Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
It is a joy to gather with you to celebrate with story, song, and meal the glorious good news of Easter – Jesus is risen! Death is defeated! Our God is doing a new thing and we are witnesses! Alleluia! Praise God!
You believe it, don’t you?!
Or maybe not?
I wonder if, as you listen this morning to these stories and songs, these words of God’s grace and forgiveness and welcome - I wonder if all these words seem to be an idle tale.
I wonder if they seem too far-fetched, too unrealistic to be true.
I wonder if perhaps you imagine that they are true, except only for other people, not you.
Or I wonder if maybe you have a very long list of examples proving the contrary - times that death very much had the upper hand; times that your brokenness and sin left you far from everyone, especially God; times that the pain and heartbreak and suffering of this world left you bruised and battered beyond recognition.
I wonder if, like they seemed to the apostles, these words of hope, and resurrection, and life seem to be an idle tale that you do not or cannot believe.
If this is the truth you hold onto today - if you cannot believe that the promise of resurrection is real and within reach - then Easter is for you.
Why? Because it does not matter if you don’t believe these words or if they seem to be an idle tale. Really. It doesn’t matter. Whether you believe it or not, resurrection happens anyway. Yes, whether you believe it or not, resurrection happens anyway - and we are reminded again and again.
One of the things I love about worship in Lutheran churches is the repetition. Week after week, the shape of the liturgy - the words we say and the actions we do - are the same. We confess our sin and hear that we are forgiven. We hear the word of God read in scripture and proclaimed in sermon and song.
We confess our faith with the whole church using the words of the creeds. We pray for the needs of the church and the world, for people nearby and far away. We share the peace of the Lord with one another. We give thanks for God’s faithfulness throughout salvation history and pray together as Jesus taught us. We receive communion, the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you. We are blessed and sent out in peace to serve the Lord, thanks be to God. Every. Week.
We are a forgetful people. We forget that we are cherished and loved by God. We forget that all our neighbors are, too. We forget that death does not get the last word. We forget that God is stronger than the challenges and struggles we face. We forget that grace is free, free, free. We forget that nothing - nothing! - can separate us from the love of God.
Yes, we forget. But when we forget, there is no shortage of reminders. We are reminded in the Scriptures. We are reminded in the liturgy. We are reminded by the living, breathing examples of resurrection and new life in the people who surround us.
What does this kind of resurrection and new life look like? It looks like another day, week, year of sobriety. It looks like finally releasing guilt or shame and living boldly as the person God created you to be. It looks like letting go of resentment and clinging tightly to forgiveness as broken relationships are mended. It looks like trying something new and life-giving even though it’s terrifying and uncertain.
Yes, we forget. But resurrection and new life are all around us. Where have you seen it? When we come to the tomb expecting death, convinced that the story is over, we are confronted by this question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
“Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son-of-Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Remember how he told you, in the waters of baptism, that you belong to God forever. Remember how he told you that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood and that they are for you.
Remember how he told you that you’re forgiven, made whole, welcomed, never alone. Remember how he told you that this is his body - this, the gathered, imperfect, forgiven people of God. Remember how he told you that you can never be too lost, too far away, too broken.
Remember? No? It’s okay. We’ll tell you again.
This is the promise and the joy of Easter - that God acts while it is still dark to bring about resurrection and life. That because Christ is raised, we are, too. That even when we’re lost, or forgetful, or cannot or will not believe, God still brings about resurrection and new life and reminds us at every turn.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
It is a joy to gather with you to celebrate with story, song, and meal the glorious good news of Easter – Jesus is risen! Death is defeated! Our God is doing a new thing and we are witnesses! Alleluia! Praise God!
You believe it, don’t you?!
Or maybe not?
I wonder if, as you listen this morning to these stories and songs, these words of God’s grace and forgiveness and welcome - I wonder if all these words seem to be an idle tale.
I wonder if they seem too far-fetched, too unrealistic to be true.
I wonder if perhaps you imagine that they are true, except only for other people, not you.
Or I wonder if maybe you have a very long list of examples proving the contrary - times that death very much had the upper hand; times that your brokenness and sin left you far from everyone, especially God; times that the pain and heartbreak and suffering of this world left you bruised and battered beyond recognition.
I wonder if, like they seemed to the apostles, these words of hope, and resurrection, and life seem to be an idle tale that you do not or cannot believe.
If this is the truth you hold onto today - if you cannot believe that the promise of resurrection is real and within reach - then Easter is for you.
Why? Because it does not matter if you don’t believe these words or if they seem to be an idle tale. Really. It doesn’t matter. Whether you believe it or not, resurrection happens anyway. Yes, whether you believe it or not, resurrection happens anyway - and we are reminded again and again.
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| Image from http://www.wraparoundhamilton.ca/plant-growing-through-crack-in-concrete |
One of the things I love about worship in Lutheran churches is the repetition. Week after week, the shape of the liturgy - the words we say and the actions we do - are the same. We confess our sin and hear that we are forgiven. We hear the word of God read in scripture and proclaimed in sermon and song.
We confess our faith with the whole church using the words of the creeds. We pray for the needs of the church and the world, for people nearby and far away. We share the peace of the Lord with one another. We give thanks for God’s faithfulness throughout salvation history and pray together as Jesus taught us. We receive communion, the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you. We are blessed and sent out in peace to serve the Lord, thanks be to God. Every. Week.
We are a forgetful people. We forget that we are cherished and loved by God. We forget that all our neighbors are, too. We forget that death does not get the last word. We forget that God is stronger than the challenges and struggles we face. We forget that grace is free, free, free. We forget that nothing - nothing! - can separate us from the love of God.
Yes, we forget. But when we forget, there is no shortage of reminders. We are reminded in the Scriptures. We are reminded in the liturgy. We are reminded by the living, breathing examples of resurrection and new life in the people who surround us.
What does this kind of resurrection and new life look like? It looks like another day, week, year of sobriety. It looks like finally releasing guilt or shame and living boldly as the person God created you to be. It looks like letting go of resentment and clinging tightly to forgiveness as broken relationships are mended. It looks like trying something new and life-giving even though it’s terrifying and uncertain.
Yes, we forget. But resurrection and new life are all around us. Where have you seen it? When we come to the tomb expecting death, convinced that the story is over, we are confronted by this question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
“Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son-of-Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Remember how he told you, in the waters of baptism, that you belong to God forever. Remember how he told you that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood and that they are for you.
Remember how he told you that you’re forgiven, made whole, welcomed, never alone. Remember how he told you that this is his body - this, the gathered, imperfect, forgiven people of God. Remember how he told you that you can never be too lost, too far away, too broken.
Remember? No? It’s okay. We’ll tell you again.
This is the promise and the joy of Easter - that God acts while it is still dark to bring about resurrection and life. That because Christ is raised, we are, too. That even when we’re lost, or forgetful, or cannot or will not believe, God still brings about resurrection and new life and reminds us at every turn.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
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