EASTER 2009B
As I read the lessons for this
wonderful Easter day, I kept on thinking
about a phrase that the Apostle Paul used in his letter to that new and tiny
church in
1
Corinthians 15:1-2 ( NRSV ) 1Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of
the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which
also you stand, through which also you
are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to
you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
The phrase “I would remind you..” kept rolling around in my old and tired brain. I began thinking back on my Christian journey, especially a time in my life when I was struggling and lost. This morning I am going to talk some about my Christian faith and journey. I did not want to do this, and I started another sermon that sits on my computer, but I could not get any peace, so it seemed that this was the right thing to do.
I know that as you look up here, and see a guy dressed in a nice white robe – we call it a Cassock-Alb. You know that I am a priest in the church. This means that, depending upon your experience with priests, that you all have different ideas of who I am. Many think that I have to be spiritual and holy because I am a priest. Some that he has to say all of these Christian things because they pay him to do it. It can be easy to not really listen to these sermons because it seems like these guys have to say what they say!
But this morning I want you to understand that I am no different than you. I do not say what I say because I am paid to do it. We clergy are no different than you in our day to day struggles. Yes, we have been set aside by the church to carry out particular roles in the church, but this does not mean that our spiritual lives are any different than yours. We struggle with our family relationships just as you do. We struggle with prayer and giving and learning about Jesus and all that goes with living the Christian life the same as anyone else.
So today I don’t want you to hear a preacher preaching to you as much as I want you to hear a brother in Christ simply sharing why he believes in the Easter message.
Paul says: “I want to remind you, brothers and sisters…” So I started thinking about my journey, and I tried to go back and capture my feelings and thoughts during my college days, as I struggled with life and what to believe. As I reflect back, I realize that college was a tough time for me, and I think it is for many. It is a time to get away from our parents and thus try and figure out who we are on our own.
Since I was raised in the
church, going to church every
Sunday, because I had to because my Dad
was a Priest, and since I always had a
little rebellious streak in me, I had
decided that Christianity was not for me. But who was I and what did I believe?
During that time there was a lot to choose from: drugs,
revolution, anti-war or go off to
fight for your country in
It was into this frame of mind and being that I heard again the Christian message. After hearing it and struggling with it, I began to listen. At that time, my prayer was something like: “Lord Jesus, if you are real, please let me know, because I am tired and I cannot fake believing.” Well, without going into detail, this prayer was answered and my life was changed. I became a believer in the Easter message. I came to believe that Jesus is alive, and that his bones are not decaying in some tomb.
That time was approximately 37-38 years ago. Since that time I have lived my life as a Christian. Today I share this with you not as a priest, but as one of you. I am not preaching because I am paid to do it. I am not saying these things because I am supposed to say them. The simple truth is, I believe. I know that I am not the best or most faithful follower of Jesus. I am most days ashamed of my lack of faith and zeal. I wish that I was more faithful. But by God’s grace I am still on the journey, and I pray fervently that God will not allow me to slip or fall, and that I might be faithful to the very end of my days.
As I reflect upon my coming to real faith, I think of the question that the women were asking themselves as they were walking to the tomb on that first Easter Sunday: Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? “ That stone would have been huge, impossible for a few women to roll away by themselves. That stone represents to me all the forces of life that are more powerful than we are. In this present economic situation, we Americans are finding out again that there are forces of life that are more powerful than we are. We can be laid off of our jobs, or our savings can disappear. We experience failed love relationships. We do not get into the college that we wanted. We graduate from college and it is hard to find a job. We fail to make a team. As we grow older, our health fails. Sometimes life just simply overwhelms us. And of course, the stone in the Easter story represents death, the one great power that no powers on earth can overcome.
But when the women arrive at the tomb, the stone has already been rolled away. This is the message of Easter. God has rolled away the stone. The good news is that there is a force, there is a power that is greater than all of the forces and powers that can come against us. I discovered, through simply asking Jesus to help me, that He could roll away the stone of despair and shame and sense of being lost. Having faith in a living Christ has changed my day to day life.. Now, as I grow older I am more aware of the stone of death. It sits out there waiting for me… and for you! I went to the Bible the other day and it told me that I had just a few more years to live!
Psalm 90 verse 10 says:
The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Since I am going to be 60 in a few months ( I know I still only look 40… and turning 60 is bothering me a whole lot.. it sounds really old!)… this means I might have 10 or 20 years left. But, and this is the Easter message, death for me and for all of us is a great stone that God has taken care of.
But what difference does this make for us? As I reflect on my journey, I think the difference it makes for me is that now I have hope. It is a hope that is not based on my good deeds or what I do or success in my relationships, nor is it based upon the goodness and power of humanity, nor is it based on financial security, nor is it based on the health of our country, nor is it based on my health and success.. but it is hope that rests in the love of God, revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
This hope has changed my life and it can change yours. If I can communicate anything to you this morning, it is my experience that faith in Jesus does make a difference in our lives. It moves the foundation of our lives onto a sure one, and off the transitory foundations of this life.
Easter is a transfusion of hope into the midst of the trials of life. Have we failed in a relationship? We need not despair. Are we facing financial trials? We need not fear. Have we failed on the job, or have we lost a job, or have we been unfairly treated? We need not lose hope. Are we overwhelmed by life? Are we sick and dying? … We need not fear.
One of the challenges that we face as Americans is that, because we have so much material wealth and comfort, we come to think that these are in and of themselves the blessings of God and thus when they disappear, then we are losing God’s presence and blessing. I found these quotes which I thought were extremely powerful.
“… it is wrong to infer from prosperity that God is
favorable toward us, and from suffering that God is angry…. Suffering often
brings us to the end of our rope so we will look to God in Christ for our
safety.
“We imagine that somehow we deserve prosperity. But prosperity often inebriates people so that they take delight in their own vanities. Instead of leading to gratitude, God’s indulgent liberality is abused; prosperity easily becomes its own kind of prison that deprives us of God’s greatest gifts.” (Christianity Today, April 2009, Vol. 53, Number 4 – paraphrases of John Calvin)
Easter reminds me, and all of us, not to look for signs of God’s presence in the comforts of this life. If we do, when they disappear, as they will, then we feel like God has abandoned us. The very opposite is true. God is with us most in our trials. If we look beyond the comforts of this life, it is there that we find God’s greatest gifts – love, mercy, kindness, hope and faith. It was in the midst of despair and pain and loss that the disciple discovered the joy of the risen Christ on that first Easter. Hope was born in despair.
This wonderful Easter morning we are gathered here to proclaim the faith of the Church, that Christ is risen. I want to share my faith and my hope with you, not as a priest, but simply as a fellow traveler of life. Peter, in his sermon to the family and friends of Cornelius said that he was a witness of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He said that he was not making up this story. They had seen and touched and talked with Jesus, and now there lives were changed.
Today I can’t tell you that I have seen or touched or talked with Jesus like they did. All I can do is share my story and my faith. And I know that if many of you could come up here and share, you would say the same thing.. As confusing as it all might seem, and as hard as it can be to believe, our life experience tells us that this Easter story is true. Somehow, and in some way, Jesus is alive. He has made all the difference in our lives. He can do the same for those of you who have not yet trusted in him. . All you need do is pray and ask him.
May the Lord bless all of you on this wonderful, holy day!
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed.