Easter makes a strong claim—God has triumphed. At last God has what God wants when “every knee shall bend,… And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”. The one whom the world pushed out of the world on a rugged cross has risen and returned in order to transform the world. Not with hate; revenge or malice, but with Glory. The creation that God began in Genesis is brought to its fulfillment. The enjoyment of God, which we were created, being only momentarily here on earth, shall be our full-time job here after. We shall forever sing Glory To God In The Highest as being more important mere joy.
My friends, we rejoice this morning knowing our Lord is Risen, Amen. Our God is triumphant over all things, Amen. The world has never been the same, all because of God’s majestic and Holy love. There is good news, my friends. Christ lives and because the one who is so determined to love you, lives, so shall you live also. Today, we remember that we indeed have Hope and victory with what God has and continues to do. For some, the empty tomb is just that, empty. But for us who believe upon the Lord Jesus the Christ, it is a mark, a miraculous event, a tremendously glorified exclamation such as the angel’s said at the tomb, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen.”
Jesus triumphs over death and, in one great, victoriously loving act, takes us along with him in resurrection. Jesus tells us In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. Christ’s resurrection frees us from paralysis that often comes with the fear of death. We need not deceive ourselves about death nor should we allow the thought of death to overpower our imagination. The TRUE Christian faith gives us the ability to look at death directly but also relatively. “Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus.….so encourage each other with these words”. That statement could be repeated every time the church gathers. Amen.
Jesus tells us, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.” The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead died no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Wonderful words of life. But then, Jesus meets his fearful disciples and says “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.” With a sober mind friends, what was the first thing Christ did upon His resurrection? He appeared to those same disciples who betrayed Him. That same Christ comes to you and me. He speaks to us. He sends us forward to spread the news that we have seen our Risen Lord and Savior in spirit, word and deed. Christ keeps returning to us in order to stay in a relationship with us. So what this means friends is in life, in death and the life beyond, there is indeed hope in Christ our Lord who will be with us always.
Jesus defeated death, and, in an amazing act of grace, takes us along through this veil of tears all the way to whatever realm God has in store for us in eternity. Our belief is not based on some naïve fantasy about the future but on the solid evidence of God’s love that we’ve experienced here and now. Listen Carefully. Because God in Christ has gone to such extraordinary lengths to get to us in this life, we cannot believe that God will fail to reach out to us even in death.
In closing, Revelation, at the very end of the Bible, says that in Paradise, when the kingdom of heaven is come upon the earth in its fullness, there will be no church. Why? Presumably, we won’t need church to train us to be at peace with God and our neighbors. We won’t have to content ourselves with glimpses of eternity in Sunday worship. We will have arrived. The people of God will shine like the sun. We shall see God, not as through a mirror, but face-to-face. We shall know. The veil of mortality shall be lifted and our wasting bodies shall be made whole and new. That stunning, glorious light who is God Almighty, and the Lamb shall effusively shine upon us. We shall then see God fully and see ourselves as we have been created from the beginning to be. We shall be home.
Until then, we who are aging (that’s all of us) can see our life with God in this present moment, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, as preparation to be with God forever. Don’t think for one moment that our life is in vain, or our sufferings are without cause. Everything we go through, while in this sinful carnal body is necessary only for the purpose of God’s divine plan to equip us for what is to come. Then, if you ever would listen and learn from God’s message of love you will experience God in a way that will always reassure us that that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That is God’s ultimate promise. If we think we can’t do it on our own, you would be exactly right! We can do nothing apart from God!
During this Holy week, I ask that you reflect upon our Lord’s resurrection. 1. We should ponder the reality of our sins in light of the cross. 2. We need to set aside time to consider the weight of our sins that rested on Jesus while on that cross. 3. We need to be thankful beyond measure and words that the resurrection occurred to ultimately save you and me from what we truly deserve. Resurrection Sunday is special. It is the day we celebrate the event that changed EVERYTHING! Not just today, or Sunday, but everyday. So get to church. Sing loudly. Worship corporately. Proclaim boldly. Pray regularly, and celebrate this Resurrection Sunday joyfully every day of your life! Amen.