1.
Please
pray with me. May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock
and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word this day that we
celebrate our Lord’s Victory over death is taken from 1 Peter 1:3, it’s entitled, “Easter Matters,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Take a moment and look around. Isn’t
the church beautiful? Look at all these Easter lilies! They’re so white and
fragrant, what a sight! And how about the music? Wow! Wasn’t it wonderful to be
able sing “Alleluia” again? Oh, and, didn’t the organ sound great this morning
as we sung that joyous hymn, “Jesus
Christ is Risen Today”? Personally,
I just get goose bumps all over. Easter is such a wonderful event in the life
the church. Just take a moment and savor it with me. [Inhale deeply
and smile, and smell the Easter lilies. Then after a few seconds… That’s
it. Amen. [Remain in the pulpit but allow for a period of silence.]
3.
Now, what if the sermon had actually
ended right now? If it did, I know some of you would be saying, “That’s it? What do you mean, that’s it? You
mean to tell me that I got up at dawn, put on my Sunday best, and came to church
for this? What a joke!” Then again, others of you might be saying, “You know, that’s the best sermon I’ve ever
heard him preach. It was short and to the point, and now, the best part is that
we just might get out of here early! Yes!” But in all seriousness, what if
that was the end of the sermon? If
Easter is only about smelling the lilies and taking in the special emotion of
the day, then it really doesn’t matter all that much. On the other hand, if
Easter is about some profound, eternal truth, then this worship service really
matters. How much does Easter matter for us?
4.
We’re living in a time when people
are fond of saying, “You have your
opinion; I have mine.” Maybe your
Easter celebration turns you on but don’t tell me it’s God’s truth,” they say.
“Jesus? Buddha? Mohammed? Wasn’t it
Pilate who asked, ‘What is truth?’ Truth is whatever you make it out to be.” That’s
the way many people look at it today. Easter and Jesus, many people say, may be
“true” for us but not for everybody. To address this, we’ve got to ask a basic
question. How much does Easter matter for us? Will our celebration of Easter matter for
others? [Smile] I’ll give you a longer sermon!
5.
How much does Easter matter for you
and me? The Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because according
to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We couldn’t agree more! Jesus died and
rose for the sins of the whole world, especially for you. In fact, it’s because
Jesus did die and rise for you, that you can be assured that your sins are forgiven
and that you have eternal life. For you, Jesus allowed Himself to be beaten and
flogged, and teased and taunted. And for you, Jesus allowed a crown of thorns
to be thrust on His head. But most important of all, it was for you that Jesus
laid down on a fateful Friday, and allowed His hands and feet to be nailed to a
wooden cross. Bang. Bang. Bang.
6.
Now, at any time, Jesus could have
said, “That’s it! I’ve had enough. No more. I’m out of here!” But for you, Jesus
not only endured the cross, He died on the cross. And He did it to pay for all
of your sins. He was then laid in a tomb. And just when it looked like all was
lost, just when it looked like this Messiah was just some cruel joke, just when
it looked like that was it…that was it!… Just then it happened. Jesus rose from
the dead. Alleluia! St. Peter says in 1 Peter 1:18-21, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or
gold that you were redeemed…but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but
was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God,
who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are
in God.” Yes, Easter matters…to you…to me!
7.
As followers of Jesus we believe
this is the truth. 1 Peter 1:22 says, “You
have purified yourself by obeying the truth.” That’s what we believe but
still others could just wave us off. Remember what we said earlier, that some
people say “truth” is simply a creation of community? “That’s your opinion.” We here at Christ & Calvary Lutheran
Churches are a community. And, as a community that’s a part of the body of
Christ, we live by faith. We trust that God’s Word is the truth. Yes, we
believe this word of resurrection is the truth and true for us. Our eternal destiny
depends on this word of faith, that “God
has given us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead.” Now let’s take a turn in the sermon. What will it
look like to others because Easter matters to us?
8.
When Easter matters to us, will it
look like this? Once the service, and singing and praising to our God is over,
we pretty much leave Easter in the church parking lot and head out to our daily
lives. Maybe we’re headed to that traditional ham dinner at Grandma’s house.
Then again, maybe you go out to eat. Maybe, you’ll even get a nap in this afternoon!
But, as fun as that may all be, by about oh, three or four o’clock, life has
pretty much returned to normal. And, Easter is over and done with for another
year. If Easter matters, will it look like that? No!
9.
When we live as though Easter
matters, we put a high priority on being a community, on our life together as
the body of Christ. We continue to come to God’s house to hear His Word and receive
our Lord’s Supper. We continue to be fervent in our daily prayers and
devotions. “Lord, we believe Your word is
truth; help our unbelief!” When Easter matters we continue as a church to
do good works in our community. We make sure that the food bank in our area is
well stocked for those in need. Or, we put a little extra in the collection
plate to take care of the needs of our global missionaries like we’ve done for
Pastor David & Rachel Baker Christian missionaries to Mongolia or to
support the mission of our Lutheran Elementary School at Christ Lutheran.
10.
When Easter matters to us, it not
only matters to all of us but it matters to each of us personally. The German
theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “We
must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be
constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with
claims and petitions.” Since Easter
matters, will you allow yourself to be interrupted by God? For example, what if
you and your spouse go out for what’s supposed to be a quiet brunch? It’s the
two of you. No distractions, just some time alone. But now suppose that after
being seated at the table, you notice that your waitress ends up being a
daughter of this congregation. You know this girl, even though she hasn’t been
in church for awhile. You could pretend you don’t recognize her. But when
Easter matters, you’re concerned when your sister in Christ misses out on the
grace and forgiveness that the Lord gives us in the Divine Service. So you spend
some talking with that young girl. You let her know that you miss her, and you
pray for her.
11.
When we think of taking Easter into
our daily lives, what can be more daily than going to Walmart? What if you’re
walking down the aisles, and all of a sudden, there he or she is. This is your
neighbor, and they’re hurting. Maybe they’ve been laid off and can’t find work,
maybe their spouse has left them, or maybe there’s been a death in the family. The
easy thing to do would be to put your head down and pass them without saying a
word. But when you live like Easter matters, when you take the resurrection of
Jesus Christ seriously, you don’t shun that person. Instead you say something
like: “Roger, I’m so sorry about your
job. Betty, I can only imagine how much you are hurting. Sarah, even though we
take comfort that Harry is now with the Lord, it must be hard to be alone. May
I pray for you?”
12.
[Pause] People will continue
to say, “Oh, Jesus and Easter, that’s just your opinion.” But when you live
your life like Easter matters, people will get curious. Your co-workers and
friends, and maybe even your family will say things to you like, “Why are you always spending so much time
helping others? Why are you always caring for people? What makes you the way
you are?” 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always
be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have.” Then you can say, “You want to know why I’m different? I’ll tell you the truth. It’s
Easter. Easter matters to me and I pray Easter will matter to you.” That’s
it! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment