SPECIAL DAYS: Easter Sunday

LESSONS: Acts 10.34-43; 1 Corinthians 15.19-26; John 20.1-18

SERMON TITLE: True Confessions

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INTRODUCTION:

For an introduction I at first wanted to use a story from the magazine, "True Confessions." I remembered the name of the magazine from an earlier and less pietistic time. However, I found the stories in the issues that I discovered online totally inappropriate. But, it was the title of the magazine that gave me this idea for this year's Easter Sunday Sermon.

  1. "What a great day," [comedian] Steve Martin notes as he sits outside at a café on Manhattan's Upper West Side. "I wish I were alive." (1)
    1. He is alive
      1. He is living
      2. He is breathing, walking, talking, eating, and observing.
    2. Is it his observation that there is something else, something that is missing.
  2. When Jesus awoke on a Sunday morning he did not say, "I wish I were alive."
    1. He is also living.
    2. He is also breathing, walking, talking, eating, and observing.
    3. But his observation is so different.
    4. He is exclaiming, "THANK GOD, I AM ALIVE."
  3. When you awoke this morning were you alive?
    1. You are also breathing, walking, talking, eating, and observing.
    2. But your observation of life is it different.
    3. Can you exclaim, "THANK GOD, JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE."

MAIN BODY:

  1. If you were to be put on the witness stand to testify to the reality of the resurrection
    1. If you were sworn in with the familiar words, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?", How would you respond?

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    2. If you find it incredulous join the club.
    3. If you are doubtful, join the disciples.
    4. If you seek evidence listen to their testimony.
    5. Look at what they have to say.
    6. But then why should we listen to them?
      1. They were there.
      2. They are incredulous.
      3. They were doubtful.
      4. They were ultimately convinced of the reality that challenges all reality.
  2. So what do they have to tell us.
    1. Start with John.
      1. John 20:1-18 (NRSV)
        1. 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."
          1. What does she believe?
        2. 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.
          1. As yet they did not understand the scriptures.

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        3. 11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
        4. Mary saw and believed.
        5. This is the truth.
        6. It has to be the truth.
        7. No one in their right mind would reveal this depth of doubt and disbelief.
        8. It would only be done testify to the truth, the whole, through, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.
    2. Next listen to Peter
      1. Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV)
        1. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Peter has gone to the home of Cornelius
        2. He has some astounding news to share with the Roman
        3. 34Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all.
        4. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

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        5. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
        6. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
          1. Again why would Peter write this about himself.
          2. He was the one who three times denied that he knew Jesus or that he was one of his disciples.
          3. He is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.
    3. Finally hear the testimony of Paul.
      1. 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 (NRSV)
        1. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
        2. 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
        3. 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
        4. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
          1. Paul knows the one of whom he speaks and the events which he proclaims.
          2. He met Jesus on the road to Damascus.
          3. He is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing bu the truth so help me God.
          4. He knows the healing power of the resurrection.

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  3. It is now that we are given the insight and the faith to realize what the implications of resurrection are not only for the future, but also for the present.
    1. Because They are telling us that he is alive in our present
    2. And he, Jesus, has the power to heal.


      3. It was Holy Saturday morning, a clear, cold day. A little boy was standing in front of the old Italian tailor shop, his nose pressed against the glass. On display for Easter was a model of Jerusalem. The child was taking it all in, the wonderful reconstruction of Jerusalem, with its many buildings, narrow streets, sparkling pools and pastoral surroundings.

      A derelict, stumbling by, was caught by the child's excited attention and stopped for a moment to look on uncomprehendingly. The little boy started pointing out the different places and shared what he had learned about them in Bible class.

      There is the temple--Jesus taught there, and one day he chased out all the cheating traders.

      And there is the Pool of Siloam--Jesus cured there.

      There was a man there who had been sick for 38 years, and Jesus told him to get up--he was all better.

      The derelict reflected: It was over 38 years since he had left his home, wife and child. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could be healed of his disease of alcoholism?

      The little boy pointed to the Upper Room--this is where Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples and gave them Holy Communion.

      Jesus is still with us in the Eucharist.

      A hope flickered in the weary old heart--the Healer is still with us. Is it possible?

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      And there is the high priest's house, and there is the fortress. The boy went on to recount how Jesus was taken in the Garden, mistreated and falsely accused and given his cross to carry.

      Finally, he pointed to Calvary--and there Jesus died.

      The elderly man walked away, incredibly sad. One who could help and heal had been rejected and killed. What hope is there?

      Then he heard little steps come running up behind him. He turned and looked into a shining, excited little face:

      "Oh, mister, he rose again!" (2)

    3. Resurrection is not only for the body.
      1. The resurrection of the soul, the spirit.
      2. The resurrection of faith
      3. The resurrection of hope.
      4. The resurrection of love.
      5. The resurrection of resolution, courage, strength.
      6. The resurrection of (whatever it is that you need to be alive.).
    4. They, that is the first witnesses, are telling us that he is alive as well for our future.


      5. "Winston Churchill had planned his funeral, which took place in Saint Paul's Cathedral. He included many of the great hymns of the church, and used the eloquent Anglican liturgy. (3)

      "At his direction, a bugler, positioned high in the dome of Saint Paul's, intoned, after the benediction, the sound of "Taps," the universal signal that says the day is over.

      "But then came the most dramatic turn: As Churchill instructed, as soon as 'Taps' was finished, another bugler, placed on the other side of the great dome, played the notes of 'Reveille'

      Some of you know the words to reveille?

      'It's time to get up. It's time to get up. It's time to get up in the morning.'

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    5. It will be time to get up in the morning when the Lord himself shall descend with a shout with the archangels cry and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first and the living will join them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall ever be with the Lord.

CONCLUSION:

  1. "That was Churchill's testimony that at the end of history, the last note will not be 'Taps,' it will be 'Reveille.' The worst things are never the last things."
  2. May it also be our personal belief and testimony to our faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the resurrection.
  3. For this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.1. David Wild, "Steve Martin: The Rolling Stone, Interview," Rolling Stone, September 2, 1999, 88. Quoted in Homiletics, April 4, 1999 Scream 3, Used with permission.

    2. M. Basil Pennington, "He Rose Again" in The Manual Of Life: The New Testament for Daily Living (New York: Paulist Press, 1985), 21. Quoted in Homiletics, March 30, 1997, A Go-Ahead God, Used with permission.

    3. John Claypool in Leadership, Vol. 12, No. 1. Quoted in Homiletics, April 4, 1999 Scream 3, Used with permission.

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