Sunday 04/20/14 Freeville/Homer Ave
UMC’s
Sermon Title: “This is the hinge pin!”
Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18
Brothers and sisters, He is risen! He
is risen indeed! Welcome again on this Easter or this “Resurrection” Sunday. This
is the day in the Christian Calendar that we celebrate Jesus the Christ rising
from the dead. This is the day that we celebrate the grave itself being
defeated, for on this day, the Lord has risen! He is risen indeed! For as is says
in the gospel of Luke 24:5, when the women came to the empty tomb they, “were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do
you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
To me then,
this day in like a door. Yes, I just said a door. Has anyone here ever hung a
door? Maybe you have hung an outer-door, or maybe you have hung an inner-door. The
few times I have hung doors, I realized that first the door frame had to be
leveled, or the door wouldn’t hang right. Worse if the door frame was too un-level,
the door might not fit at all.
So once the
door frame is leveled out, you can then attach the hinges on the door frame.
Then you line up your new door, that has its hinges attached, and then you
slide the door with its hinges into the counterpart hinges on the door frame. After
this though, and perhaps the most important part, is then tapping in those
hinge pins into the hinges. Has anybody here ever done this before?
I remember
one time that I helped someone hang a door, and everything was all set, and the
door was put into the door frame hinges. Yet, I forgot to tap the hinge pins into
the new door’s hinges. Shortly after this, the other person opened door, and as
you might already be guessing, the door fell right off the hinges! The door
fell flat on the floor, and the person said, “Hey Paul did you forget
something!” What I must have forgotten, is that a door cannot stand without its
hinge pins.
In the same
way brothers and sisters, our Christian faith cannot stand without the hinge
pin of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For if Jesus Christ did not rise from
the dead, then he was not the living God on earth. If Jesus Christ did not rise
from the dead, then he was just a man, just a nice guy, and we just have some
good stories in the Bible about him. Given this then, was Jesus just a nice guy
worth reading about, or is he truly the “Risen Savior?”
Our belief
that Jesus Christ is truly the risen savior, is so strong that most Christian
Churches have even moved the historic Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday.
Further, most Christian Churches have traditionally had there worship services on
Sundays, as most still do. While our Jewish brothers and sisters, and our
Seventh-Day Adventist Christian brothers and sisters still take Saturday as their
Sabbath day, the majority of Christian Churches celebrate Sunday as the Sabbath
day, as our day or worship, and as our formal day of gathering together. In
fact, the entire reason that most Christian Churches formally gather for
worship on Sunday, is because of the resurrection of Jesus. In this way, every
Sunday for us is a “mini-Easter,” as we gather formally this day to worship,
and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Further, for many years in
this country most businesses were closed on Sundays. For many years in this
country most people didn’t work on Sundays, and most people spent this day with
their families, and all of this centers around this “hinge pin” called the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the same
way then that the NFL has a first game of the season, which we can call the
birth of Christ on Christmas, today in NFL terms, is our “Super Bowl.” Today is
really and truly our biggest holiday, in that the resurrection of Jesus Christ
is the “hinge pin” that holds the door of our Christian faith on the hinges of
the door frame. In fact, as I heard an older pastor and a friend of mine say to
me once, “if you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, I will be worshipping
with my Jewish brothers and sisters at the Synagogue next Saturday.” For there
are no bones of Jesus Christ to be found brothers and sisters, for he is risen!
Risen indeed!
When
looking at the Old Testament reading from Psalm 118 from this morning, it says,
“O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”
Today Jesus Christ has overcome the grave, and officially lives forever. The
Psalm goes on to say, “The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my
salvation.” The risen Christ is the proof that he is the Messiah, proof that
his death on the cross matters, and that we have a new way to God. That this
day for us is the opportunity for all of us to have a resurrection from within.
For
while this day does have many different meanings for many different people, on
this day, Jesus Christ offers us renewal, and offers us resurrection from within
the depths our very souls. Jesus says to us this day, are you feeling burdened,
are you feeling broken, are you feeling dead inside? If so, then today, let God
fill you, let God heal you, let God love you, and let God’s people love you
with the power and the love of God. Let this church or one like be your new
family, your new home, as we all learn, journey, and move towards glory together.
Today
there is victory over death, and joy over misery. Let us claim this victory
today, for as this Psalm reading ends, “This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
When
looking at our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church
in Colossae, or the Colossians, the Apostle Paul says, “So if you have been
raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the
right hand of God.” The Apostle Paul then says, “Set your minds on things that
are above, not on things that are on are on earth, for when you have died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God.” The Apostle Paul then concludes this
scripture be saying, “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also
will be revealed with him in glory.” Today Christ is raised to new life, so let
us also this day seek to be raised to new life in him. “This is the hinge pin!”
You
see Jesus came to this earth to usher in a new era of peace, of justice, of
love, and of mercy. When we put our faith in him, we are raised and healed to
new life in him. We are then freed up to be filled, to love others, and to
change this world in his name. For Jesus is the one who overcame everything, so
that we may not die, but rather live abundantly.
When
looking at the gospel reading from this morning, it begins by saying, “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.” Upon seeing this
reality, the gospel then says that that “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.”
At
this point the gospel says, “Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went
toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran
Peter and reached the tomb first.” Then the gospel says that, “He bent down to
look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then
Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.” After this, the
gospel says, “He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had
been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place
by itself.” At this point, “the other disciple, who reached the tomb first,
also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the
scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” You see brothers and sisters,
everyone did not expect this resurrection, and were truly amazed and awestruck by
it.
After
this the gospel says that, “the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary
stood weeping outside of the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting
where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the
feet.” At this point, “They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” In
response to this question she said, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not
know where they have laid him.” Upon saying these words, the gospel then says,
that Mary “turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know
that it was Jesus.” The gospel then says that, “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why
are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
In
Mary hearing these questions, she looked at this man and thought that he was
the gardener. Mary then says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where
you have laid him, and I will take him away.” The gospel then says at this
point, “Jesus said to her, “Mary!” Then, “She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
“Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).” Then Jesus “said to her, “Do not hold on to
me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father and your Father, to my God and
your God.” The gospel reading then ends by saying, “Mary Magdalene went and announced
to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that had said these
things to her.” On this day, he is risen! Risen indeed!
Brothers
and sisters, I would like to close this morning with a story about another Easter
resurrection. This is a story is taken from Guideposts, and is called “An Easter Sunday Miracle,” by Diana Aydin,
April 18, 2014. Here is how it goes: “Sometimes a miracle doesn’t come in the form that we expect it to.
Instead of a burning bush, we experience a gentle nudge. Or a quiet voice. Or,
in the case of Ken Trush, a poke.”
“Back in 1997, Ken’s 12-year-old son, Daniel, suddenly collapsed
on-court at a basketball game in his school’s gym. Doctors discovered five
aneurysms in his brain, one of which had burst. He was in a coma for more than
30 days. Every night, Ken kept watch by Daniel’s bed at the hospital, hoping
and praying for a miracle–some sign that he would wake up. But weeks passed and
nothing happened. The doctors prepared Ken and his wife, Nancy, for the worst:
Daniel might never come back.”
“Though all appeared hopeless, Ken refused to give up. And on Easter
Sunday, he finally got the sign he’d so desperately prayed for... Danny was still not showing any signs
of life. It was coming up to Easter. I just had this feeling that Easter was
going to be special. I kept thinking, this is the holiest
of holy days. This is what our faith revolves around. What better
day than Easter Sunday to see something? Any kind of sign.”
“I left the hospital for 9 o’clock
Easter mass. I didn’t tell anyone my hopes. It felt like it was just between me
and God. Nobody else knew. I went back to the hospital after church hoping to
find a miracle. I was waiting, looking for a sign. But there was no sign.”
“Everyone in our family was going to
celebrate Easter at the hospital with us. I was sitting in the chair with Nancy
next to Danny’s bed. My brother-in-law Steve and sister-in-law Debbie came to
visit. We didn’t have enough chairs in the room, so I sat at the foot of the
bed by Danny. At that point, no miracle had happened and I was starting to feel
like nothing would. And then, all of a sudden, I got this little poke... from
Danny. I turned around, looked at him and said something a little outrageous
for me: “Did you just kick me in the butt?” Danny gave the faintest of smiles.
Everyone saw it. Nancy, Debbie and Steve. We all saw it.”
“Danny has always had a really good
sense of humor. He was still in a coma, but that little poke was a sign that
Danny was still in there. The doctors said it was impossible, that the smile
was just reflexes. That Danny was too deep in a coma. But I knew my prayers
were answered. I knew what I saw. And I knew that smile–a reassuring, “I’m
here.” “It was the most beautiful Easter. And two weeks later, against all the
doctors’ predictions, Danny woke up.”
The author then say, “It was a long road to recovery, but today Daniel
is an accomplished musician dedicated to giving back. In 2006, the Trush family
started Daniel’s Music Foundation, a New York-based
nonprofit that provides free music classes to anyone with a developmental or
physical disability, regardless of age.”
Brothers
and sisters, today the Lord of life Jesus Christ is raised to new life. For he
died and he was raised out of love. He asks us on this day to love him, and to
put our faith and our trust in him, for this is why he came. For he is risen!
He is risen indeed! Amen and hallelujah.
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