Easter
2018
Remember
with Joy!
The Great Forgetting…Ever had those moments when you
forgot something? You ran out the door to work or school and got halfway there
and you realized that you had forgotten something? Or, you didn’t take time to
check your calendar and you got a call from the dentist office asking where you
are. When I was growing a neighbor of mine, John, and his wife lived down the
road with 3 girls. John once shared his
story of forgetting when his wife was expecting and the day she went into
labor. John hopped in the car and took off for the hospital…only to realize a
few miles down the road that he had forgotten his wife! Yes, we all have those
moments of forgetting, don’t we?
Well, on that Easter morning the women were making
their way to the tomb and experienced their own “great forgetting.” They took with them the spices necessary for
preparing a body for burial, ready to prepare the body of Jesus- after all he
had died on the cross and his body carried by Joseph of Arimethea and placed in
the tomb. As they walked along they were overcome with sadness at having lost
their friend, teacher, and Savior, Jesus.
BUT, when they arrived at the tomb, his body was gone! They were stunned! What happened? Where did
it go? What? But two men (angels)
standing nearby said, “Don’t you remember?
Did you forget what you were told?”
Jesus told you during his life that he would suffer, die on the cross
and be raised on the third day!”
Hearing that, the women looked up from the ground,
turned and looked at each other with smiles coming across their faces. Then,
they quickly made their way from the tomb to start telling the disciples that
Jesus had been raised? They ran all over
the place telling everyone that would listen that Jesus had been raised from
the dead. Yes, he was alive. They two angels at the tomb helped them.
So, what helps you to remember? Maybe it’s a calendar you have on the refrigerator
at homme or the calendar you have on your smartphone or it’s written down on a
piece of paper or your list of things to do and places to be. What works for
you? Or, maybe you are like my son, Eric.
He can hear something once and then locks it in and remembers
appointments and his schedule right off the top of his head without even
writing anything down….
Well, my hope for all of you this morning is that
Luke’s story will remind you of what Easter is all about. Will remind you most
importantly “Why Easter?” Why did God
raise Jesus from the dead? I would like
to call Luke’s story the “Great Remembering!” Hearing his words is a way of
“remembering why God had Jesus die on the cross and be raised for us.”
Now, we’ve heard the stories of the resurrection in
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. All four
stories are unique. I could spend time this morning comparing and contrasting
the stories. The bottom line? All the stories are told to tell us that God
raised Jesus from the dead to save us from sin and death. There it is in a
nutshell: God raised Jesus from the dead to save us from sin and death.
To save us from sin….You may hear this as a depressing
move to communicate on this day of celebration. But, Jesus took all our sins to
the cross and the resurrection tells us that he took care of those sins.
Sins, yes. Yes,
Jesus took every sin to the cross- every mistake, every hurtful word, all
commandments broken, all promises broken, all selfishness exposed, all the hurt
and pain inflicted on others. Jesus took to the cross. Confessing Sins
together!
Most importantly, Jesus dying on the cross and being raised
bridges the gap of our separation from God.
Jesus brings us back together with God. Jesus.
And, the Easter message tells us that God saves us
from death! Yes, the resurrection tells us that there is life beyond the grave!
Life beyond death! That eternal life awaits us. That heaven is real and in
heaven we will experience pure joy, pure love, pure grace, pure life!
Last week I visited my mother’s grave in the Kenyon
Cemetery. She passed away nearly 3 years ago. I read her birth date and date of
death carved in her headstone: May 21, 1935-July 19, 2015. Her earthly life. As I stood there I found myself thankful
again for her life and thankful to God for her heavenly life. Yes, her heavenly life. Made possible by the
death and resurrection of Jesus.
Well, this morning I want to take you on a walk with
me to the baptismal font. The can be the
“Great Remembering” greatest reminder we as Christians will ever need. This is why we have the font here in the
aisle for you to see when you enter the sanctuary. Walk to the baptismal font: For us, it all started on the day we were
baptized in Christ. On the day we were
baptized, we were washed with the water and the Word. On that day, the Holy Spirit was poured into
our lives. On that day we were welcomed into the body of Christ, the church. On
that day we were baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. We received the forgiveness of sins,
protection from the Devil and the promise of everlasting life.
Baptisms are such a great source of joy for me and for
our congregation. Sign of life, love, promise, and, most importantly, the
beginning of a baptismal journey in Christ.
A journey filled with grace and forgiveness. An Easter journey that
includes those times of forgetting….and those times of remembering. And at our life’s end, the baptismal journey
on this earth ends and the heavenly journey begins.
What will remind you tomorrow…and the next day, that
you are child of God? Saved from sin and death. Redeemed by our Savior.
Recipient of God’s grace?Remember you are loved. Remember God raised Jesus for
your sins. Raised Jesus to give you the promise of eternal life. AMEN!
But on the first day of the week, at
early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They
found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when
they went in, they did not find the body. While they were
perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women
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.
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.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the
eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary
Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who
told this to the apostles. But these words seemed
to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and
looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at
what had happened.
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