Easter Sermon

Easter – John 20

April 24^th, 2011

Rev. Micah R. Gaunt

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

1.                  How needlessly Mary Magdalene cries. The signs are all around her. She stands before an empty tomb and, Jesus is standing right there with her. But Mary can’t see Him. She sees her sorrow. She sees what has taken place heretofore:  Out of nowhere Jesus is seized by the soldiers, pushed through a kangaroo court, and mercilessly tortured to death. She sees these things, and so she thinks the man she is talking to has taken Jesus body. She can’t see Jesus. He’s there. He talks to her. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking.” It’s just that Jesus was hidden from her. But then Jesus speaks her name. The darkness is gone. The depression evaporated. Mary sees the Jesus who had been with her the whole time.

2.                  Today is Easter. Today Christ has risen. There is no place for sorrow. No place for regret. Life lives and death dies. All who follow Jesus reign with Him. None of God’s children are poor. Not one of us is lacking anything. No one is stuck with getting by.

3.                  Is this real? Isn’t this just so much pretty talk? We can’t see it. We see the cost of living go up. We see days where we’re just trying to get through. We see temptations we’ve fallen to even though we vowed, “Never again.” We see cancer. WE see aching joints and muscles. Where is this Easter new life God promises? I don’t see it.

4.                  Of course you don’t see it. Look it up: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). When Christ who rose from the dead this Easter morn is revealed, so will your Easter life be revealed. But that doesn’t make your new life any less real or active. The signs are all around. It’s just that only faith can see what the signs point to. God reveals to faith what is hidden to sinful flesh.

5.                  Today we hear of three characters: Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the other disciple John. All three see the same signs: an empty tomb, burial cloths where Christ had once lain, the face cloth folded neatly and placed by itself. These are not the signs of a hasty escape with a dead body. John sees these things, and rather than despair, he is the first to believe. By faith he saw what was up to this point hidden: Jesus had risen from the dead.

6.                  This is the way the reign of God works. God completely bankrupted heaven when Christ, for us and our salvation came down from heaven. If you like you can poke your head up there, but the stuff you’re looking for is all down here among us. Christ has come to establish his heavenly reign here on earth. Ergo, wherever Christ was present doing His work, that’s where all of heaven was invested. That was all the power and wisdom of heaven at work. But the devil, the world , and sinful flesh couldn’t see it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. It made no sense because Christ’s reign was hidden in weakness, suffering, and even death. But there it was – the glory of God at work. And faith alone sees it.

7.                  Now Jesus is still at it. What Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection, He is accomplishing in the details of your life, amidst the good the good the bad and the ugly. Your life has been hidden with Christ by baptism, so that His death became your death, and His life is your life. Now all of the power and wisdom and resources are invested and at work on your behalf. St. Paul says in Ephesians 2, God has “raised us up with Jesus and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ. Heaven isn’t so much about a place. It’s about where you are in relationship to God. Heaven is restored to you because you have been restored to God. God is close at hand, establishing His heavenly kingdom among you.

8.                  The signs are all around. The signs aren’t earthly wealth or prestige or earthly knowledge. Those are the things the world and our flesh can see. The signs are that you hear God’s word, and also that it changes the way you think about things. God is teaching you to be co-heirs and co-royalty with Christ. God is teaching you what He is doing and why. You know what the plan is. Already you’ve begun to rule because God hears your prayers. When you pray in Jesus name you interact with the will of God and counsel how to implement His policy in your life and the lives of those around you. God takes your thoughts into account, and the lives of people are benefit. The signs of God’s heavenly reign among you are all around for you to discover, for He makes all the details of your life work for your good; to strengthen your faith, build your hope, and give you peace despite your circumstances. And all of this because the crucified Christ rose from the dead.

9.                  Your life is hidden with Christ. Because He lives you live. Because He rose from the dead, the grave is already emptied of its dead. Because he reigns you are kings and queens. One day Christ will call your name. The darkness of sin will be gone. All sorrows will evaporate. You will see gifts that defy your imagination in quantities that can’t be counted. Perhaps one of the greatest surprises will be that in the midst of such glory you will see what has been all along. And you will be where you’ve always been – with Jesus. In + Jesus Name.

Is Easter A Pagan Holiday?

Perhaps you've heard some say Easter is a pagan holiday. Here is an article that debunks the myth.

HT: Cranach

Notes on the Easter Gospel

Mary Magdalene and Peter and John do not find Christ's empty tomb as you would if someone stoll the body. The cloths are neatly folded.

It should strike us that Mary does not recognize Jesus. This is the way it goes at the end of Luke on the road to Emmaus. The disciples don't recognize Jesus. It is only when Christ says Mary's name and when He breaks bread with the disciples that they recognize Him. This shows to us that Christ desires to be seen in His word and sacraments.

When Jesus tells Mary to stop clinging to Him, He is not being rough. Mary wants to hang on to Jesus there with her. However, Jesus has something better in mind. "Mary go tell my brothers I'm ascending to my Father and your Father. My God and your God." When Jesus tells her of His ascension, He is not saying that He is going away. Instead, He is working in such a way where all people are brought to the Father and are with Jesus forever. When Jesus does something, it's always to improve the status of things, never to take away or lessen the good things that God gives.

The fact that the first witness is a woman is another detail that reflects validity of Christ's resurrection. If this was a made up story, Jesus would not have told a woman to tell the disciples. At this period in time a woman's testimony wasn't valid. Hence the disciples are dubious about the news. The fact that the first witness is a woman also shows that Christ has no use for the notion of superiority between the sexes.

Midweek April 20th

Remember Midweek Picnic on the 4th!

3rd and 4th grade
Bible Story: The Call of Samuel (1 Samuel 2: 11-3:21)
Memory: The section on baptism (especially "What is Baptism?")
Application: How does God speak to us today?

5th and 6th grade
Bible Story: Ruthe - A Moabite Woman Becomes an Ancestor of Jesus
Memory: The Sacrament of the Altar "Where Is This Written?"
Applicaton: Talk about unlikely ways God has provided for your family

7th and 8th grade
Walked throug confirmation and began to talk about the Divine Service.
Application: What does it mean to follow Jesus? How is the Divine Service integral to discipleship?

Palm Sunday Sermon

Palm Sunday Matthew 27

April 17, 2011

Rev. Micah R. Gaunt

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit

            The poet William Butler Yeats once wrote of human kind, “the best lack all conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Yeats was not a Christian and he sees that much. We are embarking into the holiest of weeks – hallowed ground. Do we dare follow Jesus riding on His donkey into Jerusalem? If so we might as well acknowledge what a pagan can see. We are called Christians, followers of Christ and yet we are more concerned with the honor of the Huskers or the Bluejays/Bulldogs than the honor of God. We are more bothered by a bad call from a referee than when God’s name is profaned. Grumbling and complaints come so much more easily to us than prayer. We readily meditate on how someone offended us. We know all the angles for why he’s wrong, and what we’d like to say or do about it. Yet meditating upon God’s word doesn’t come easily at first so we give up. We are more concerned with the respect of our neighbors than with their salvation. We are concerned with so much. So many things occupy us, and take our attention. Yet the issue is really this simple: Life or death; heaven or hell; the word of God or the word of the devil and the world; faith or unbelief.

            And so, is there anyone who does right? Anyone who is not acting out of self-interest? Anyone who is zealous for good? That would be someone worth getting to know. Our time would be well invested thinking about that person.

            Who is this man that stands before Pontius Pilate? He keeps silent while lies and evil accusations are hurled at him. Why? Because He is saving His words for you. He is so intent on speaking in your defense. He is not concerned with His good name. He is concerned with your good name. Jesus gives Pilate nothing to work with. Barely says a word, because He is not there to answer to Pilate. He is there to answer to God the Father on your behalf. This is God’s will and so it is Christ’s will: that every mocking He endures be honor for you. Every time He is spit upon means a kiss from God for you. The anointed one of God is stripped that you might be clothed with royal robes of righteousness. His flesh is torn out from His body so that your flesh will be restored. Lips dry and cracked, tongue stuck to his mouth, Jesus thirsted, that you might drink freely of the cool, clear river of God. Christ overcomes the temptation of Satan to climb down from the cross, so that Satan can never have you. Christ endures hell on the cross that you might enjoy paradise. He is forsaken by His Father, that God might embrace you, and you gaze into His face. Jesus, the Christ, is killed so that you will live.

            The best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity? Hardly. There is none more good, and none more zealous than Jesus. Behold His Passion. This week let go of all worry. Abandon all fear. Forsake all anger. Renounce all resentment that you may be consumed by Christ’s passion. Even if you had good reasons for worry, fear, or bitterness, abandon them so that you might bask in the light Christ. Lay them down so that you might rest knowing God loves you with a perfect love that is free and pure. When you falter, if you be weak, have no fear. Christ died that you might live. Let the word of the cross give you life. In + Jesus name.

Notes for Sunday's Gospel

Part of my intention for this blog is to post notes on the text I'm studying for an upcoming sermon. Today I'll let Rev. Jonathan Fisk do the work for me in his video blog.

http://www.worldvieweverlasting.com/

This video is good for getting at Matthew 27. But since I'm introducing this guy, I highly recommend the following videos as well:

This one because Fisk so nicely teaches the comfort of the gospel.

This one because it shows how Lutherans do theology and understand Scripture.

This one because it shows why we should all be reading our church's confessions.

Rev. Fisk has a certain style that might take some getting used to. However, if you browse around you'll see that he does a nice job of dealing with a whole host of issues people have questions about.

Holy Week Readings

The days of Holy Week are observed with each account of the Lord's Passion.

Sunday: Matthew 26:1-27:66
Monday: John 12:1-36
Tuesday: Mark 14:1-15:47
Wednesday: Luke 22:1-23:56
Friday: John 18:1-19:42

These readings will be featured in the various worship services each day of the week. If you cannot make the services, consider reading the assigned gospel each day with your family. Then talk about what seems to distinguish each account. For example, "What is featured in Matthew's account that is not in the others?" "What is common to all?" "What is the picture of Jesus in each account?" etc.

Reminder

A brief questioning service is scheduled for this year's confirmands after the 8:30 service at Bethlehem. All are invited and encouraged to come.