Opening the Door to Hope: Easter Sunday, Matthew 28:1-10, 4/20/14

Sermon Easter Sunday 4-20-14 Mt 28:1-10

 

28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” ⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 

Easter Sunday….what should we talk about?

The resurrection of Jesus

It is talked about so much, do we even recognize the significance?

 

Legend of the Touchstone

According to that ancient legend of the touchstone, if you could find the touchstone on the coast of the Black Sea and hold it in your hand, everything you touched would turn to gold. You could recognize the touchstone by its warmth. The other stones would feel cold, but when you picked up the touchstone, it would turn warm in your hand.

Once a man sold everything he had and went to the coast of the Black Sea in search of the touchstone. He began immediately to walk along the shoreline picking up one stone after another in his diligent and intentional search for the touchstone. However, after several days had passed, he suddenly realized that he was picking up the same stones again and again. So he devised a plan... pick up a stone; if it's cold, throw it into the sea. This he did for weeks and weeks.

Then one morning he went out to continue his search for the touchstone. He picked up a stone; it was cold... he threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone - cold! He threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone... it turned warm in his hand, and before he realized what he was doing... he threw it into the sea!

this can so easily happen to us. We can come upon a miraculous moment like Easter... we can feel it turn warm in our hands... but then (so dulled by the routine) before we realize what we are doing... we throw it away. Absentmindedly, mechanically, nonchalantly... we toss it aside and miss the miracle of Easter.

 

Easter should never be approached, mechanically or routinely.

Easter is a miracle.

 

Easter is about power

Power to live this life in a way that matters and

Power over death

 

All of us have power in this life

I’m not the boss, I have no power.

You have power over many things.

How you spend your free time, how you spend your money, how you speak to people, how you drive, who you love, who you forgive, who you don’t. 

We all have power.

 

Jesus message is verified by his resurrection

And it provides us with a chance to live a life of meaning

Had he not risen, everyone could say, oh, he was a nice guy

By rising from the grave, Jesus declares what message will be told

History belongs to the victors..  To the victor goes the spoils.

Those who win the war, write the story

The message of selfishness&hate has been beaten by the message of love

Humans often use their power to hurt others

When we hurt others, we only hurt ourselves

When we hurt others, we never quite get it right

I am stuck on the irony of The white supremacist who visited the Jewish community center and killed 2 Methodists

          Reat underwood and his grandpa William corporon

Rhets mother, mindy corporon…..refused to let hate have the last word

Normally a quiet person, she decided to meet the press.  To tell her story

The story of hate cannot be the dominant story

There is a story of love, of faith

 

Jesus’ Power is expressed in love

Every time we express love we are walking in the path of Jesus

1 jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. KJV

 

The story of some friends in mark 2 who would not have someone be left out

Ken woodruff and his group went to great lengths to reach a distant friend

It is a picture of love

God sends Jesus to the ends o f the earth to find us and restore us

It is a message of love

He uses his power to love

 

Jesus comes out and meets the women. In John 20 he meets Mary

He doesn’t say, now that I am raised, I am large and in charge

Now that I am powerful I am going to act like the Pharisees………….

Did you ever know someone who got the promotion and it changed them?

Jesus does not use his power to hurt people

He sets the culture…..

He loves them

To Mary he says……… Mary

His candor is the same after the resurrection as it was before.

No pretense – just love

God is love

And so the movement of love is victorious

It is not a movement of who is good and who is bad

It is not a movement of who is right and left or right and wrong

It is a movement of love

 

And so followers of Jesus can step out on to the stage of life w the most powerful weapon ever created………the love of god

with love as his only weapon,  Gandhi liberated India from the British empire

with love as a Guide mother Teresa overcame personal depression and gave her life to the least of these

by the power of love, martin luther king jr changed the face of America

by the power of  love Jesus saved the world

Finish this sentence for yourself………

By the power of love, I _______ [did what?]

Friend you have power to create culture.  To create an atmosphere in your family

 

Finally, Easter means power over death

The grave is not the last chapter of the story for we humans

There is hope

on may 23^rd 1939, a navy submarine the uss squalis had a mechanical problem and sank to the  bottom - 243 feet.. It seemed that all was lost. There was no electricity and the oxygen was quickly running out. In one last attempt to rescue the sailors from the steel coffin, the U.S. Navy sent a ship equipped with Navy divers to the spot on the surface, directly above the wounded submarine. in command was  Lieutenant Commander Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, using the new McCann Rescue Chamber. When the sailors trapped in the sub heard the diving bell land,. In the darkness they tapped in Morse code, "Is there any hope?"

The diver on the outside, recognizing the message, signaled by tapping on the exterior of the sub, "Yes, there is hope."
The kids in the south Korean ferry

 

Some of you walked in the door today hoping to find hope.

Some of u have lost a loved one in the past and you miss them on holidays

Some of you have lost a loved one recently

Some of you have been diagnosed with something dreadful

This is not the last chapter of the story

There is a resurrection. 

 

its easter- conclusion? Yes its easter

we all dress up and everything looks good on the outside

shoes, dresses.  food.  family. 

Is that all there is?

 

For some it is enough.  Life is joyful and carefree. If so, im happy for you

But many need more because there are real concerns in this world.

 

Flight 370 is still missing

Russia - Ukraine

We humans still deal with fear, worry, financial concerns and illness

 

Easter is a story of power- of victorious power

What ever is going on in this world, God is bigger

he is the ruler over nations

 

what is going on in your life

God is big enough to handle it --he reigns

 you can cast your cares on him/ you can trust him

you can rely on him

we will still suffer in this life /but we are not alone

 

whatever is going on in your life, this is a great day because we all wake up to hope.

the brokenness of this life is not the final story
He is risen. 

In this life and in the next,

We have hope