Readings 1
Corinthians 15: 19-26 John 20: 1-18
The first Easter was an incredible day.
Jesus would prove that death is not the end. That in death we actually enter a new womb, a
womb of new birth where all physical, and emotional pain and suffering come to
its end. For Mary Madeline and the two
disciples it started out with disbelief, fear, and bewilderment, as we heard in
the reading this morning. Just before
arriving at the tomb, they had returned to the upper room, in fear for their
lives. I find something very peculiar about the first account of discovering
the empty tomb? Despite all Mother
Mary, Mary Magdalene and the disciples had seen Jesus do, from healing the sick,
raising the dead, to calming the stormy seas, and despite all that he had said
about His death and resurrection, after
the cross was raised, no one really took him seriously or held on to any hope. After he was laid in the grave, they never
expected to see Jesus again. Let us
remember that these were people who were with him 24 hrs. a day for much of his
3 year journey to the cross. Truly I believe, they though it is
finished.
You would have thought that one of them would have been curious and
brave enough to go and watch near the tomb, to see if his words would come
true. In fact, as I studied the
scriptures, I began to wonder if they
took in anything, He had said to them.
When Jesus died their hopes seemed to have died too, their convictions
grew dim, and indeed their faith seemed all but lost as they huddled in the
upper room where they had just celebrated the Passover, hiding in fear that the
authorities would treat them just as they had treated Jesus. Did you notice that the resurrection is first
discovered by a women, not by Peter, the rock who would later formed the
church? This women did not go the tomb
to see if the Lord has risen, but rather she went with the hope of helping Jesus’
Mother clean and wash the body for proper burial. Nicodemus and Joseph if you remember only
placed the body in this tomb temporarily.
In the end, no one believed him nor his words even though they had seen
his miracles and felt the touch of his wondrous compassion and love for all
peoples.
But for us, we know the “the rest of the story”, the part they didn’t. It wasn’t finished, nor was He and some of us have encountered the risen Christ for
ourselves. We know what Jesus has
accomplished for all who have or will believe in Him. All who have accepted his offer of
unconditional forgiveness, love and acceptance, have experienced God’s Amazing Grace
in action. Jesus seals this love offering with his
physical death, manifested in our lives through those who believe in the resurrection.
Here is where we need to pay close attention Folks, for we should never lose
our hope in the promises of God. We need
to hold onto our trust in Jesus, our trust in God. The convenient that was sealed on Good Friday
is real for all who will believe.
Yet, are we much different today because we know the whole story? Doubt fills many who still do not understand
Jesus’ mission. We know what Jesus
accomplished for the world and we know why He die, right!!! OR DO WE?
Some of you don’t look
convinced. Where then are our Hallelujah’s today? Or is it still incomprehensible for most of
us, to accept this extraordinary love offering God brings to completion through
the physical death of Jesus. Because that is what Good Friday and Easter
Sunday are really all about FOLKS! It’s all about how much Jesus loves you and
me. Is it still too difficult to
believe that we do not have to accomplish anything to receive this love? That even the most evil deeds of my human
nature can’t destroy the power of Jesus’ love for me and that Jesus’ love for
me has no conditions. It was always
there, but it is now made visible, sealed with this extraordinary extravagant
love act of unconditional forgiveness offered to us through the cross.
Some people still say to me “But
just a minute Sim!” There must be
something I’m missing for I truly don’t completely feel this love for me. I believe in it, but I just don’t feel
it. What am I missing? I’m sure there must be something, because it
still eludes me. I believe in His love
but I
still don’t feel this love. I don’t
understand this love. This is a reality for many of us, but there is still hope folks.
There are many of us who can honestly say they do not feel or understand
this loved, “There are many of us who do not feel worthy no matter how much we
accomplish, no matter how much compassion we show others or how hard we try to
follow the straight a narrow path. Many
today still do not fully understand the cross, and His covenant, of unconditional
forgiveness, “Father forgive them for them for they really do not know what
they are doing”. Folks many of us do not
understand what we say or do at times but understanding is not a condition, you
do not have to understand. Those words
from the cross "when accepted in faith" can take the lease off our bondage to wrong doing. They are words that were meant for you
personally. Jesus isn’t holding
anything back from anyone, his love and forgiveness are truly unconditional, no
strings attached and He waits, no, He longs
for you to just accept it.
May I suggest that when we place conditions upon the love we want to
share with others, the condition becomes the lease? Jesus’ Love will never fail you, but love
with conditions becomes love in chains and makes us feel unworthy, and
unlovable to others. Jesus offers that
same love to anyone of us who will accept it and it will literally change your life forever! Jesus destroyed the “if” in love with Easter
and because we are an Easter People we need to learn to remove the “if” we
placed on the love we share with our Lord, with our families, and with each
other. When you are able to touch and
taste this love in your life if only for a moment, you will have lived in Him
and He will have lived in you and you will know that you are loved. This is the love that we all long to
experience and it is the love that builds relationships, binds families and
strengthens community. A love freely
given, you do not have to be worthy, nor do you have to understand. God loves us because we are
His. ISN'T THAT INCREDIBLE!!
"Outrageous Love"
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