Title: Living The Resurrection Faith.Easter

Date: 2008-03-23

Reference: John 20: 19-23

If the Gospel of John was an ordinary biography, chapter 20 would not exist. I read biographies regularly. Last year I read biographies of Albert Spear, Nikita Khrushchev, Robert Schuller, Richard Nixon, and Helen Keller among others. Many biographies conclude with the death and burial of the subject. I have yet to read a biography that describes the subjects Resurrection from the dead.

The fact that John continued his account of Jesus’ life and death into chapter 20, and shared the excitement of the Resurrection is proof that Jesus is unlike any other human being. Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus is raised from the dead.

The Resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel Message and a key doctrine of the Christian Faith. The empty cross and the empty tomb are God’s receipts telling us the debt of sin has been paid. Jesus Christ is the Savior, Sanctifier, Intercessor, and the one who will one day return to earth as judge.

Too many Easter Sermons seek to somehow prove the Resurrection of Jesus. The only proof I have ever needed is memory. I know what my life was like before I met the living Christ and I know what my life is like as I share it with Him. I’m still not the person I should be, but thank God I’m not who I once was either. The risen Christ has made all the difference.

A typical application of the Easter Story is: “Because Jesus lived again after he died, we will also live after we die.” That is very true. The Easter Story gives us hope and assures us there is so much more to life than we experience here in this world.

Jesus said: “Because I live, you also shall live.” We don’t have to wait until the time of death to benefit from the Easter Story. The Resurrection speaks to our lives here and now. The Bible says: “So if you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above. Put to death whatever is sinful and petty.things like anger, wrath, slander, jealousy, abusive language.” (Col. 3) Live as kind, loving, peaceful, and thankful people.

The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope for living. Knowing that Jesus is alive and among us and within us gives us profound hope. Hope has always kept us going.

Many years ago in a mental institution outside Boston, a young girl known as little Annie was locked away in a dungeon room. The basement cell was the only place for those who were hopelessly insane, according to the hospital staff. They saw no hope for little Annie. She was consigned to a living death in that small cage which received little light, fresh air and even less hope. A nurse in the hospital was a person of faith who believed there was hope for all of God’s children. She started taking her lunch down into the dungeon and eating outside Annie’s cell. She wanted to communicate some love, hope and comfort to the child. In many ways Annie was like a caged animal. On occasions she would violently attack anyone entering her cell, other times she would simply ignore them. One day the nurse left some brownies outside the cage. Annie showed no interest, but the next day they were gone. The nurse began to bring treats regularly and the doctors began to notice a gradual change taking place. After a time Annie was moved upstairs and finally the day came when this once hopeless case was told she could leave. She did not wish to leave but chose to stay on and help others. Annie’s name was Anne Sullivan and she was the one who eventually taught and nurtured Helen Keller.

Hope is strong and hope is what we celebrate here today. Senator John McCain has a one in three chance of becoming the next President of the United States. He spent 5 and a half years as a POW during the Vietnam Conflict. Today he says God’s transcending love and hope kept him going. In his biography McCain describes how he was punished for trying to communicate with another prisoner. He as tied very tightly with ropes. One night as he sat on a stool straining against the very tight ropes the door opened and a young guard entered the room. He motioned for McCain to remain silent and began to loosen the ropes. As dawn approached he returned to tighten the ropes before he finished his watch and another guard might have discovered what he had done.

On another occasion the guard walked near McCain without saying anything. He just stared at the ground in front of them. Very casually he used his foot to draw a cross in the dirt. In a minute he rubbed it out and walked away. The Senator says that experience helped him to form a lasting appreciation for his own religious faith. He said: “At that moment I became a stronger man, a more faithful man, who could at least for a time love my enemies.”

Prisoners of War in that time were frequently tortured. Tied for days at a time so they couldn’t even swat mosquitoes. Many of them walk with limps to this day and have lost use of arms because broken bones were not set properly. In times of pain, loneliness, and isolation they all said it was hope that kept them alive. Hope of going home. Hope of their release. Hope they would see their families again. Without hope they knew they would die in hopeless conditions as other had done. Hope can keep us alive and going when nothing else can.

In the Risen Christ we have a living hope. In one of his wonderful hymns, Charles Wesley describes moving from hopelessness to hope. Wesley writes: “Long, my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and night. Mine eye diffused a quickening ray.I woke the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off my heart was free. For O my God it found out me. Tis mercy all, immense and free for O my God it found out me.”

Easter not only gives us hope for eternity, but hope for today. A psychologist once asked three thousand people what they had to live for. 94% said they were simply enduring the present, waiting for the future. They were waiting for something to happen, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. These persons were unable to see that all any of us have is today.

Easter hope assures us we can accomplish more in one hour with God than in one lifetime without Him. One of the cutest illustrations of hope I’ve found was a little boy standing at the foot of an escalator in a store. He was intently watching the handrail. Finally a clerk asked him if he was lost or needed help. “Nope” he replied.”I’m just waiting for my chewing gum to come back around.”

The disciples were a little short on hope until Jesus came to them. When they were confronted with the reality of Jesus’ resurrection their lives were transformed. The same transforming experience can be yours today. The Gospel Story tells of the changes that took places in the lives of the women, the disciples, the family of Jesus. Their lives were changed completely. They were never the same again.

They had hope they didn’t have before. A good question for each of us to consider this Easter is.”Have I personally met the risen Savior? Has he changed my life?”

Easter gives us hope for the future. At the tomb of his friend Lazarus Jesus said: “I am the one who raises the dead to life. Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die?” Because of Easter, and the promise of resurrection, I have absolutely no fear of death. I’m not ready for death. There are many things I want to accomplish in this life before I die. But death holds no real dread for me. I learned long ago the fear of death doesn’t keep one fry dying. The fear of death keeps one from living. Hope in the face of death is a gift of Easter.

We know it is also possible to live the Resurrection Life now. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, he transformed them from fear to courage. The first word to them was the traditional greeting, Shalom or peace. The work of the cross is peace. The message the disciples would carry with them would be the Gospel of Peace. Jesus came to them and reassured them. He showed them his wounds as evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and we could all have peace with God.

When their fear turned to joy Jesus said: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are to take his place in the world which is a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility. The disciples were thrilled to know that in spite of their many failures their Lord was entrusting them with His word and His work. A short time before they had forsaken him, and now he was sending them out to represent him.

By now their fear had vanished. They were sure Jesus was alive.

He was caring for them. Because of Easter they had peace with God and the peace of God. Because of Easter they had great hope. The exact same is true for each of us today.

After the bombing of a Jewish Seminary in Jerusalem last week Hammas sent out a statement praising the action. In their communique they said while the West worshiped life, they worship death. That is why they would win the battle that continues. That chilling message lets us all know what we are up against. Today we know and believe Easter is the celebration of life and the victory over death. God wants us to begin living the Resurrection life today.