Panzer Liturgical Service
But for the Christian church, the most important holiday is Easter. We have all heard the story – Jesus welcomed into Jerusalem as a conquering hero, only to be arrested, placed on trial and executed within the week. For three days, his followers believed that all was lost. But then the story turned.
Luke 24:1-12 (paraphrased) As the women of his group went to the tomb to prepare his body for its final rest, they were astonished and frightened to find that his body was nowhere to be found. Instead, the stone was rolled away and the cloths in which his body had be quickly wrapped on the Friday before were laying in a pile. Men in dazzling attire asked the ultimate rhetorical question: Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here – because he promised that he wouldn’t be. And when the women went to tell the disciples the news, they didn’t believe them. Instead, Peter and probably others ran back to the tomb to see for themselves the new truth… “He is not here – he is risen.”
I can’t even tell you how many people have told me that the resurrection is the hardest part of the Jesus story. Since the mid-17th century, we have become a world where seeing is believing. Today we often hear that science and religion are in conflict with one another. But the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei, even though he was knocked down again and again by the Church, never lost faith in the God and in Jesus Christ.
So if you are wondering how to reconcile your understanding of Jesus’ story with a world of scientific discovery, I ask you to consider hearing the story this way. The resurrection of Jesus is a miracle that is impossible to understand. We don’t know how it happened. But the real question is not about how, but why Jesus was raised from the dead. And to find an answer to that question, we have to look at the whole story.
The bible is filled with amazing stories – sometimes like a crazy soap opera. Even so, it’s easy to think of the bible as a rule book or etiquette guide. But it’s really so much more than just that. It’s the story of God interacting with his creations for generations. And in this story, God tries everything he can think of to help us live in harmony with him and one another.
He creates this amazing garden – with everything that humanity would need to live a perfect life. But God also created us with personalities and the ability to make choices and decisions for ourselves. It was a risk, but without choice, he understood that it’s not really worship and what we have with him is not really a relationship.
And so when the first couple made bad choices, there were consequences. God was true to his word. But he also did not cut them off. He continued to be in relationship with his chosen people to share the good news of who God is, even when they turned their backs on Him. When they were unable to hear his voice, he called prophets who helped to call the people back to the Creator, or to explain to them why things had gone so horribly wrong.
But eventually, the old story played itself out. And a new story – a new savior – came into the picture. God turned the page and a made a personal appeal to the people he created… Come and follow me.
The world that Jesus was born into was not a model society. The Jews had been returned to the promised land from exile and slavery, but they were not in control. The Greeks and then the Romans were the powerbrokers of the day. The Jewish leaders were given some authority, in order to keep the religious sect in hand. These leaders were dedicated to keeping their own status high, often by crushing small rebellions that popped up. Messiahs were a dime a dozen. But Jesus was different from the ones who had come before.
The resurrection, and therefore our celebration of Easter, is a pivotal moment in God’s history. Every Sunday we reenact the belief that death does not have the last word over life. There are two passages which help me to cling to the resurrection story and believe in it even though I don’t always understand it. The first has to do with faith. The writer of Hebrews 11 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. (v1,3)”
That means that we have to be willing to know something with our hearts and faith, even if we can’t fully understand it. Yes, that’s different than the world’s standards, but one that has proven true for billions of people throughout time. And it is a faith we can claim for ourselves… from examining the scriptures and church history, and from our experiences in worship and service to others. That doesn’t mean we blindly allow others to lead us in ways that we do not choose for ourselves. For me, it means knowing in my heart that while I do not always know what will happen in the future, I believe that God is present in that future, preparing me for that future and that future for me.
Today’s epistle lesson helps connect the Jesus story to the story of creation… just as Adam’s humanness makes us human, Jesus’ rising from the grave gives us the gift of new life, eternal life in him. But I also love what Paul says earlier in the letter, For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25)
It is not just that the resurrection doesn’t make sense, but also that Jesus, who is God, would die in the most horrific and shameful way known to humans of the day. In the end, faith is about believing in the wisdom of God, which might not make sense to the world, but trusting that God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
So as we come together to celebrate this Easter day, I ask you to consider what the resurrection means to you. How does the gift of eternal life affect or change the way you live?
I have a friend whose job is absolutely necessary, but with an underwhelming title – expert in waste water management. It’s the kind of job you might not talk about in everyday conversation. But it has given him a lot of experience and he puts that to good use. He talks to people about how important water is to people. And every year he goes with other volunteers to Africa to help communities gain access to clean, safe water. He says that he has seen a new well actually breathe life back into a village and give them new hope... hope for crops, for freedom from disease, for ways to spend their time other than carrying water back from a water source, several times a day. What better way to take the life that God has given and use it for good!
Most of you know my story. I was raised in the church. I was confirmed at age 12, went to youth group every Sunday, attended church regularly in college and joined a local congregation when I started working after college.
My path to a deeper and fully committed faith life came not as a result of the intellectual pursuit of knowledge, but through serving other people through mission projects and working with youth. These experiences changed me and helped me to understand that God was calling me in a direction I had never imagined. My life in ministry, both as a pastor and volunteer in local churches and military chapels, is exactly the kind of life that my understanding of Jesus’ resurrection calls me to lead. In 25 years of ministry and 21 years of life as a military spouse, I have moved 12 times. (Even for a United Methodist, this is excessive.)
But in every place, I have felt God drawing me into friendships and ministries that were so much better than I imagined. And in each place, I have learned more about what it means to live as a child of God, and how I am called to be present with and love people all along the way.
I come from a tradition that believes that grace is the best word to describe the nature of God and trajectory of our life with him. Romans 3:23 tells us “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Grace comes into our lives in many ways… in Covenant Grace as shared through the story of the Old Testament and promises made to our biblical ancestors, through Justifying Grace as we accept the gift of Jesus Christ into our own lives, and through Sanctifying Grace as we figure out what Jesus wants us to do with the new life gained through him, living out that grace in the world. Over time, I have realized that I am a new creation, but I am not a complete creation. God continues to work on me, bringing me closer to him, forgiving me and welcoming me home when I make mistakes or turn away.
For me, Easter is the best reminder that death does not have the final say – and that while we don’t know what this gift of eternal life will look like, it is a promise that we can count on. When I was a young Christian, I thought that Easter and resurrection were an insurance policy… I wanted my faith to protect me from struggles and hardships. I worried about following the rules, but day by day, that proved to be a daunting task. I could never do enough to earn the gift that Jesus gives, so I had to figure out what a life of faith should look like.
Eventually I realized that Christ did not intend for our lives to be grounded in fear. Instead, he instructs us to live as reflections of his love and grace in the world. For me this means thinking of my coming to Christ not as a single moment in time, but by rededicating my life to Christ at many times, each time making a concerted effort to be faithful in all that I do. I can look back and see turning points when I came to a fork in the road, and was inspired to choose Christ all over again. I also look back and know that I have not always chosen well. I am so thankful that with the resurrection comes forgiveness and the chance for new beginnings. I love that no matter what, I get to choose Christ again and again, with the knowledge he always chooses each of us.It is always my hope that people will hear the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and see a place for themselves in his story. The journey of faith starts with one step…and continues with another and another, until one day, we are living a life we never imagined. For me, this means living a life defined by love.
Perhaps Mother Theresa has said it in a way that all of us can understand: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do all things with great love.”
This is what Easter and resurrection are all about.
Peace, Deb
(c) Deb Luther Teagan 2016
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