"Watershed Words" - April 24, 2011 Easter Sermon

 

Scripture: John 20: 1-18

The Sermon:
Today we gather to celebrate the most exciting and joyful news on earth.. .JESUS THE CHRIST LIVES. Here begins the wonderful triumph of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It was Christ's resurrection that rAnsformed a small group of seemingly dispirited and frightened disciples into the valiant hand who was ready to dare anything, suffer anything, endure anything in order to spread the Good News. Indeed, without this Gallant Group of Gospellers, there probably would not have beon the Great Shout of the Good News. The Resurrection set into motion a mighty force that has affected, in some way or another, the whole world, and has changed the face of humanity.

The Eastern Orthodox Church tends to gather around the manger, feeling that the Incarnation is the central theme of Christianity... We in the Western World linger around the Cross on Calvary, finding in Christ's sacrifice for us, our chief inspiration. But...if we look more closely at the New Testament itself....we find that it keeps exulting first of all..MOST OF ALL. AND LAST OF ALL THE EMPTY GRAVE... We find in that empty tomb, the proof of Jesus victory... and that God really is in charge... and that sin and death, as tough as they are ..are beaten!

It is a memorable fact that the first person to see the risen Christ was a woman. It wasn't just a woman on a morning stroll... it was Mary Magdalene... a woman whom Jesus had led back from a life of shame. Speaking about her, He once said, "She loved much because she had been forgiven much." And she loved and reverenced Christ who had saved her. She loved him with her whole soul and being. It was like her to come early to the tomb. It may have even been her who organized the group of women who had come to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. But on their journey of faithfulness, they found a surprise. It seems to me that faithfulness has a way of finding surprises! When you go faithfully on with your duty, whatever it may be, eveen during times of darkness, during deep disappointment, facing seeming defeat... when you continue doing what ever you can do in devotion to Christ, you meet with the unexpected.

Something beyond your own power and intelligence happens. You find new strength, and a comforted heart; you become aware of someone helping you to bear your burdens, someone walking along beside you, you find a path through the maze of obstacles... all of these surprises have been encountered along the road of faith-fullness.

These women had risen early and gone out to the garden while it was still dark. When they arrived at the tomb, they discovered that the stone guarding the entrance had been rolled away. Now for the real shocker... The tomb was not only open... but it was also empty! Mary quickly ran to tell Simon Peter, who was with another disciple. You have to wonder how Peter was feeling. I have a soft spot in my heart for Peter. He must have really been down in the dumps... Jesus was dead! A man whom Peter had travelled with for three years more or less... Whom Peter had watched perform many miracles, A man who had called him the Rock. A man whom Peter had denied... not once, not twice, but three times. It reminds me of a movie I saw about a boxer and his manager/friend who went around having boxing matches... finally the friend thinks he cannot beat this one opponent so he bets against him... naturally he loses.

Apparently Peter had managed to find his nerve again. Unlike Judas, he would not allow himself to be exiled from Jesus. In spite of his dreadful failure of that night, he was still Christ's man, and he would yet prove it. I think there is a lesson here for all of us. Sure Peter had made a mistake, he used poor judgement... who hasn't. We have to remember that the past is the past no matter how much we have mishandled it. It will not return again... what we need to do is focus on the present and the future and how we can use them for Christ's glory!

He is risen! These three words form the greatest watershed of history. Everything that has flowed from them --THE CREATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH... THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE OF THE LIVING CHRIST.... ALL THE GREAT SOCIAL FORCES THAT WERE LOOSED AS A RESULT OF THE RESURRECTION ALL THESE THINGS BEAR WITNESS TO THE REALITY AND TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE RESURRECTION.

The women were amazed! I should think so. Their minds were stunned by the evidence! Whose wouldn't be!!! Much is made in our time of the fact that the "idea of a bodily resurrection" is not congenial to the modern mind. Well, if we examine ourselves closely, it seems clear to me that "THE MODERN MIND" should not be considered the final judge of truth; And even when we find truth, we cannot always be sure that our HUMAN MIND will be happy and congenial with what it finds.

The Resurrection has proved credible to millions upon millions of people who have been told the news, "HE IS RISEN" That belief does not rest totally on the record contained in the four Gospels. Equally convincing, from a historical standpoint, is the Christian church and its unending testimony to the indwelling Christ. A MAN, LOOKING FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE TREMENDOUS WONDER OF THE GRAND CANYON REMARKED, "something amazing must have happened here! It was obvious that the canyon did not come about because someone drug a stick in the ground. Something on the grand scale of the Grand Canyon demands an adequate explanation.

As we read the stories of the Disciples and the creation of the Church and how it has been handed down for two thousand years... We are forced to say "SOMETHING AMAZING MUST HAVE HAPPENED HERE!" The only adequate "SOMETHING" is the resurrection of Jesus!

Peter expressed it very well at Pentecost when he said" "It was not possible for Him to be held by death." And then there is the impressive amount of evidence of all subsequent Christian experience...
"IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST WHO LIVES IN ME; AND THE LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD!"

I say again those watershed words: HE IS RISEN!

AMEN.