Easter 2008
You all know how we start the Easter Service “He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!” Well we’re not going to do that today.
He was dead! He was dead indeed! They had seen him beaten. They had seen him crucified. They had seen him buried. He was dead! And with him died all of their dreams, all of their hopes, everything they believed in.
They had given everything to this man Jesus, their past, their present even their future, and up until three days ago it seemed like a pretty good bargain. All he had asked was that they faith in a mystery. And for the most part they did. After all they had seen the impossible. They had seen blind men see. They had seen lame men walk. They believed with all their hearts in the things they could actually see.
But not any more. Now their beliefs were as dead as their master. There was nothing to do but go home. To leave their hopes to leave their dreams and just go home. He was dead!
Unless, unless it was true what Mary had seen. She had seen an empty tomb. She had seen unoccupied grave clothes. She had seen two men in dazzling robes asking her “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
If that were the case then he wasn’t dead, he would be alive. If he was alive then everything was going to be all right! Their hopes and dreams would be restored.
So here’s the dilemma we face on this Easter Morning—He is dead! Therefore our beliefs are dead. Our hope and dreams are shattered and we might as well just go home.
Or what Mary reports in today’s gospel reading is true. He is risen! He is risen indeed. And everything is going to be all right! Our hopes and dreams can be restored, or resurrected if you may.
When I was attending Western Kentucky some 33 years ago, I remember having a science professor who was slightly left of center. Anyway, it was right before Easter and spring break. A student asked the professor what he was doing over Easter. Well, you’ve heard of Christmas—ba—hum—bug; he responded basically in the same manner. He said, the Easter story is nothing but a myth. There is no God and there’s no way a person rises from the dead!
A young female student who normally was very quite, replied, “Sir, I not only believe in God, I believe in the resurrection.”
The professor replied, you can believe whatever you wish. However, the real world excludes the possibility of miracles such as the resurrection. It is a scientific impossibility. No one who believes in miracles can respect science.
To prove his point the professor went to the refrigerator where he kept all the lab experiments, and pulled out a raw egg. He stood on the desk and said, “I’m going to drop this egg on the floor. Science will prove that gravity will pull it to the floor and egg will break.
Now I give you a challenge in your so-called faith. I want you to say a prayer right now and ask the God you believe in to keep this egg from breaking when it hits the floor. If God can break the rules of science then you’ll have proven your point. If not I will have proven my point, and students that what life and science is about—prove your point!
This shy girl stood up and began to pray, “Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that when my professor drops the egg you will prove that you gave us science and make this egg break into a hundred pieces. Dear Lord I also pray that when the egg does break, my professor will have a heart attack and die.
Our jaws dropped! Now what? Nobody laughed. Nobody said anything. We just waited. For a moment the professor did nothing. He stared at the girl, then the egg, and without a word he carefully put the egg back into the refrigerator and said with disgust, “Class dismissed!”
That day, not only did I learn a great science lesson but a great life lesson as well. The professor apparently believed in God’s existence more than he thought, because he was not willing to bet his life that God didn’t exist.
But you know that the way the whole world is? I read somewhere that 99% of all human beings believe in God or a Higher Power—the other 1% are lying. But when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus the numbers go down dramatically, and most have their doubts.
What if I told that today, right here, right now I am going to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. You are going to leave the confines of this building and you will know once and for all, no questions, no doubts.
You are going to be more certain of this fact that you would be willing to stake your life on the one thing you are absolutely positively sure of. Jesus Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! That’s right! How can I do this? Well he is standing in the back of our church right now!
Two things just happened. Those who did not turn around to look are no better, no worse than the apostles that lived with Jesus for 3 years. It says, “These words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” Even though Jesus has told them this was going to happen, over and over.
The second group turned around for a quick peek. Maybe like Peter your heart rate went up a little. You wanted to believe what I said was true, or at least were curious. We are no better, no worse than Peter who got up ran to the tomb to have a look see for proof.
In researching for today’s message, I was in some way surprised to find probably 90% maybe more of the commentaries, outlines, messages I read over—figured their task—sort of what I attempted to do—was to prove to the people that Jesus is Risen. He is risen Indeed! But I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. Cause most of us are more like Peter, we want to see things for ourselves. We want to be certain.
One of the outlines I found was by a high energy evangelical, who even works up a good sweat, named Rod Parsley. I really do like to hear this man preach. Anyway he was preaching in front of 70,000 at the Astro Dome in Texas. The title of the sermon was “Proof Positive!” Proof Positive. That’s what people desire in today’s society. Proof Positive! We don’t want a mystery.
Anyway this preacher elaborated upon a book by investigative reporter named of Lee Strobel entitled, “The Case for Easter.” It is a rather good book, like the preacher. Anyway, Strobel was an atheist whose wife had gotten religion at one of the mega churches in Chicago. He didn’t like so much of his hard earned money going out to this new-found cult of his wife, so he set out to prove the resurrection was a hoax. However, what he claims to have discovered was good solid evidence for the resurrection, not against the resurrection.
He begins trying to prove Easter by starting with the death of Jesus and moving on through post resurrection by examining the life of the disciples and their claims. Like I said a rather interesting book. However, the read did nothing to strengthen my faith in the promises of God.
Then you have the other spectrum, where a man by the name of James Camron (I think that’s right) who claims to have found the bones of Jesus and his family. Even had a television series about this time last year. I watched it and it did have some interesting parts. However, the show did nothing to take away from my faith in the promises of God.
Why is that? Because I am ever so slowly learning the valuable lesson of putting my faith in God’s mysteries. Not having proof positive!
I am becoming more and more comfortable in not having the knowledge of God, our original or originating sin, not having an answer for everything. After all, get this folks—it is faith in the mysteries of God that saves us, not Proof Positive or knowledge in the facts. The plain fact is that you are here today and that is all you need. Everything else has been taken care. Your eternal salvation is secure through a cross and an empty tomb! Talk about a glorious mystery!
In the very, very first line of the entire Bible—Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.” Wow! Another mystery. Yet most all human beings including the great minds admit there must be some type of higher power. Well duh! I knew that!
And if I/you can accept the very first words of Scripture in faith then what if anything can keep me/you from trusting or having faith in the rest of the promises. As far as I know God hasn’t lied to me yet! He is Risen!
It’s not some cruel joke by God keeping you in the dark about certain things. The mysteries of life are what make life fascinating and worth living. The mysteries of God are about the only thing I can count on to make my heart pound like Peter’s.
Some of you know how much I love the ocean, only 3months, 23days, and 3 hours until I head down there on vacation, but who’s counting? I can remember like it was yesterday when I had my very first encounter with mystery. I was maybe four or five, maybe even six, I don’t know, but I found this huge conk shell.
My dad told me if I held it up to my ear, I could hear the ocean. And by golly, he was right. I could take that shell home with me and anytime I missed the ocean I hold it up to my ear and be right a home. Ok, I know there is a logical explanation for the ocean being in every shell. But to this day I hear the ocean.
I love the mysteries of this world. How about trees that go to sleep in the winter, and wake up to grow new leaves in the spring. How do they know to do that? Look at the flowers! Do they have some illusive knowledge, knowing when to die and when to rise again? Think of a single corn seed that once in the ground at the right time, with the right mixture of rain and sun can turn into what 500 brand new cornels. How do they do that?
Caterpillars into butterflies. Birds that migrate thousands of miles without electronic guidance systems. Fish that swim upstream. Oh, Oh, Oh what about those babies that start from the meeting of two tiny cells and know just how to divide into the individual parts and organs that make up a human body and turn in children that don’t listen to a single thing you say. Talk about exciting mysteries.
Sure I know these events may be explained with elaborate words. But you can save your scientific jargon. I know there are processes and theories. I didn’t get off the turnip truck yesterday. But any and every attempt to explain them is incomplete. They fall flat. Just like Rod Parsley’s “Proof Positive” sermon, Lee Strobel’s “Case for the Resurrection” book, and Camron’s bone of Christ.
They cannot explain the mystery of our faith!
Yet He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
We seem to let Easter slip in and out so quietly and quickly in our world. Don’t! Spend some time in thought and prayer contemplating what God has done for you. Ponder the wonder and beauty of the empty tomb. Maybe even get your heart beating a little faster, resurrecting your hopes and dreams.
My invitation to you today is very, very simple. Claim the mystery of the resurrection as your own. Don’t try to explain it. Don’t even try so hard to understand it. Just have a little faith, the faith of a mustard seed, in the promises of a God who brings new life—and let God do the rest!
You just like Peter will be amazed at what happens!
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Amen.
