Getting Down to Basics: VI I The Resurrection

Introduction:

Christ, the Lord is Risen Today. Alleluia!

We gather on this Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In these past forty (40) days of Lent we have grappled with what is basic to our faith.

During this holy week we traced the events of Jesus’ passion. On Palm Sunday we marked the fact that Jesus completed his determination to go to Jerusalem, knowing full well the passion he must endure. And we gathered on Maundy Thursday to learn about Jesus’ mandate to Love One Another as he has loved us, to share the Last Supper and declare afresh our participation in the body of Christ. And though we shrink from it we reminded ourselves at the Service of Tenebrae of his final passion, crucifixion and death on the cross. And hearty souls rose early this morning sunrise service to usher in the Easter day, identifying ourselves with the risen Christ, who died for our salvation.

And now we come to this festive celebration of his glorious resurrection from the dead. The haunting question, however, still remains for us: What is the meaning of the resurrection? As we seek in this Lenten and Easter season to understand salvation, the most basic point of our faith is resurrection. Why resurrection? resurrection tells us not only who God is, but who we are as well.

I.Resurrection tells us who God is.

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles records for us the sermon preached by Peter at Cornelius’s house. After reviewing the life and ministry of Jesus, Peter said: "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest." In this resurrection event we learn something about God from this focal point of Christian history. Jesus was put to death on a cross. The cross is the dividing line of history. Our calendar even reflects the centrality of Jesus’ history. The cross stands as a dividing line only because of the completion of God’s activity on Easter morning when God raised him from the dead.

The resurrection tells us the extent to which God will act on our behalf to provide for our salvation. The resurrection tells us that God is concerned about us. The God whom we worship is available to us as close as hands and feet -- not far off removed from our concerns and troubles. The resurrection tells us that God is compassionate, loving, personal. and responsive to our needs.

The setting of this sermon of Peter's tells us something significant about God. Cornelius is a Gentile, not one of the elect, but he is a seeker after God. Cornelius was a soldier of the Italian Cohort, an elite Roman guard. Peter may not have otherwise given Cornelius a second thought as a disciple, but a vision of God's activity told him a significant truth about God. Truly, I perceive, says Peter, that God shows no partiality. God is evenhanded; God is straightforward. Whoever wills to do God's will is welcome in his Kingdom. Whoever seeks after God is open to the salvation which the resurrection brings to those who believe. Resurrection tells us who God is.

II.Resurrection tells us who we are.

In such a time as ours it is important even necessary for us to know who we are. What better epithet can anyone have then it be said of her/him: They knew who they were!

1. We are judged by Jesus. Now, some may think that this is bad news. Everyone fears to be judged. The country is filled with judges and not all of them sit on the bench. Everyone judges our actions and most find them wanting in one way or another. Why is judgment from Jesus good news? That’s good because more than any other person in the world, Jesus loves us. He loved us so much he died for us. And because of the resurrection he is able to cover any shortcomings which we may now or at some future time have.

2. We are forgiven. "Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." We have been wronged enough to know that forgiveness is a most difficult attribute to have. Because of the resurrection Jesus makes forgiveness possible. Paul says it best: "If Christ be not raised then we still in our sins with no way out." Peter was there and saw it with his own eyes. Jesus was raised from the dead. Peter ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Through Christ forgiveness, therefore, is possible.

3. We are not alone. We have a partner in Jesus. Because we believe, our lives are bound up with Jesus with bonds that cannot be broken even by death~ Paul said it best at Colossae: "If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right had of God. . . . and your life is hidden with Christ in God",( Col. 3: 1,3) . Your life is hidden with Christ. Your life is protected by the risen Christ.

4. We have an intercessor at God’s right hand. We learned recently that Jesus, the God/man emptied himself of the power and glory of divinity, but after the resurrection he regained his power. And what is Jesus doing with that power? He is interceding; he is praying for us in the presence of the Father. What better advocate could we have than Jesus who died and was raised for us? To me that is startlingly good news. What God has done for us in raising Jesus from the dead is the best news around.

5. One final note about who we are. We are messengers. We are to bear witness to this reality to others. We dare not keep this news to ourselves. Great is that message! And we are called to be the messengers. We are called to tell it to others so that they, too, can be a part of this wonderful resurrection faith. Now I know that this is scary business. Some will not take too kindly to it, because they think they are in control of the universe. They might just want to shoot the messenger. But, my friends, this is who we are. The scripture tells us that if we hide the message, we ourselves will lose it. The telling keeps it alive in us as well as kindles it in others.

The resurrection tells us who we are.

Conclusion:

Some years ago an artist friend of mine found a scrap of wood in my basement and said he would make me a plaque of my favorite saying. I gave it to him to do. Some weeks later he called and asked me to quote again the saying: And I said: "Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life." Oh, good, he said: you misquoted it and not me. And so he gave it to me with my error. The saying, of course, is: "Today is the first day of the rest of your lives." Not "tomorrow" but "today". Today, this resurrection day is the first day of the rest of your lives. Live it today and tomorrow, for the resurrection makes a good and full life possible. Christ, the Lord, is risen today! Hallelujah!