17, he is a new
creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Resurrection
promises that we can overcome the challenges that threaten our lives, it
promises to defeat the discouragement that can overwhelm us, and it promises to
triumph over our fears. No longer do we have to remain bound by the tomb of an
old life, we are invited to embrace new life.
The good news is that God entered into humanity to set things right,
to bring life now, not just in eternity. God, in the resurrection of Christ,
said to the struggles of individuals and to all of humanity, enough! Enough to the tomb
of hatred, enough to the tomb of
greed, enough to the tomb of
oppression, and enough to the tomb of
human structures that enslave and oppress people. He said enough to the tomb of injustice, enough to the tomb of inequality, enough to the tomb of prejudice, and enough to the tomb of discrimination.
Life now means that though we live in a world where the
strong too often take advantage of the weak, God’s justice will prevail. Life now means that though we live in a
world where so many are poor, God will bring a bounty to all, because the
resurrection promises that God not only broke the bonds of death but also the
bonds of injustice, of inequality, and of suffering.
I remember the first time that
I visited Mammoth Cave. It is an
amazing experience to walk into that vast system of caves, which wander for
mile after mile. It’s amazing to
consider the time that went into the creation of that system of caves. It was one drop of water at a time, one
grain of sand, one grain of dirt, one piece of rock. But over time, what a difference it makes. One day at a time God has been at work
in this world. One day at a time
he will continue to be at work, bringing life to all people and bringing hope
to all people.
2. Easter Promises a Life of Meaning!
One of the great questions of
life is this – does my life matter?
Does my brief sojourn in this vast universe, on this lonely planet Earth,
in its little corner of all creation, as one among billions of people, over
millennia of time, make any difference?
Everyone wants to know their life
means something. We all know what
it feels like to go on, day after day, fixing meals, washing clothes, mowing
the lawn, going about our work, fulfilling responsibilities, wondering if
anything that we do makes any difference.
There is meaning to our lives,
because there is meaning behind all of creation. If this is all there is – this material world – if there is
nothing more to this life than simply existing as a random act of creation in a
random universe, then there is no inherent meaning to anything or anyone. There is meaning built into the
structure of the universe and built into our lives only because there is a God
who infuses it all with meaning.
People often walked away from
Jesus as different people, accepting his meaning for their lives. Not always, but often. There were those who could not accept
the love and new life he had to offer. Instead, they preferred to remain
imprisoned behind the walls of their own tomb. They entombed themselves behind
walls of fear, afraid to step out into the brave new world promised by God. They
entombed themselves in bitterness, vowing to never forgive or forget a hurt. They
entombed themselves behind anger, remaining mad at the world and everyone
around them. And they entombed themselves in grief, mourning forever what was
while forgetting what can be.
Your life, my, life, every
life, can have meaning because of what God has done.
3. Easter Promises That God
Is In Control of Life.
The Romans crucified Jesus
because he made claims that only the Roman Emperor was entitled to make. He called himself Lord, Son of Man, and other titles that were reserved only for the
emperor. Think of the Roman
soldier who, at Jesus’ death, claimed surely
he was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54). By doing so, by confessing that Jesus was the Son of God,
that soldier signed his own death warrant by making such a proclamation.
There are people around the
globe this very day who find themselves under not just the threat of death, but
the reality of death, for making the same declaration. They are under that threat because of
their faith and because someone not want that faith to control their
lives. There are, perhaps, more
people under threat of death because of their faith than at any other time in
history. We must remember that
many of our brothers and sisters in faith are under such a threat, and we must
pray for them and speak out on their behalf, that they may one day enjoy the
freedom to believe and to worship as do we.
There is always someone who
will make claim to your heart, your mind, and your life. There’s always someone like the Roman
Emperor who will lay authority and claim to our lives, but it’s up to each one
of us if we will let them claim us.
The other day I heard a song
on the radio that I haven’t heard in a while. It was a beautiful day, I had the sunroof on the car open,
and the radio turned up loud. The
song is by Joan Osborne, who grew up just down the road in Anchorage and the
song, which came out in 1995, is What If
God Was One of Us. I like the
song, and today – on Easter Sunday – we proclaim that God indeed was one of us! The Creator and Lord of this universe
came to this world as Jesus. He
lived among us. He grew tired,
thirsty, and hungry. At times, his
heart broke over the reaction he received, as he was sometimes despised and
rejected. He wept over the hard
hearts that he encountered. And,
finally, he was betrayed, arrested, crucified, and buried. But he did not remain in the
grave. We celebrate Easter this
day because Jesus was resurrected.
He is risen! He is risen indeed! And because he was, we have life!
Happy Easter!
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