There is something beautifully predictable about the
celebration of Easter Sunday. Family
gatherings, fine cloths, even egg hunts.
There is a renewed
sense of hope. There are signs of new
life. The giant piles of snow are only
big piles of snow. Flowers are starting
to poke out of the soil. In the midst of the long dark nights of winter we
celebrated Christmas and we said that a light has come into the world and the
darkness will not overcome it. Its springtime
and the days are longer than the nights again and we celebrate.
Whatever is happening in the world, today we glimpse
eternity. Today we see a bigger picture.
Today we see, clearer than in any other celebration that our
life will continue on beyond the grave because of what Jesus Christ accomplished
on that first Easter Sunday. When Jesus
defeated death, darkness was forever defeated.
We know that if there are dark times in our life we are children of God,
living in the light of his love.
But I have to ask: Did you miss it?
You see the Gospel lessons are filled with stories of the
disciples of Jesus Christ missing things.
I miss things all the time. Just
this week I missed the opportunity to be blessed. I got so caught up in the business of the
week that I forgot to go and serve at the Community Table. I missed that opportunity to be blessed.
How many opportunities did I miss to share what Jesus has
done in my life because I didn’t have my eyes open and my feet ready?
My wife could probably give you a longer list of things that
I miss. Most of the time we are not
aware of what we are missing.
You have made your way to Church this morning. This day you decided that it was important to
worship God. You may have been taught
since you were a child that God loves you so very much, or maybe you haven’t.
But it’s true. Did you miss it? Did you miss the truth of Gods very real love
for you? God wants to spend eternity
with you. That’s why God became
human. That’s why Jesus was born, so
that you and God can spend eternity together.
The empty tomb is so very important to our faith. Without the empty tomb the message of the
cross is a message of terror and tragedy.
Without the empty tomb the cross is a story of defeat and darkness.
It seemed that darkness had won on that Good Friday, when
they nailed our Lord to the cross. Even then
while he was still living, hanging there, there must have been some hope that
something miraculous would happen. But then
the unthinkable happed, he died.
It must have seemed unreal.
It must have seemed like a bad dream that they couldn’t wake up
from. He’s really dead.
But then Jesus told them this was going to happen. He told them and they missed it.
Did you miss it? Did you miss Jesus’ message to you that you
will have eternal life when you trust in Him? When you believe in him as the
Son of the Living God? Did you miss the
promise of abundant life in his name?
Did you miss his command to love one another?
Its okay, the disciples missed things all the time.
The women missed preparing Jesus’ body for burial because it
was the Sabbath. So they had to wait for the day after the Sabbath. They missed the resurrection. They missed seeing Jesus body because it wasn’t
there because he was raised!
They along with all the disciples seemed to have missed what
Jesus had been telling them about his own resurrection. They missed it. But Jesus appeared. Jesus was there.
The stone was rolled away. They looked inside. Jesus body
wasn’t there. They were perplexed. Suddenly there were two men in dazzling
cloths beside them. They were terrified.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
These men, these angels, whatever they were they got it! They
didn’t miss it! Jesus said he would live. Perhaps it was perplexing to them
that these women were looking for Jesus in the tomb. Jesus said he would live. Believe him! They said, “Remember how he told you, while
he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners,
and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
God, in and through Jesus Christ reconciled the world to
himself.
Jesus freely offered himself and gave his life on the
cross. It was the perfect sacrifice for
the brokenness of the whole world. That
sacrifice redeems us from all sin, so that nothing else is required.
You don’t have to do anything more to be forgiven of your
sin than place your trust in Jesus and proclaim his name as your Lord. Let me
say it another way: You don’t have to
get better to be saved; you have to be saved to get better. Some folks
think that because of their past, because of their lifestyle, because of their
choices that they aren’t good enough or they wouldn’t be welcome in
church. Well as you know, not one of us
is “good enough.” There is nobody that is “good enough” That’s the point of
Jesus sacrifice. It’s what he did that
saves us, not our actions.
We should be looking for the most despicable people and when
they come, love them because they are here.
We don’t even have to concern ourselves with changing anybody. When people come to faith God will change
them. You know it’s true. Think about
your own faith journey. Wasn’t it people
who that pointed your attention to God and it was God that brought you
along? Love people where they are. Tell
them about what Jesus taught. Tell them
about the transformation Jesus made in your life.
Tell them about the empty tomb. Tell them about the perfect sacrifice.
God will work in people. We need to bring people into the family, not good people. God’s not looking for people who think they have it all together. We need to reach out to people who need Jesus. Who need to hear that Jesus sacrificed for them and nothing else is required.
It’s when you have faith in Jesus Christ that the Holy
Spirit comes and lives in you and makes you into His image.
So, how is it with you on this Resurrection Sunday? God’s
perfect love is available to you. Choose
this day not to miss it.
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