Sunday
03/31/24 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “The
Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”
(“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 7 of 7)
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
New Testament Scripture: Acts 10:34-43
Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone! Happy Resurrection Day everyone! On this day,
on this Easter Sunday, we and all of humanity are offered “The Hope of New Life
Now and For Eternity!” through Jesus Christ. For on this day nearly
two-thousand years ago, the reality of who Jesus claimed he was, and everything
he did and said was cemented by him returning to life from death on that first
Easter Sunday. Specifically, in our United Methodist Church “Articles of
Religion,” this is what it says happened in part on Easter Sunday:
Article III — Of
the Resurrection of Christ
Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took
again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature,
wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge
all men at the last day (https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion).
Now Jesus has not ascended to heaven on this day, but He is
Risen. He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Due to this, Christians have celebrated
this day, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday for almost two-thousand years.
On this day, the common day of worship for many Christians, Sunday, Jesus is
risen! This is why, once again, so many Christians’ worships on Sundays.
Beyond
just the historical reality of Jesus’s resurrection and empty tomb though, does
this day have any other significance for this day or our lives today? I would
argue that on this, all of humanity can no know for sure that we can be
forgiven, that we can be restored, and that we are all offered “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”
Other than just an event, other than just a miracle, today is what makes Jesus’
death on Good Friday matter, and what makes our faith powerful and
transformative. Today is about life, light, and love. Today Jesus overcame, and
as a result, we can claim “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”
Having new life and having a new sense of hope is powerful.
Maybe some of us can relate to this. As I said, maybe some of us have had times
in our lives where we thought everything was lost, that there was no hope, and that
there was no way forward. If you or someone you know has ever felt this way,
then you are not alone, as many people have felt this way, or still do. Jesus’s
friends and disciples no doubt felt this way, until the morning of Jesus’
resurrection. They were not sure what would happen on this day, but imagine
what it is like to have your crushed dreams, and your hopeless situations restored
in an instant?
We are reminded of this in our Psalm
118 reading for this morning, as we hear in Psalm 118:1-2 once again:
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say, “His
steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1-2, NRSV).
The
love of Christ is as resurrected love, and eternal love, and an endless love.
Sometimes
though if someone is overcome with grief, or is really struggling it can be
hard for them to claim “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”. I would submit and I will claim that on
this day, Easter Sunday 2024, March 31, 2024, to be exact, that power of the
Jesus’ resurrection can still transform us, and can still transform the world!
The power of Easter, the power of resurrection is us embodying this truth in
our hearts and our souls. The fullness of Easter, is us living and loving all
people like Jesus, yet inviting as Jesus said, to go and sin no more.
This
is the belief that through the resurrection power of Christ that things can be
better, and that God can use us to make things better. When we give up on the
power of the resurrection, we give up on hope itself. I don’t know about you,
but I have hope, I want hope, and I want to believe in the good things that God
can do.
Today,
this Easter or Resurrection Sunday, reminds us then that hope wins, that our love
for Christ wins, that joy wins, that kindness wins, that Biblical justice wins,
and that mercy wins. Beyond just a historical event and toy set that Pastor
Paul owns then, today we are offered “The Hope of New Life Now and For
Eternity!”.
Do we claim this Hope and New Life? Or is it just another Easter Sermon, before
an Easter Egg hunt and an Easter dinner?
belief
in Jesus’ resurrection is transformative. As Christians we believe that the
highest ideal that we can have in this world is to live and love like our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. For if he was the greatest person to cross the
horizon of this world, and if we can be more like him, what a world we would
have indeed. Make no mistake, all Christians are call to unconditionally love,
uphold, and to respect the full dignity of all people, while following Christ
the best we can.
After
Jesus ascended into heaven, we have the story of the early Christian Church in
the Book of Acts, or also called the “Acts of the Apostles”. We have a reading
from this morning from Acts 10:34-43. Once again in this reading it begins in
10:30 with the Apostle Peter saying:
34 Then Peter began to
speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but
in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is
acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the
people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That
message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that
John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with
the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who
were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Act 10:34-38, NRSV).
The Apostle Peter is saying that we live like and for
Jesus. The highest goal of the Christian life, as I said, is to fully live like
and love like Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. You see the future
of the church, any church, our church is not rooted on whether or not we all
like Coke or Pepsi, on whether we like Ford or GMC, on whether we like the New
York Yankees or the New York Mets, instead the future the church is us being focused
on Jesus. When the church is focused on Jesus, it has a bright future indeed!
The Apostle Peter then continues on
in our Acts 10:34-43 reading, once again, and says this is not just mythology
or midrash to us. Peter said that he, the other disciples and many other met
and knew Jesus. They became convinced of who Jesus was not only by hearing, but
also be seeing and experiencing. Church tradition holds that all but the
Apostle John died brutal deaths for their faith and beliefs in Jesus, and only
someone who was convinced that Jesus was Lord and Savior would be willing to go
to this length to retain their faith.
The Apostle Peter then explains, as
I said, that he and many other witnessed Jesus’s life on earth, and all he did.
Peter says that they put him to death, but that three days later, on this day,
God raised him to new life. Further, Peter said that after Jesus’ resurrection
that many saw and interacted with him. Peter said, we have been offered forgiveness,
new life, and hope through Jesus. Easter Sunday for Christian then, is about
much more than bunnies and jelly beans.
In looking at our gospel of John reading, we have one of
the narratives of Jesus’ resurrection. It is true to say that gospels present
the resurrection story a little differently, as far as who arrived at the empty
tomb first, and the events, their in. Yet all the gospels affirm an empty tomb.
Since Mary Magdalene is often considered the first of Jesus’ followers to be at
the empty, she is the first person to attest to and affirm the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Sure, the men seemed to take all the credit, but Mary Magdalene
was the first. Mary Magdalene is considered the first witness and preacher of
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In
revisiting our gospel of John account of the resurrection for this morning it
says once again, starting in John 20:1:
20 Early on the
first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So
she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do
not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the
other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two
were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen
wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon
Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings
lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head,
not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then
the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and
believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the
scripture, that he must rise from the dead (Jn. 20:1-9,
NRSV).
When hear in our gospel of John reading about
how Jesus’ linen wrappings and the cloth on Jesus’ head being in rolled up in a
place by itself. In past Easter Sunday sermons, I have talked about this face
or head covering being separate and rolled up, as a sign that the master, Jesus
Christ, would return one day.
The rest of our gospel of John lesson
of course then continues with Simon Peter and James returning to tell everyone
that Jesus’ tomb is empty, and they did not know fully yet why the tomb was
empty. Mary Magdalene stays behind though, and was weeping over the whole
thing. Mary sees two angels, and then Jesus, but at first mistakes him for the
gardener. After seeing Jesus, she triumphantly heads home to declare to the
world that she has indeed seen the resurrected Christ. For Mary Magdalene is
the first witness to resurrection of Jesus Christ.
All of this points to this fact my
friends, that on this day, Jesus is alive, alive in
us, alive in glory, and when we leave today may we offer new love, new hope,
and new life to this world. This world needs you, and needs your gifts and your
graces. Live like resurrection power is within you, and offer the world “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”.
Lastly, I just want to say what a
profound honor and privilege it has been these last six-years to serve as your
pastor, and to serve Sidney and Sidney Area. I have baptized some of you and or
your family members. I have done funerals, burials, and celebrations of life
for some of your friends and family. You have allowed me into spiritual places,
that only a trusted pastor or priest has access to. I want you know, that you
all have changed me for the better, and have made me a better pastor, a better
husband, and a better man. I am profoundly grateful for each and every one of
you, will miss you all, will always be praying for you.
With this said, this what I would I
encourage you all to do. Stay together as the body of Christ, for your joined
or came to a church, not a pastor. Look around you, these are your brothers and
sisters in Christ, and I would encourage you to stay connected to each other.
Stay connected, and await your next incoming pastor.
Finally, I will say this last thing
to you all. Quoting the Book of Jude in the New Testament 1:3, I want to read
this verse to you:
3 Beloved,
while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it
necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for
all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3, NRSV).
Friends keep Christ at the center of your life, preach his gospel of repentance, restoration, and resurrection hope. For as you have heard me say many times, we stand in a line of heroes and we stand on the shoulders of giants. We are here, and have the faith we have because of the countless generations that have gone before us. So, keep the faith and live the faith, because Sidney, the Sidney Area, and the world needs it now more than ever. With this said, He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone! Amen.
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