Acts 10:34-431 Corinthians 15:1-11John 20:1-18
Alleluia,Christ is Risen, The Lord is Risen indeed. This message of Good News for some folks, may be difficult accept. Somewhere, even here, there may be those whomay stand in the midst of pain, tragedy, loneliness, or isolation. Evenin circumstances such as these, is “New Life” really possible? Can there truly be a sequel to the story ofdeath? Is there something on the otherside of despair? We have hope myfriends; great hope. After the trial,beatings and crucifixion of her Lord, Mary Magdalene’s words on that third daywere, “I have seen the Lord.” Jesus’ messageof love may have been squelched by the religious and political leaders of thattime, but it was quieted for only three days. There was another story to be told on the other side of the cross; thestory of resurrection, an empty tomb, and new life.
Newlife beyond death seems a little difficult for us 21st centurypost-modern, techno-savvy, scientific, folks to comprehend, understand, or evento accept as a real possibility. We can’t seem to get our minds wrapped aroundthe possibility that even through death, there is more to the story. Our culture seems to wrestle with death andresurrection, and our exploration of this topic can be set in the context of somereally strange notions. I am quiteintrigued by some of the attempts by the entertainment industry to explore theissues of mortality. Television shows about the paranormal are fairly popularthese days. Books that are about what heaven is like, seems to be on the topseller lists. There is even one televisionnetwork that has found great success with a new series about a monster infested,post-apocalyptic world in which a disease changes people into walking, decayingmindless carriers of a life-draining infection.
Thesurvivors of this apocalypse struggle, as they are constantly plagued with hunger,lack of shelter, lack of safety, despair, and death abounds all around. For them, there doesn’t seem to be much hope.You may ask, what does this have to do with Easter. I’m glad you asked because on one recentepisode of the show, when all hope seemed lost for the series’ group of heroes,there was a particular scene in which , in the midst of death, resurrectiontook the spotlight.
Inearly missed that scene, as I got up from the couch and headed for that lastsnack of the night, but when it happened, my ears perked up, my theologicalalarms went off, and my clergy radar turned on. In the season finale, the group had come to a major turning point intheir journey, and they were at their wits end. Many of the group had been lost in a recent attack and in a brief momentof reprieve, Rick the hero, says something profound to Herschel one of thesolid, ethical, unmovable characters. Herschel had given up hope and Rick waschastising him as he said, “You’re a man of God! Have some faith.” Herschel, out of this dark place, in hismoment of unimaginable despair, replied, “I can’t profess to understand God’splan. Christ promised a resurrection of the dead, I just thought he hadsomething a little different in mind.” Wow! When I heard that I said, “I gotta work thisinto a sermon someday.” Well, here yago!
Thepoint I think of Herschel’s profound statement is that in the midst of hispersonal tragedy, when he had lost hope, Christ promises a new day, a new way,a new life.
Resurrectionis God’s fulfilled promise that new life is unlike anything we have knownbefore. Resurrection is where hopeabounds, joy emerges, grace showers upon us, and love bursts through. When all seems lost, when all around us isfalling apart, we still have hope. MaryMagdalene said, “I have seen the Lord.” Iknow it may be difficult to believe, but even in the worse moments of life, maybewhen we experience job loss, maybe whenour beloved abandons us, maybe when our portfolio’s value drops to zero, maybe whenour own health fails, and maybe in that last moments of life, when our very breathis slipping from us, we do have hope. Theresurrection is an unpretentious claim, “I have seen the Risen Lord.” Thepromises of God are not just nice little thing to believe in, the promise becamereal at the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene, thefirst apostle realized that death had lost its grip on Jesus, the promised Oneof God and thus, and we too can know that it has lost its hold on us as well.
Inthe resurrection of Jesus, something new had happened. Something world changing has broken through andthings will never be the same again. Thisstory of resurrection is the story of a new way of life, a new beginning eachand every day, a reclaiming in Christ the beauty, grace, and the blessed,original intent of creation.
Thegreat hope we have is that a new way of living began in Jesus of Nazareth, theChrist, Messiah, Rabbi, Teacher, Rebbouni, God in Flesh. Death the great enemy of humanity has foreverbeen defeated. In Christ, we now havehope.
Wesometimes live so detached from our own sense of mortality and yet, death isall around us. We have to accept thefact that will not leave this life without passing through death in all itsforms: emotional deaths, spiritual deaths, and relational deaths and yes, eventuallyphysical death. What we sometimes forgetis that through death we truly learn to live. We must accept that there are doors in this life, through which we mustpass, and yet on the other side, there is something else awaiting us and thatfact, changes how we live.
Thereis a country music ballad I heard the other day. It is based on the story of a young man who inhis mid 40’s, discovers he has a terminal illness. The news is devastating for him, buteventually he faces the future and makes up his mind to live the life he hasleft to its fullest. He decides that hewould do all the things he never did before. He committed to himself andothers that he would go skydiving, Rocky Mountain climbing. He promised hewould go 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu. He decided that from that point forward he wouldlove deeper, speak sweeter, and he would give the forgiveness that he’d beendenying. The chorus to this insightfullittle tune ends with this simple yet profound admonishment, “Someday I hopeyou get the chance to live like you were dying.”
Resurrection,that empty tomb, gives us the hope into which we can surely rest our lives. We are invited to live not as if we aredying, but as if by the unfathomable mystery of resurrection, we can live intoa new reality in a distant future, and most assuredly, we can live into it now,today, this moment. Resurrection is absolutely a hope for thefuture, but it is without a doubt, hope for us now, today, here, this veryminute. The promise fulfilled in Christ is,“God’s love lasts beyond the grave and nothing can stand between us and God’slove. The hope is that even in the midst of some of the great tragedies oflife, we are not nor will we be abandoned to sting of death, in any of its forms:spiritual, emotional, relational or physical. God does not nor will God ever abandon us.
ThisGood News is life changing, because it changes the way we approach life. I sat in a coffee house one day and had agreat conversation with young man about faith. At one point in our conversation he said to me, “I dig this Jesus lifeyou talk about Eric, but I just can’t accept that resurrection thing.” I asked him, “What if it’s true? What if God’s love is forever? What if we have hope that none of the tragediesin the world is the end of the story? What if none of the death, none of the loneliness, none of thebrokenness is the end of the story? What if we lived like death is not the end?” The young man said, “It would changeeverything.” I paused, looked him deeplyin the eyes and said, “Then my friend, you have a better grasp on the hope ofthe resurrection than you may know.” Hesmiled and said, “I get it. Maybe I canlive with that kind of hope. It changesme, so that I may give the forgiveness I have denied, I can speak sweeter, and Ican love deeper.” He went on to say, “Becauseof the hope of resurrection, maybe with indifference, I won’t pass by thehomeless man/woman on the corner, maybe I won’t forget to call my aging grandparentsand tell them I love them, maybe I will cherish each relationship in which Ishare, maybe each bump in the road I hit won’t be so devastating, maybe I canlook at every creature and know they are brother/sister, and maybe I won’t takethe great gift of life for granted any longer.”
The great hope of Resurrection not only changes how welive life, it changes us individually, and it has the power to change theworld. Resurrection, the empty tomb, the RisenLord. What if it’s true? I don’t know about you, but when we leave thepresence of the beauty of this Easter Sunday, with its lilies, Easter suits anddresses, white banners and vestments, and the sense of hope and celebration thatis ripe all around, there will be days down the road when we will honestly say,“I’m hurting here, I’ve messed it up, things are hopeless, and we will declare,I need a little resurrection now, today, this week, this very moment.” Even then, we can with hope, believe thatthere is new life possible, new life beyond the grave, new life beyond thetragedy, new life beyond the pain. Ibelieve it because of the example of the faith of those who have gone before me,and those who stand beside me in this place, that have the courage and strengthto begin each day with this assurance, this hope, and this great promise,“Alleluia, Christ is risen ….” “TheLord is raised indeed, Alleluia.”
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