41104sermon

Prayer: O God, we joyously celebrate this wonderful day and remember how you became one of us, and took upon yourself all our experiences, defeated even death and thereby transformed life, forever. For these things we give you thanks and say “Alleluia!” Amen.

I’m glad Easter is here! Sun and warmth and new life all around! If you are, say “Alleluia!” If you believe Christ rose from the dead, literally or figuratively, say “Alleluia!” If you believe that Christ is alive in the world today, say “Alleluia!” If you believe your life is different because of the resurrection, say “Alleluia!”

In the midst of darkness in many places of the world, the suffering and pain, the death and destruction, the uncertainties and threats of these times, we can say “Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Christ is risen Indeed!” And with saying that we proclaim something very deep and transformational! We proclaim that God is still at work in the world, transforming people, touching people’s hearts and lives, moving behind the scenes. The biblical writers proclaim such! Our faith asks us to believe such. And our lives seek such!

I don’t remember an Easter in all my ministry when I have felt as deeply concerned about the world and about our country’s role in that world as I do this Easter. I have to admit also that I have never wrestled as much with the whole concept of the resurrection of Jesus and the meaning of that for my life and your life and for the world as I have this past season of Lent and Holy Week. And I don’t think I’ve ever garnered as much hope! Perhaps that’s because I’ve been reading some very provocative essays by renown biblical scholars and theologians about who Jesus was and is. I think Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ and all the publicity around that has cause a lot of folks to think deeply too! Peter Jennings and a number of outstanding, contemporary scholars, theologians, pastors and teachers, presented a series on ABC last week-end on Jesus and his life, and on the Apostle Paul and the development of the early church. I watched what I could of it. It was outstanding, and I’m trying to get the tapes for an adult education class this fall. And the cover of the April 12 issue of Time Magazine asks, “Why did Jesus have to die?”

Out of all these things I want to share with you some realities about Jesus I’ve reclaimed for myself and that you may want to reclaim for yourself this Easter time.

I’ve come to believe anew that God came to live among us, as one of us in Jesus of Nazareth. I believe Jesus lived our lives, bringing healing and new life to a parched world. He sat at table with those whom no one else would invite, played with children, which he was not supposed to do, and proclaimed God’s unconditional love to all who would receive it. Jesus called men and women as disciples to continue his work, and still does!

When those in political and religious power were angered because of what Jesus said and did, he said that even the stones would cry out, because God’s word of justice and truth cannot be silenced. (1)

Then humanity put Jesus to death and the biblical witnesses say God raised him to new life, and in so doing invites us to share in that life. In Jesus, God has shown us that nothing, not even death, can stop God from loving us, from being with us, from transforming us and all humanity!

So this Easter day, I can certainly say with abandonment, and I hope you can too, Alleluia! Alleluia that Jesus came to us as a babe of humble birth and grew to maturity just like you and I. Alleluia that Jesus became a carpenter, a builder, a teacher . . . and was a son, a brother, and a friend . . . and I hope a husband and lover. Alleluia that Jesus journeyed into the wilderness just like you and I journey into our wildernesses. (2)

It’s hard for me and perhaps for you too to recognize that Jesus experienced insult, misunderstanding, and abandonment, that he was accused, tried, convicted as a traitor, and chose to die a horrible death on the cross because he loved us. And that’s hard! It may be hard for us to recognize that Jesus proved not even death can separate us from God's love. His life, death, and resurrection call us to live as transformed people – Easter people. Jesus, our friend, our redeemer, our Savior lives in our hearts and through us, lives in the world! Alleluia!

Now, some of you may say “I don’t believe the resurrection ever happened. Doesn’t make sense.” You are not alone. Others of you may be on the other end of the spectrum and believe the man Jesus of Nazareth literally came back to life after being executed, walked the earth forty days, then ascended into heaven from the top of the Mount of Olives. You are not alone. Others of you may be someplace in between. And you are not alone. Theologians, biblical scholars, believers, and skeptics have pondered the resurrection, both Jesus’ resurrection and humanity’s resurrection, for centuries, and continue to do so today.

Whatever we believe about Jesus death and resurrection, we all hear the words of the angel recorded by Dr. Luke, “He is not here, but has risen" (Luke 24:6). The Easter message is certainly a mysterious one, not just about a change in Jesus, but also about a change in us. To live as an Easter people is to live with mystery and to allow that mystery to transform us.

I think John Shelby Spong, controversial Episcopal Bishop and biblical scholar, in an essay entitled “Breaking the Literal Mold of Easter” puts it so very well. He asks, “Can the meaning of Easter be real even if there was no actual event called resurrection that occurred inside history? The resurrection experience changed lives, reoriented people's understanding of God, and created a new holy day. That is sufficient empirical data to indicate that something real happened during the experience called Easter.” (3)

So, what did happen? I don’t know! I do know some of the results, however! A new age was inaugurated! Life were transformed and continues to be transformed. God experienced all that we experience and thereby goes with us today into and through whatever life may bring. The hopeless were given hope and are given hope today! Many who lived in fear no longer live in fear. Many who have felt alone, no longer feel alone! The hungry are fed; the naked are clothed; the prisoner is visited by people of faith who bring hope; healing touch is offered along with cups of cold water, all in the name of the Risen Lord! And you and I are given in Jesus a model of how best to live! We see in the Christ of God, certainly someone who suffered and died, but also much much more.

We see in the resurrected Christ one who taught us how best to live and love! How to give ourselves away; how to have hope for this life and the life to come! I think Clarence Jordan in his book, The Substance of Faith put it so well. He said, “On the morning of the resurrection, God put life in the present tense . . . God gave us . . . a presence . . . (and) power for the present . . . Jesus’ resurrection is not to convince the incredulous . . . but to enkindle the believers. The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church.” Might we be that church today! Might our individual lives be transformed by the living Christ, now and always! Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Resources:

(1 and 2) from Seasons of the Spirit, Lent, April 11

(4) as quoted in Alive Now, p. 35, March / April, 2004