As we approach Easter Sunday, we all have the great gift of life. And either at our own hand or in circumstances we did not control, we have lost some ground. And Easter is the story of how we recover.
The first Easter was a great surprise. The women did not go to the tomb to experience the resurrection. They went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. When they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and the body gone.
Luke says that they were "perplexed" about this. They did not know what to think. They had come expecting to find one thing only to find the opposite. When they found the body missing, they did not assume resurrection. They did not leap to the conclusion that Jesus was alive. They were not overjoyed. They were perplexed!
Then "two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them." Here again, the women were confused. Luke says that they were terrified! They were not ready for Easter. They were still Good Friday Christians, prepared to embalm the body but not to celebrate the resurrection.
But the men in dazzling clothes said, 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.
We are so used to the struggle of life that Easter seems like a dream. How do Easter promises relate to us, to people who know more about difficulty than deliverance? How do Easter promises raise us from where we are instead of just reminding us of where we could be. It is a mockery of the gospel if another Easter goes by and there is no resurrection hope for you.
We are going to hear words today from the apostle Paul. Paul knew the challenge of life without good vision. Paul knew the pain of hostility and repression. Paul knew the disgrace of life after murdering Steven. And Paul is trying to encourage others who believe in the Easter hope, but it has not yet changed all their condition.
If you came to church today, and you have already prayed ‘O Lord, I so wish that you had something for me today in church, that would be the miracle I need’ then you will want to hear Paul’s words, throw your heart into the prayers, and claim the promises through song as we worship together in this hour.
Easter doesn't surprise us any more! We know that Easter is coming. We see it approaching on our calendars; we plan for it. It does not surprise us. Not only do we know it is coming, we know what it means and what to expect. Last Easter blends in with the Easter before. Easter has lost its surprise!
We hide Easter eggs to make a surprise! We want to surprise our children at Easter! We want them to have fun and to celebrate! Their joy and surprise helps us to be joyful and surprised once again.
The egg, of course, is a symbol of the resurrection. An egg is a little tomb, isn't it! Not all eggs hold life inside them, but some do. When an egg holds life inside, it packages a miracle. The chick is trapped inside, just as Jesus' was trapped inside the tomb. But then, at the right time, the chick emerges from the egg, full of life and promise –– just as Jesus, at the right time, emerged from the tomb, full of life and promise. And so Christians have celebrated Easter with decorated eggs for centuries.
You need to recapture the surprise of Easter. Paul says that all of creation and you and I as well are trapped, waiting for deliverance. The news is full each week of ways in which our poor planet suffers. Humans do not have a good record on planet earth. We have used the last 100 years to explore the secrets of creation without changing the tendency to war, without changing the exploitation of nature, without changing the needs of the hungry and homeless.
You and I are struggling. How do we hold out? As I was preparing this sermon, I heard something that I found very provocative. A woman whose name is Laura said: Let us live as Easter Christians in a Good Friday world!
Isn't that good! To really appreciate Laura's remark, you need to know that she battles serious illness every day. She doesn't have an easy life. She clearly lives in a Good Friday world, but she is an Easter Christian whose Easter faith helps her to transcend the difficulties of her Good Friday life.
We spend much of our lives in a Good Friday world, don't we! Good Friday was a day of death –– of dashed hopes –– of crushed beliefs. Good Friday was a day when everything went wrong. On Good Friday, nobody said, "Thank God it's Friday." On Good Friday, nobody gave thanks for anything.
Haven't you had days like that? Haven't you had days when you felt overwhelmed? Haven't you had days when you felt as if you had been hit once too often –– that you were hanging on the ropes? Haven't you had days when you were ready to give up? Those are Good Friday days! But Laura says: Let us live as Easter Christians in a Good Friday world!
Paul tells us to expect the next miracle. Verse 28 is one of my favorites of the entire Bible. God takes the evil oppressing the life of the Christian and changes it to something good. Living as an oppressed part of creation, God does not promise to lift all your trials on Easter. You will have some struggles. But imagine your hope and strength if you knew you would win.
I played one game of football in high school. I had no idea of the rules because I grew up without television. I was scared and determined to try to do something for the team. So I picked on a 7th grader on the opposing team. And when the action started, I ran over to him and tripped him. Luck was in for me because we were right next to a muddy area and he went down in it. I felt like I had just won the lottery. I had taken out my guy. I decided to repeat it on the next play. And soon I was chasing him all over the field. He lost all interest in the game.
Now it turns out that that kind of play is illegal. But the point is that when I felt that I could win, it changed my willingness to fight. I had a mission. I was supposed to take out Dave and, by George, I did.
That is what God is saying to you about your illness, your addiction, your problem that you haven’t been able to tell anyone about – this is all going to be converted to something that is great for you if you just pray for that Easter miracle. God does not promise to remove your illness, but God promises that your unemployment will boomerang into blessing. Being a Christian means that every arrow turns into Easter. Every blow in life turns into a blessing. For you, it all works! Let us live as Easter Christians in a Good Friday world!
And you get it started with prayer. Of course Paul says that we do not how to pray as we ought. You don’t yet have enough hope to pray as you should. You are like the confused women who visited the grave. You are not yet sure how it works. You don’t see God’s grand plan for your life. And sadly, you don’t believe in yourself. You keep telling God in prayer, just help me a little.
This Easter, I hope that you are not living in a Good Friday world. I hope that your world is an Easter world –– full of joy. But life is not always like that. My prayer for you this Easter is that, whether your circumstances be good or ill, God will plant in your heart the memory of the open tomb and the hope of the open tomb –– and that he will help you to live as an Easter Christian –– full of hope –– full of promise –– and full of joy.
