Resurrection Sunday 4/4/10
Resurrection Sunday
04/04/10
Text
Title:
In a recent survey by Barna, a respected Christian statistical company, it was found that only 45% of Americans know what Easter is about. Only 45%, isn’t that amazing? You wouldn’t think that would you, for Christian churches all over our nation are full today. Easter Sunday, or as I prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday, is the largest attended worship services of the year. The following Sunday has the smallest attendance of the year. Not much different than what takes place after Christmas worship.
Let’s see. Today the largest attended. Next Sunday the smallest attendance. Hmm, something does not compute here. On Resurrection Sunday the good news of Jesus’ resurrection is shared with all that come. The good news of forgiveness is proclaimed and yet it doesn’t seem to make any difference to a vast majority of those who call themselves Christians. They go back to the same old routines and the fellowship of the congregation is forgotten.
I think that you would agree with me that if a person truly believed that there is nothing good in him or her, as far as making oneself worthy of God’s forgiveness, and that person heard that God has indeed forgiven you, not because of their worthiness, but because of Jesus’ life and death they would be thankful for such a God and would look forward to each Sunday, so that could worship God thanking him for what he had done. You would think that the resurrection story should bring people back Sunday after Sunday to worship God. You would think it would, but for many it doesn’t.
Why is it that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus does not make a lasting impression on so many people? I wrestle with that question every year and can’t seem to come up with an answer until this past week.
My discovery started with a Bible study that I take part in every Monday. In this study we wrestle with the texts, so that we can better understand them. We look at how they apply to our lives. That way we can better teach the wonderful teachings of the Bible that not only provides salvation but helps people to live better lives because God’s love becomes real to them. This past Monday we were studying the resurrection story when one of the women in the group made a statement that caused quite a stir in the group. She said, “The resurrection must be experienced, not just known.” At first we were taken aback. Can this be true? Must we experience the resurrection besides knowing about it? And if that is true how do we experience it?
I know that you must know about the resurrection. That is why, with few exceptions, every Sunday I tell the people gathered there that day the good news of Jesus, birth, life, death, and resurrection, especially the resurrection for without the resurrection none of the rest. As Saint Paul tells us we would be the most pitiful people of all.
This whole week I have wrestled with that statement made that day. “You must experience the resurrection, not just know the resurrection.” I tried to dismiss it, but the more I thought about it, as I tried to put it into words for my sermon this morning I came to agree with her. To be the Christians that God wants us to be we must experience the resurrection, not just know about it. It is critical to one’s faith, to how one lives their live in service to the Lord.
You see, when you have experienced the resurrection, not just know about it you are changed forever. You develop a thirst for the Word. You want to know more about God and his desire for you. And, as you grow in your faith you look forward to attending the weekly worship service, so that you can spend time with others praising God, hearing his Word, taking part in his Sacraments, and being strengthened, so that you can handle the ups and downs of life. Christianity does not guarantee that you will have a good life. In fact God tells us that if you live a Christian life look for hardships because you will be living a right side up life in an upside down world. Experiencing the resurrection is good for you.
Of course that brings up the question, “Just how do people experience the resurrection and not just know about it?
You can’t just skip the teaching part, for you need to know that without Jesus you are doomed, for he is the only one that can save you. Of course some people have trouble with that because they either believe that God must take into account the good they do, or they believe that there must be other ways for a person to be saved, or as I hear quite often Christianity is the way Christians are saved, but there are other ways to be saved if you are not a Christian. Of course there are all sorts of problems with type of logic, for they all make God out to be liar. For Jesus has stated in his holy Word, “I am the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” As much as we would like soften that statement up, so that it does not offend those of other religions it is either the truth or it is not.
When I hear Christians talk that way it is quite apparent that they know of the resurrection, but have not experienced it, for when one experiences the resurrection you see that Jesus is God and that through his actions you are not only saved from God’s wrath, but you are guided by his teachings.
To experience the resurrection does not mean that you have to actually see Jesus rise from the tomb, for no one saw that. It just means that you believe the accounts of the eyewitnesses that saw that empty tomb that first resurrection morning. You experience it through their eyes and ears and it enters into you in such a way that cannot be explained, but is real, just as it was for those women that day who rushed off to tell others of the empty tomb.
I would say majority of you who are here this morning have experienced the resurrection. You believed at some time or other in your life the resurrection story as God had it written down by the eyewitnesses to the event, those who saw the empty tomb and later saw and talked with Jesus. Their resurrection story has become yours.
On the other hand some here this morning might not have yet experienced the resurrection story in such a way that you have accepted it. It is not too late, for it is a true story; a story about God and his love for his human creation. It is a story of resurrection. God wants the best for you. That is why he was born, lived, and died as one of us. He wants you to live it because the resurrection story is a true story of love, compassion, justice, and redemption. It is a life changing story that after one has experienced it will leave you in awe of God.
People will continue to say, “Oh, Jesus’ resurrection, that’s just your opinion.” But when you live your life like the resurrection matters people will become curious. Your co-workers and friends, and maybe even your family will say things to you like, “Why are you always spending so much time helping others? Why do you even care? Why are you so honest? Why are so different from others? Why do you look forward to attending worship services? Why are you are at peace in the tragedies of life? Why are you the way you are?”
They will ask and because Saint Peter wrote down for us in God’s Holy Word, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” You can say, “You want to know why I’m different? I’ll tell you the truth. It is because of Jesus’ resurrection. I have experienced it and I want you to experience it too, for it does matter in this life and the next.” Amen.
04/04/10
Text
Title:
In a recent survey by Barna, a respected Christian statistical company, it was found that only 45% of Americans know what Easter is about. Only 45%, isn’t that amazing? You wouldn’t think that would you, for Christian churches all over our nation are full today. Easter Sunday, or as I prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday, is the largest attended worship services of the year. The following Sunday has the smallest attendance of the year. Not much different than what takes place after Christmas worship.
Let’s see. Today the largest attended. Next Sunday the smallest attendance. Hmm, something does not compute here. On Resurrection Sunday the good news of Jesus’ resurrection is shared with all that come. The good news of forgiveness is proclaimed and yet it doesn’t seem to make any difference to a vast majority of those who call themselves Christians. They go back to the same old routines and the fellowship of the congregation is forgotten.
I think that you would agree with me that if a person truly believed that there is nothing good in him or her, as far as making oneself worthy of God’s forgiveness, and that person heard that God has indeed forgiven you, not because of their worthiness, but because of Jesus’ life and death they would be thankful for such a God and would look forward to each Sunday, so that could worship God thanking him for what he had done. You would think that the resurrection story should bring people back Sunday after Sunday to worship God. You would think it would, but for many it doesn’t.
Why is it that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus does not make a lasting impression on so many people? I wrestle with that question every year and can’t seem to come up with an answer until this past week.
My discovery started with a Bible study that I take part in every Monday. In this study we wrestle with the texts, so that we can better understand them. We look at how they apply to our lives. That way we can better teach the wonderful teachings of the Bible that not only provides salvation but helps people to live better lives because God’s love becomes real to them. This past Monday we were studying the resurrection story when one of the women in the group made a statement that caused quite a stir in the group. She said, “The resurrection must be experienced, not just known.” At first we were taken aback. Can this be true? Must we experience the resurrection besides knowing about it? And if that is true how do we experience it?
I know that you must know about the resurrection. That is why, with few exceptions, every Sunday I tell the people gathered there that day the good news of Jesus, birth, life, death, and resurrection, especially the resurrection for without the resurrection none of the rest. As Saint Paul tells us we would be the most pitiful people of all.
This whole week I have wrestled with that statement made that day. “You must experience the resurrection, not just know the resurrection.” I tried to dismiss it, but the more I thought about it, as I tried to put it into words for my sermon this morning I came to agree with her. To be the Christians that God wants us to be we must experience the resurrection, not just know about it. It is critical to one’s faith, to how one lives their live in service to the Lord.
You see, when you have experienced the resurrection, not just know about it you are changed forever. You develop a thirst for the Word. You want to know more about God and his desire for you. And, as you grow in your faith you look forward to attending the weekly worship service, so that you can spend time with others praising God, hearing his Word, taking part in his Sacraments, and being strengthened, so that you can handle the ups and downs of life. Christianity does not guarantee that you will have a good life. In fact God tells us that if you live a Christian life look for hardships because you will be living a right side up life in an upside down world. Experiencing the resurrection is good for you.
Of course that brings up the question, “Just how do people experience the resurrection and not just know about it?
You can’t just skip the teaching part, for you need to know that without Jesus you are doomed, for he is the only one that can save you. Of course some people have trouble with that because they either believe that God must take into account the good they do, or they believe that there must be other ways for a person to be saved, or as I hear quite often Christianity is the way Christians are saved, but there are other ways to be saved if you are not a Christian. Of course there are all sorts of problems with type of logic, for they all make God out to be liar. For Jesus has stated in his holy Word, “I am the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” As much as we would like soften that statement up, so that it does not offend those of other religions it is either the truth or it is not.
When I hear Christians talk that way it is quite apparent that they know of the resurrection, but have not experienced it, for when one experiences the resurrection you see that Jesus is God and that through his actions you are not only saved from God’s wrath, but you are guided by his teachings.
To experience the resurrection does not mean that you have to actually see Jesus rise from the tomb, for no one saw that. It just means that you believe the accounts of the eyewitnesses that saw that empty tomb that first resurrection morning. You experience it through their eyes and ears and it enters into you in such a way that cannot be explained, but is real, just as it was for those women that day who rushed off to tell others of the empty tomb.
I would say majority of you who are here this morning have experienced the resurrection. You believed at some time or other in your life the resurrection story as God had it written down by the eyewitnesses to the event, those who saw the empty tomb and later saw and talked with Jesus. Their resurrection story has become yours.
On the other hand some here this morning might not have yet experienced the resurrection story in such a way that you have accepted it. It is not too late, for it is a true story; a story about God and his love for his human creation. It is a story of resurrection. God wants the best for you. That is why he was born, lived, and died as one of us. He wants you to live it because the resurrection story is a true story of love, compassion, justice, and redemption. It is a life changing story that after one has experienced it will leave you in awe of God.
People will continue to say, “Oh, Jesus’ resurrection, that’s just your opinion.” But when you live your life like the resurrection matters people will become curious. Your co-workers and friends, and maybe even your family will say things to you like, “Why are you always spending so much time helping others? Why do you even care? Why are you so honest? Why are so different from others? Why do you look forward to attending worship services? Why are you are at peace in the tragedies of life? Why are you the way you are?”
They will ask and because Saint Peter wrote down for us in God’s Holy Word, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” You can say, “You want to know why I’m different? I’ll tell you the truth. It is because of Jesus’ resurrection. I have experienced it and I want you to experience it too, for it does matter in this life and the next.” Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 7:24 PM
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