The Lord Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! He Really Is!
Sermon
The Lord Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! He Really Is!
Gospel Sermons For Lent/Easter
The Lord is risen!
He is risen indeed!
The Lord is risen!
He is risen indeed!
The Lord is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Indeed he is! Really is! For real!
You know about the only place anybody ever says "indeed" is in church. Let's say it like we really mean it. Like we would say it anyplace else.
I'll say, "The Lord is risen!" You say, "He really is!"
Let's try that: "The Lord is risen!" ("He really is!")
That was pretty good. Really. But do we really mean it? Really believe it? Really want to believe it?
What if he is? For real!?
And even if he is, what does it matter, really? It's Easter. Does it make any difference to anybody? Really? It's been nearly 2,000 years since that first Easter. Nearly 2,000 times Christians have gathered on an annual basis on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Now you know how we determine the date.) But, have 2,000 times made any more difference than the first time?
We Christians don't worship on the Sabbath. In direct contravention of commandment number four which says: "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy," we don't. Sabbath day by our calendar is Saturday. Sabbath day by the Jewish calendar starts Friday at sunset and ends Saturday at sunset. Today is Sunday. By everybody's calendar the FIRST day of the week, not the LAST day of the week. Not the Sabbath. Yet here we are. What happened? Why are we here today? And does it make any difference in your life and mine? Really?
We're here today because we Christians gather to worship not on the Sabbath Day but on the Lord's Day. On the day of the resurrection of our Lord.
Every Sunday we celebrate what we call "Easter." Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
That means we've celebrated Easter Day not just 2,000 times since the first one, but 2,000 times 52 times since the first one. Over 100,000 times since the first Easter we Christians have celebrated Easter, on a day like today, in much the same way: some singing, some praying, some preaching, sometimes some eating. Does it matter? Does it make a difference for you or for me?
Well, that depends. As it depended for Mary Magdalene as she stood crying outside his tomb. As it depended for those friends of Jesus huddled together and hopelessly alone that first Easter evening. It depends on whether it's true. Whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is "for real." Whether anything really happened or whether everything was really a hoax.
Logic favors the latter. The more you try to talk yourself into belief in the resurrection, the less you're likely to believe. We think seeing is believing. Mary had trouble seeing through her tears, and those scared disciples couldn't even believe what they could see. Jesus walked into the room (through the wall by one account) and "they were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost" (Luke 24:37 NRSV).
Well what would you think? What do you think? Does it make a difference in your life?
The resurrection holds out promise of life beyond death. But what about life before death? What difference does it make if you get to live life later if living life now isn't worth living? Life later will be different. I believe that. Life later will be better. I believe that. But the basic belief of Christians since Christ was raised from the dead has been that it makes a difference now. A difference in your life and in mine.
As the hymnwriter put it in my favorite psalm: "I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27: 13 NRSV). "The land of the living" is where you and I live.
Our belief in resurrection makes a difference -- makes us different people. It takes different kinds of people: frightened people, doubting people, people who have no peace, people who've seen death take someone they love, people who've forgotten the promise of their life, people who say "show me," then can't believe their own eyes, people like you and me, and says, as Jesus said to those huddled, heart-broken, horrified disciples, "Hey, Guys, it's me! For real!"
The great truth of Easter is not the absence of Jesus from the tomb, but the presence of Christ in our lives.
And not as God, our good buddy, but as Christ, our gracious Lord. In a sense Jesus said to them I'm as real as you are. But I'm more real than you are. This is what God really means you to be. Like me. Like I am now.
Resurrection is not the resuscitation of the old me. It is the re-creation of a new me. A me that will still be me. A you that will still be you. But not the same old me, and not the same old you. Thank God!
I believe it was Tom Gillespie, the President of Princeton Theological Seminary, who once noted that we are called by God, but that God's call is to more than more of the same. It is a call to newness of life, resurrected life, eternal life, life worth living.
We tend to think of eternal life in terms of our longevity. The Bible thinks of it more in terms of God's creativity. God's creating life anew. Life that is for now, as well as for later.
If you find that hard to believe you're not alone. Jesus' disciples had their doubts. According to the story as Luke's version of the story tells us, on the Sunday following Jesus' death on Friday several women (not just Mary Magdalene) went to the cemetery, found an open grave, and rushed back to town to announce what they'd found -- or, rather, what they had not found -- to Jesus' closest friends.
They didn't believe it. If they dismissed the story, sitting half-a-mile and half-an-hour from the grave, and only two days from his death, how much harder is it for you and me sitting half-a-world and half-of-recorded-history from it!? If you feel alone in your doubts, you ought to try to stand up here when everyone is assuming you don't have any doubts! And even if you do, you're paid not to!
I have a poster in my office with a copy of the classic picture of Jesus praying at Gethsemane and the superscription: Considering the fact that Jesus had his doubts, why can't you? Well, I can. And I do. Just like you. Just like those disciples, who even when they saw him doubted it really was him!
John says, "When the disciples saw the Lord they become very happy" (John 20:20 CEV).
Luke says, "... in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering ..." (Luke 24:41 NRSV).
"... they stood there undecided, filled with joy and doubt" (Ibid, The Living Bible, paraphrase).
"The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it." (Ibid, CEV).
I think Luke comes closest to the truth.
Really now! Can you or I believe it? I think we can. And I believe it makes a difference. All the difference in the world. It's the difference between the living death of so many people's lives, and life forever with our Lord, who said, because I live, you will live also. You can live also. And always. Even now.
I just came back from Louisville and a conference with Frank Harrington of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Frank talked about living life in a rut. He said a rut is just a grave with the ends knocked out.
Well, eternal life is just living like life starts in the rut where I'm lying, but opens out into life forever, in both directions. Through death there is life forever. And in living as Jesus taught, there is life now.
Life that, as it was for Jesus, is as real as that Sunday dinner you're heading off to shortly. And as real as Luke's account of Jesus' request for something to eat. Their serving him a piece of broiled fish is not just a passing culinary comment. It's confirmation. He's alive. Dead people don't eat. He's as alive as you and I are right now. And as alive as you and I will be someday.
We Christians are not set as guards at an empty tomb. Trying to make death secure. We are called to witness to a living Lord. To try to make life worth living for us all. Jesus said so. He said to his disciples, "You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48 NRSV).
So are we!
The Lord is Risen!
He is risen indeed!
He really is!
He is risen indeed!
The Lord is risen!
He is risen indeed!
The Lord is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Indeed he is! Really is! For real!
You know about the only place anybody ever says "indeed" is in church. Let's say it like we really mean it. Like we would say it anyplace else.
I'll say, "The Lord is risen!" You say, "He really is!"
Let's try that: "The Lord is risen!" ("He really is!")
That was pretty good. Really. But do we really mean it? Really believe it? Really want to believe it?
What if he is? For real!?
And even if he is, what does it matter, really? It's Easter. Does it make any difference to anybody? Really? It's been nearly 2,000 years since that first Easter. Nearly 2,000 times Christians have gathered on an annual basis on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Now you know how we determine the date.) But, have 2,000 times made any more difference than the first time?
We Christians don't worship on the Sabbath. In direct contravention of commandment number four which says: "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy," we don't. Sabbath day by our calendar is Saturday. Sabbath day by the Jewish calendar starts Friday at sunset and ends Saturday at sunset. Today is Sunday. By everybody's calendar the FIRST day of the week, not the LAST day of the week. Not the Sabbath. Yet here we are. What happened? Why are we here today? And does it make any difference in your life and mine? Really?
We're here today because we Christians gather to worship not on the Sabbath Day but on the Lord's Day. On the day of the resurrection of our Lord.
Every Sunday we celebrate what we call "Easter." Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
That means we've celebrated Easter Day not just 2,000 times since the first one, but 2,000 times 52 times since the first one. Over 100,000 times since the first Easter we Christians have celebrated Easter, on a day like today, in much the same way: some singing, some praying, some preaching, sometimes some eating. Does it matter? Does it make a difference for you or for me?
Well, that depends. As it depended for Mary Magdalene as she stood crying outside his tomb. As it depended for those friends of Jesus huddled together and hopelessly alone that first Easter evening. It depends on whether it's true. Whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is "for real." Whether anything really happened or whether everything was really a hoax.
Logic favors the latter. The more you try to talk yourself into belief in the resurrection, the less you're likely to believe. We think seeing is believing. Mary had trouble seeing through her tears, and those scared disciples couldn't even believe what they could see. Jesus walked into the room (through the wall by one account) and "they were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost" (Luke 24:37 NRSV).
Well what would you think? What do you think? Does it make a difference in your life?
The resurrection holds out promise of life beyond death. But what about life before death? What difference does it make if you get to live life later if living life now isn't worth living? Life later will be different. I believe that. Life later will be better. I believe that. But the basic belief of Christians since Christ was raised from the dead has been that it makes a difference now. A difference in your life and in mine.
As the hymnwriter put it in my favorite psalm: "I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27: 13 NRSV). "The land of the living" is where you and I live.
Our belief in resurrection makes a difference -- makes us different people. It takes different kinds of people: frightened people, doubting people, people who have no peace, people who've seen death take someone they love, people who've forgotten the promise of their life, people who say "show me," then can't believe their own eyes, people like you and me, and says, as Jesus said to those huddled, heart-broken, horrified disciples, "Hey, Guys, it's me! For real!"
The great truth of Easter is not the absence of Jesus from the tomb, but the presence of Christ in our lives.
And not as God, our good buddy, but as Christ, our gracious Lord. In a sense Jesus said to them I'm as real as you are. But I'm more real than you are. This is what God really means you to be. Like me. Like I am now.
Resurrection is not the resuscitation of the old me. It is the re-creation of a new me. A me that will still be me. A you that will still be you. But not the same old me, and not the same old you. Thank God!
I believe it was Tom Gillespie, the President of Princeton Theological Seminary, who once noted that we are called by God, but that God's call is to more than more of the same. It is a call to newness of life, resurrected life, eternal life, life worth living.
We tend to think of eternal life in terms of our longevity. The Bible thinks of it more in terms of God's creativity. God's creating life anew. Life that is for now, as well as for later.
If you find that hard to believe you're not alone. Jesus' disciples had their doubts. According to the story as Luke's version of the story tells us, on the Sunday following Jesus' death on Friday several women (not just Mary Magdalene) went to the cemetery, found an open grave, and rushed back to town to announce what they'd found -- or, rather, what they had not found -- to Jesus' closest friends.
They didn't believe it. If they dismissed the story, sitting half-a-mile and half-an-hour from the grave, and only two days from his death, how much harder is it for you and me sitting half-a-world and half-of-recorded-history from it!? If you feel alone in your doubts, you ought to try to stand up here when everyone is assuming you don't have any doubts! And even if you do, you're paid not to!
I have a poster in my office with a copy of the classic picture of Jesus praying at Gethsemane and the superscription: Considering the fact that Jesus had his doubts, why can't you? Well, I can. And I do. Just like you. Just like those disciples, who even when they saw him doubted it really was him!
John says, "When the disciples saw the Lord they become very happy" (John 20:20 CEV).
Luke says, "... in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering ..." (Luke 24:41 NRSV).
"... they stood there undecided, filled with joy and doubt" (Ibid, The Living Bible, paraphrase).
"The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it." (Ibid, CEV).
I think Luke comes closest to the truth.
Really now! Can you or I believe it? I think we can. And I believe it makes a difference. All the difference in the world. It's the difference between the living death of so many people's lives, and life forever with our Lord, who said, because I live, you will live also. You can live also. And always. Even now.
I just came back from Louisville and a conference with Frank Harrington of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Frank talked about living life in a rut. He said a rut is just a grave with the ends knocked out.
Well, eternal life is just living like life starts in the rut where I'm lying, but opens out into life forever, in both directions. Through death there is life forever. And in living as Jesus taught, there is life now.
Life that, as it was for Jesus, is as real as that Sunday dinner you're heading off to shortly. And as real as Luke's account of Jesus' request for something to eat. Their serving him a piece of broiled fish is not just a passing culinary comment. It's confirmation. He's alive. Dead people don't eat. He's as alive as you and I are right now. And as alive as you and I will be someday.
We Christians are not set as guards at an empty tomb. Trying to make death secure. We are called to witness to a living Lord. To try to make life worth living for us all. Jesus said so. He said to his disciples, "You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48 NRSV).
So are we!
The Lord is Risen!
He is risen indeed!
He really is!
