April 8, 2012
1 Corinthians
15:1-11; John 20:1-18
Today, we celebrate the resurrection of
Jesus from death after three days in the tomb. Do you ever find yourself
wondering if these claims of resurrection are true? Scientifically speaking,
the resurrection is pretty unbelievable. We all know that dead is dead. We have
buried a lot of loved ones and friends over the years, and we have never seen
any of them walking around and talking with us three days later.
Yes, we all have heard of people being
brought back to life after an accident or heart attack. Some of them tell us of
a white light, a sense of peace, a vision of loved ones, and a few speak about
a vision of Jesus or some being they just “know” is God. But these folks have
been resuscitated after a short time, an hour or less, mostly, and they do die
and get buried eventually. Jesus was
dead for days, and is still alive two thousand years later!
It is pretty incredible! That’s what the
Apostle Paul is saying here. He began persecuting those who believed in Jesus,
discrediting the witnesses who claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus. He
said they were hysterical, grieving, could not possibly have seen and
experienced what they claimed to have seen and experienced.
That is, Paul didn’t believe what the
disciples and other believers said, until he had an experience of the risen
Jesus himself. From that moment on, he became Jesus’ biggest fan. He never felt
worthy to be called an apostle, but became passionate about serving Jesus in
that role. Paul mentions as proof of the resurrection the faith and experiences
Peter and the disciples, and many other witnesses of the risen Jesus. He is
passing on what witnesses have told him, just as they have told it, and as he
himself has experienced it.
As these early witnesses and Paul began
to consider what it meant that Jesus was alive again, they determined five
simple truths. Our theologians have elaborated on these truths, but some days,
like Easter Sunday, it’s good to return to the basics.
Jesus is God’s Son; and not just God’s
Son, but God’s own being with skin on. We know what God is like because of
Jesus’ presence on earth.
God is more powerful than death. Therefore,
death is not the final word of our lives. There is life beyond death, life in
God’s presence.
God loves all of creation, including all
humans, so much that God was willing to send God’s very own Son to die and be
raised to life again for us.
God is passionately concerned about
justice for all people. Jesus’ life, preaching, teaching, healing, and touching
gave proof that we are commanded to love God with our entire beings and to show
God’s kind of love to our neighbors as well.
This love of God for us has absolutely
nothing to do with human activity. We are loved by God whether we like it or
not, whether we think we deserve it or not, whether our neighbors think we
deserve it or not. In this is grace -- undeserved forgiveness; and salvation –
a covenant relationship with God for all of our days.
... Paul’s world was filled with those
who could not believe in the resurrected Jesus. It was through the stories told
by the witnesses that the good news of the resurrection spread, and spread, and
spread, in spite of persecution and torture and death.
We are believers in Jesus today because
our parents, grandparents, God-parents, Sunday school teachers, and neighbors
have witnessed to us. They told us the stories of Jesus, and helped us meet him
through their life stories. Without these witnesses, we would not be gathered here
this morning celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.
Our world – our immediate community,
even – is filled with people who may believe in the resurrected Jesus, but
don’t know what it means for them. Our world – our immediate community – is
filled with people who don’t even know Jesus loves them and died for them and
was raised for them.
Such people need us to be witnesses, so
they, too, can come to believe in the good news of God’s love for God’s people.
It is up to us to tell our stories of faith to those who don’t believe, who
don’t know, who are looking for something, but can’t figure out what it is they
are looking for. It is up to us to say that we believe God loves us, forgives
us, wants a relationship with us, and wants us to be instruments of justice for
all people.
Those first witnesses were not afraid to
tell others about Jesus, even though they risked their lives in doing so. In
our society, we do not risk our lives when we tell others what Jesus has done
for us. There are lots of people around us hoping for just such a story. Why
not tell them yours and be a witness of this good news?
Please pray with me: Jesus, we are so
grateful for your love for us, and for the courage and passion of all those
witnesses who have gone before us. Grant us the courage to be today’s witnesses
to all you have done for us. In your holy name, amen.
Sunrise
Mark
16.1-8
The
Good News Continues
The women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, spoke with the
young man, and ran away, amazed and afraid. That’s it – that’s all there is to
Mark’s resurrection story.
It seems to be a strange ending, but it matches the
beginning very well. “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God.” The good news has not ended, it continues to this day.
Jesus has been raised from the dead. Death is no
longer the final word for our lives.
The women and the male disciples were sent by the
young man: go from this tomb to Galilee to tell the good news. The word of
Jesus’ resurrection spread like wildfire. It continues to spread, as people
everywhere need to share and hear such good news.
As Mark tells the story of Jesus, the male disciples
don’t really understand what Jesus is doing. The female disciples seem to have
a better understanding, but here at the tomb, they don’t seem to “get it”
either. They run away, amazed and terrified. The only ones who supposedly get
it are Mark, who tells us the story, and us, the readers of all time and all
places.
Let us be amazed, this day, but let us not be
silent, terrified to speak of the good news. The good news of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God does not end when the gospel text ends, but it continues to this
day.
Let us go from here and say “Jesus is risen! And
that has made all the difference in my life. It can make all the difference in
your life as well.”
Amen
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