Easter Sunday - RWJ/Pottersville UMC - 03/31/13 Sermon - “This is the hinge pin!"

Easter Sunday - 03/31/13 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “This is the hinge pin!”                                                                                      

Scripture Lesson: Acts 10:34-43

                                             

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18

          He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Good morning brothers and sisters! I want to welcome you to this our Easter Sunday morning worship service. This Sunday is the most celebrated and the highest Sunday in our Christian Calendar. While the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas is a major holiday, today is the day that death has been conquered! Today our faith is proven valid! Today Jesus has overcome the world, overcome sin, and overcome all that ensnares humanity.

From a sermon from the late and great Dr. S.M. Lockridge, he said, “The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and Herod couldn’t kill Him.
Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him! That’s my King! That’s my King!”

Today then, in National Football League or NFL terms, this is our Super Bowl! Christmas could be considered the season opener, but today is the grand finale of the Christian faith. Today is the day that cements our Christian faith! For without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no Christian faith. For without the resurrection, than Jesus was just a man, just a prophet, just a living creature, like the rest of us. So I would submit to you on this morning that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is central and vital to the Christian faith. In fact, “This is the hinge pin!” Much like how a door cannot stay on its hinges without the hinge pins, our Christian faith cannot stay together without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By his very resurrection then, he proved not only he was who he said he was, but who he still is. That he came to earth, encased himself in the flesh of man, overcame sin, overcame pain, and overcame all other struggles. He even overcame the very grave itself!

For Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus could not raise himself from the dead. For Lazarus was just a man, but Jesus was God on earth! For if Jesus was only a human man then, or only a prophet, how could he then raise himself from the dead. Only God can raise people from the dead. Only God can raise himself from the dead, as Jesus was the living God here on Earth. To speak a little more about the power of Jesus Christ, Dr. S.M. Lockridge said in his same sermon, “He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleansed the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meager?” Dr. S.M Lockridge then went to say “Do you know Him?”

He then even went on to say, “I wish I could describe him to you”. I watched a video on YouTube last night that was put together from this sermon, called “That’s my King!” It brought tears to my eyes, as I reflected upon the might, the majesty, and the power of Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

You see brothers and sister today we find ourselves at an empty tomb. As it said in today’s reading from Acts 10, “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day”. He is risen brothers and sisters! His is risen indeed! “This is the hinge pin”! For if Jesus Christ is truly the messiah, was truly God on earth, was truly the fullness and the totality of everything that he said he was, than only he could conquer death, and only he could rise from the grave! He truly is the Messiah! He truly is everything and all that he said he was! He truly fulfilled all of the prophecies of old!

As many of you know, for the past many weeks, I have been raising the wife of our family friend and retired United Methodist Pastor, Rev. Bob Pinto’s wife Bonnie Pinto up in prayer. Rev. Pinto has had a profound and a strong impact on my faith journey and my path to following God’s call to the pastorate. I remember one time in my young life when I was having some struggles with people who were persecuting me for my faith. Feeling broken about the situation on a Saturday morning, the phone suddenly rang. On the other end of the line was Rev. Pinto. Rev. Pinto said when I answered very plainly, “I have something to tell you”. I then said ok Rev. Pinto, what is it. He then said, “Paul these persecutors are not attacking you, they are attacking Jesus. For you live for Jesus, and because of this, they see this, they do not like him, and they attack him. They are not attacking you, they are attacking Jesus,” he said.

One Easter Sunday morning, we were worshiping in Rev. Pinto’s then appointed church charge, and he said something that blew me away. He said in so many words that Jesus was the fullness of God, that he had conquered the grave, and that he fulfilled all of the prophesies of old. For when he was raised there was no fleshy body of Christ to be found. Then Rev. Pinto said something that I will never forget. He said something that has stuck with me on my hardest days in seminary and in my faith walk. And I would ask you to listen to what I am about to say very closely. Rev. Pinto said on that Easter morning, “If you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, then I will be worshipping in the Jewish Synagogue next Saturday”. Once again, Rev. Pinto said, “If you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, then I will be worshipping in the Jewish Synagogue next Saturday”.

While we love, respect, and defend our Jewish brothers and sisters in American and worldwide, what makes us Christian, is that the body of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is nowhere to be found! For the grave could not hold the king! For as I read in the beginning of today’s service from Luke 24:5, the angels of the Lord said to Mary and the others who came to Jesus’ tomb, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” For “If you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, then I will be worshipping in the Jewish Synagogue next Saturday”! “This is the hinge pin” brothers and sisters. This is the big event! This is our super bowl!

So today I declare unto you in full confidence and faith that he is alive, he is well, and he is sitting at the right hand of almighty God! For He is risen! He is risen indeed! As the of the Gospel of John reading from this morning said speaking of one of Jesus’ disciples, “He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrapping lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” Jesus then appears to Mary, and tells her, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her”.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” He is risen and alive and well. “This is the hinge pin!” For without the resurrection, we have no faith, but with it, we have a mighty, powerful, and amazing savior named Jesus Christ!

I would like to close this Easter message with a story. This story is called “The Easter Story.” Here is how it goes: “Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher. One day, she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five-year gap between his age and that of the other students." “Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?”

“As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. 'Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family.' she thought. 'Lord, please help me be more patient with Jeremy.' From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller." he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

“Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller." the children responded, enthusiastically, all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

“That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.”

“The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life." she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller." she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's, she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.”

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too." Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes." Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up." The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the schoolyard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket ... all of them empty.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Do you know him? Do you know what he has done for you, for me, and for everyone? As the song “You are I am” by the band “Mercy Me” says about Jesus Christ, “You're the one who conquers giants. You're the one who calls out kings. You shut the mouths of lions. You tell the dead to breathe. You're the one who walks through fire. You take the orphan's hand. You are the one Messiah. You are I am. You are I am.”

“This is the hinge pin” brothers and sister! For he has risen! He has risen indeed! Praise him with all glory and honor, Amen!