Posted on 04/07/2007 2:33:17 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
“The Great Easter Proclamation” (Luke 24:1-12)
It’s very early in the morning, on Sunday, the first day of the week. A group of women are getting together some embalming spices to go and anoint the body of their friend, their teacher, who had died a couple of days earlier. This is the first chance they have to do this task, since the body was buried late on Friday afternoon. Then came the Sabbath, Saturday, when these Jewish women could do no work. So now, first thing Sunday, they’re getting as early a start as possible to do this loving task for their departed master.
But when they get to the tomb, something strange has happened. The stone has been rolled away. They go into the open tomb. It’s empty. They cannot find the body of their Lord, Jesus.
Suddenly two men in bright, white clothing appear before them. They are angels, heavenly messengers. The women are frightened; they fall to the ground. But the angels say to them: “Why do you seek 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 delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
Friends, this announcement by the angels is the great Easter proclamation! The news is out, for all to hear: Jesus is the living one! He is risen from the dead! And what’s more, he himself knew that it would happen. He had announced it all in advance, that he would be wrongly crucified and then would rise again.
“Great!” you say. “Great for Jesus, but what does this do for me?” Everything! This is what will change your thinking, like it changed those perplexed and frightened women at the tomb. This is what will give you life, real life, the life of the living one himself. This resurrection of our Lord--the great event of Jesus being raised from death to life--this is what will raise you also from the dead. And all this life-changing, life-giving stuff comes to you, and is delivered to you, by way of this great Easter proclamation.
The Easter angels remind us, even as they reminded the women at the tomb, that Jesus had known about these events, and talked about these events, in advance. “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” This was the gist of Jesus’ so-called Passion Predictions, those several occasions when he told his disciples that they were heading for Jerusalem, where he would suffer and die. The fact that Jesus predicted these things tells us that he went willingly into his suffering and death. He knew what was coming, and yet he went through with it anyway. Who among us would be brave enough to do such a thing? Go forward with a course of action you know is going to end in your death. The courage and commitment of our Lord! But why? Why would he go through with it? He must have had a very strong reason.
He did! His death was a divine necessity. “The Son of Man must be delivered over and crucified.” “Must”! It had to be! It was a divine necessity. Nothing else would do. Nothing less would work. Nothing less than the death of the Son of God come in the flesh--nothing else would get the job done. Again, why? Why couldn’t we have done it ourselves? Why can’t we do it ourselves? Why did God have to do it for us? And why did it take his death?
The job that needed to be done was to rescue sinful mankind--that means you and me. To rescue us from the mess we had gotten ourselves into and could not get ourselves out of. The rescue mission meant saving us from ourselves--from our inbred, inborn, inherited sinfulness, which brings with it all sorts of ruination and ends in death. It’s a frightful mess, really. Man’s situation, brought on by our rebellion against God, is one of misery and isolation and, if we’re honest with ourselves, profound despair. Surely you have experienced some of these symptoms. Do you know that pervading sense that there is something wrong? Something wrong about the way things are between you and God? Something wrong between you and the people you deal with? Is this really the way life is supposed to work? Life doesn’t go the way we would like. And sometimes the way that we would like it to go--that in itself is wrong. Our desires don’t line up with what’s best for us. So maybe there’s something wrong inside of us, inside of me.
There is. It’s called sin. And it ends in death. Death is the reality we all must face. What’s out there? It’s a scary thought. Some claim to have had near-death experiences in which they saw a bright light, and now they’ve come back and they say there’s nothing to fear. Others claim to be able to communicate with the dead. But all they’re doing is deceiving the living. Frauds and phonies, the lot of them. These scam artists have no answer to deal with the underlying problem, which is sin--the thing that causes death. So there’s no getting around it. Death is like that big, heavy stone in front of the tomb. It’s there, but it’s too heavy for us to move. Somebody else, somebody stronger than you and I will have to move it, if it’s going to get moved at all.
The mover and the shaker is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He moves the stone for us, rolls it away. He shakes us out of our sin-induced sleep and wakes us up to the new reality of the new creation. Jesus is the only one strong enough to do the job. His love was so strong that he took on our human flesh and lived among us in this valley of despair. His righteousness is so strong that he kept God’s law perfectly, as a man, something we sons of Adam otherwise have been unable to do. Jesus loved the way you and I are supposed to love, to love God with your whole heart, to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. He’s the only one who got it right. And he did it for us, in our place. His righteousness is credited to us, to our account, as a gift. Then Jesus did something else in our place. He died. I mean the Big Death, Death with a capital “D.” The judgment-under-God death. He took that death for us on the cross, so that we would not have to face it. And because Jesus is the Son of God--God died on the cross, that’s astonishing--because Jesus is true God, his death, his sacrificial atoning death has all the power in the world. It rescues us from all sin. It rescues us from death and eternal damnation. It saves us for now and for eternity. The death of Jesus gets the job done.
That’s why Jesus had to do it and we couldn’t. Now the good news is, he has done it! For you! This Jesus business, this church business, this Good Friday-and-Easter business is all for you! Take it in! Enjoy it! Rejoice in it! Never get tired of it! This is what life is all about! Jesus renews life to the way it’s supposed to be. Now since we’re still sinners living in a fallen world, things will never be perfect in this life. But we’re getting there. No, actually, he’s getting us there. Our Lord is forgiving us along the way, all the times we slip and mess up, which are many. And he will get us there safely, on the long journey home to heaven.
The guarantee is given right here in the great Easter proclamation. He was dead, but now he is alive! Death could not hold him. Jesus is the living one, the one who has life in himself. Because he lives, we will live also. He is the source of life, new and eternal life, for all who trust in him. Jesus is the living one, the one who gives life to his perplexed, frightened followers.
Jesus gives us this life by means of the gospel. The Easter proclamation is not just information about Jesus. It actually delivers Jesus to us! The gospel preached and proclaimed is a living and active word, a powerful and creative word. It does what it says. The Word works! It works faith in our hearts. It works forgiveness of sins. That same gospel word that comes to us also in Christ’s holy sacraments. The Word works there too. The word of God in and with the water--the Sacrament of Holy Baptism unites us with our crucified and living Lord. We are joined to Jesus, and his life becomes ours. Likewise, it is the word--Christ’s words, “This is my body, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins”--it is the word that makes the Sacrament of the Altar such a great and precious thing. The Sacrament gives us exactly what it promises--forgiveness, and what comes with it, once sin has been removed, namely, life with God and eternal salvation.
Hearing his Word and celebrating his sacraments, we share in his victory over death. This is the good news of Easter: We get to share in Christ’s great victory over sin and death. And the way it happens is by nothing we do or come up with. It comes by way of what God gives us, in his Word and sacraments. These are the means that God uses to deliver Easter to us and to join our life to the life of the living one, Jesus Christ. The gospel proclaimed and sacramented--the gospel is that great Easter basket that delivers all the goodies to our doorstep!
And you know what? It’s happening here today. What a beautiful, joyful morning this is! The “He is not here” may apply to the empty tomb, but it doesn’t apply to the church! For Christ really is here! He is risen, and now he lives with his people. He is here, giving out his gifts. He is here, coming to us and speaking to us and gifting us through his glorious gospel word! Hearing his Word and celebrating his sacraments, we share in his victory over death. This is the joyous, wonderful, great Easter proclamation for you!
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek 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 delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Ping.
I enjoy reading your uplifting stories, please continue to post them. He is Risen. God bless.
You write some interesting sermons and have even given me some ideas for sermons of my own.
I’ve enjoyed reading your work.
For the sheep the Lamb hath bled; Alleluia!
Sinless in the sinners' stead; Alleluia!
"Christ is risen" today we cry; Alleluia!
Now He lives no more to die; Alleluia!
Christians, on this happy day; Alleluia!
Haste with joy your vows to pay; Alleluia!
"Christ is risen" today we cry; Alleluia!
Now He lives no more to die; Alleluia!
Hail, eternal Hope on high! Alleluia!
Hail, Thou King of victory! Alleluia!
Hail, Thou Prince of Life adored! Alleluia!
Help and save us, gracious Lord; Alleluia!
A blessed Easter to you and your loved ones, Pastor Charles.......and the same blessings to all the Freeper family on this FR forum.
Leni
“The mover and the shaker is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He moves the stone for us, rolls it away. He shakes us out of our sin-induced sleep and wakes us up to the new reality of the new creation.”
He is Risen.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.
Happy Easter to all.
ALETHOS ANESTI!
“Awake, My Heart, with Gladness”
by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676
http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh-192.mid
1. Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done,
Now after gloom and sadness
Comes forth the glorious Sun!
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.
2. The Foe in triumph shouted
When Christ lay in the tomb,
But, lo, he now is routed,
His boast is turned to gloom.
For Christ again is free;
In glorious victory
He who is strong to save
Has triumphed o’er the grave.
3. This is a sight that gladdens;
What peace it doth impart!
Now nothing ever saddens
The joy within my heart;
No gloom shall ever shake,
No foe shall ever take,
The hope which God’s own Son
In love for me hath won.
4. Now hell, its prince, the devil,
Of all their power are shorn;
Now I am safe from evil,
And sin I laugh to scorn.
Grim death with all his might
Cannot my soul affright;
He is a powerless form,
Howe’er he rave and storm.
5. The world against me rageth,
Its fury I disdain;
Though bitter war it wageth,
Its work is all in vain.
My heart from care is free,
No trouble troubles me.
Misfortune now is play,
And night is bright as day.
6. Now I will cling forever
To Christ, my Savior true;
My Lord will leave me never,
Whate’er He passes through.
He rends Death’s iron chain,
He breaks through sin and pain,
He shatters hell’s dark thrall,-
I follow through it all.
7. To halls of heavenly splendor
With Him I penetrate;
And trouble ne’er may hinder
Nor make me hesitate.
Let tempests rage at will,
My Savior shields me still;
He grants abiding peace
And bids all tumult cease.
8. He brings me to the portal
That leads to bliss untold
Whereon this rime immortal
Is found in script of gold:
“Who there My cross hath shared
Finds here a crown prepared;
Who there with Me has died
Shall here be glorified.”
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #192
Text: Col. 2:15
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translated by: John Kelly, 1867, alt.
Titled: “Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden”
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1648
Tune: “Auf, auf, mein Herz”
“Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands”
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546
http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh-195.mid
1. Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands,
For our offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand He stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
2. It was a strange and dreadful strife
When Life and Death contended;
The victory remained with Life,
The reign of Death was ended;
Holy Scripture plainly saith
That Death is swallowed up by Death,
His sting is lost forever.
Hallelujah!
3. Here the true Paschal Lamb we see,
Whom God so freely gave us;
He died on the accursed tree-
So strong His love!-to save us.
See, His blood doth mark our door;
Faith points to it, Death passes o’er,
And Satan cannot harm us.
Hallelujah!
4. So let us keep the festival
Whereto the Lord invites us;
Christ is himself the Joy of all,
The Sun that warms and lights us.
By His grace He doth impart
Eternal sunshine to the heart;
The night of sin is ended.
Hallelujah!
5. Then let us feast this Easter Day
On Christ, the Bread of heaven;
The Word of Grace hath purged away
The old and evil leaven.
Christ alone our souls will feed,
He is our meat and drink indeed;
Faith lives upon no other.
Hallelujah!
The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn 195
Text: Acts 2:24
Author: Martin Luther, 1524, cento
Translated by: Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
Titled: “Christ lag in Todesbanden”
Tune: “Christ lag in Todesbanden”
Latin melody, c. 1100
Based on “Christ is erstanden”
Our small Church was packed today. Great service and quite a number of visitors, considering the near freezing conditions outside today.
All of the above also here at our church in Missouri.
You write some interesting sermons and have even given me some ideas for sermons of my own. I’ve enjoyed reading your work.
Thank you. I'll put you both on my little ping list for when I post my sermons.
Now, over the next 27 DAYS, though, I only preach one time! I've got visiting guest preachers from SOUTH AFRICA and KENYA coming to our little church in Missouri and preaching on the 15th and the 29th! (I'll be there at the services, but just as the liturgist.) My wife just got back from a second medical mercy trip to Africa, so we have those contacts over there.
We've had a wild last couple of weeks. My wife was in Kenya for two weeks, I'm getting ready for a bunch of Lenten and Holy Week services, and our 11-yr.-old daughter is getting ready for her catechetical examination/confirmation/first communion!
But that's not all! THIS week I've got two conferences I'm attending here in St. Louis, one of which I'm speaking at on Friday!
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic Ping List:
Please ping me to all note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
A Happy Secular Franciscan Easter to all!!!
“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred...”
Seriously — spot on re: the Easter sermon, and hopefully you do get to enjoy some wind-down time now.
(’See you in the FUnnie papers ;)
It just so happens that the Western and the Eastern celebrations of Easter coincide this year, which is not always the case.
Here is a photo from Beirut, Lebanon:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.