April 20, 2025 Easter Sunday
Readings: John 20:1-18, 1st Corinthians 15:19-26
“Resurrection Matters”
The normal focus for Pasters to go with the on the Easter Morning story as the Easter message and congregations expect to be the sermon is how things developed that faithful morning. But you know, faithfulness has very little to do with things that morning. We hear the story of the women finding the tomb empty. Then there is encounter Mary has with Jesus, next is the one Disciple out running the other, followed by Peter who went in the tomb, the other Disciple simply believed. But it says they did not understand Scripture stating He must rise from the dead. Not one of them understood that most important ingredient. Yet you all know those stories, they’re engrained in your mind. But are they truly written in your heart? Do we understand that Resurrection Matters? If you understand it at all, then how important is Easter to you? Years ago, we heard this life matters and that life matters, as Christians all lives matter. How important does resurrection life matter? We all want to be resurrected, yet we fall short on understanding that the resurrection matters.
By how things progressed this week, I don’t think you quite got where I’m going yet! For Christians, what is the most important Christian celebration? Which is the most important holiday for you? Let’s look at them and since Advent starts the Christian Calendar, is Christmas the most important Celebration? Christmas season dates back into the 12th century. It comes from Old English time of Christ’s mass. However, the Christmas season is also celebrated around the Pagan Holiday of the Winter solstice. Followers of Jesus would use Christ’s Mass instead of participating in Pagen rituals, because they run the risk of punishment for not being involved the Solstice.
I’m going to pick on a few of you with that thought in mind, so please bear with me because I’m not meaning it personal. It must be Christmas because those that only come on Christmas and Easter are called Christers! Why not Eastmas people? We are to look to the east for the return of Christ. We do have a song titled Easter People. Did Christmas bring to the people on earth Salvation? No but it did bring tidings of Great Joy! It lasts 4 weeks. It is full of parties during those 28 days. Without the birth of Jesus, resurrection would not have mattered.
Ok, what about Epiphany? Jesus appeared to the world and started His journey toward death and the resurrection. So, no. We’ll skip over Easter and Lent for right now and go to Pentecost. That day brought us the Holy Spirit. So again no, because Jesus had to ascend into Heaven for that to happen. Jesus had to leave earth so that the Comforter would be able to come to us. It was a byproduct or a matter of the Resurrection. Nor did it bring salvation or eternal life to us. Although it filled them with the Holy Spirit, and some believe you’ve not saved until you received the Holy Spirit. We briefly touch on or even talk about the Trinity Sunday, then move straight to ordinary time for us ordinary people.
Now let’s look at Easter. Lent is 40 days in length and over a period of 6 weeks. Sometimes it does start with this one party that is celebrated nationally and has something to do with these two teams that get on some type of gridiron while the watchers have lots of food and merriment. As Christians we do start lent with a party of eating lots of pancakes. After that, there are very few, if there are any, parties. Besides, it’s a time of sacrifice and suffering. We do have Easter Egg hunts, and some rabbit delivers candy, much to a parent’s regret, because the children are all hyped up from the sugar rush. Everything that happened in Jesus’ life was leading Him on the journey to His crucifixion. His Crucifixion was not the most important thing about Easter or His life. He did have to die so He could take our sins to the cross so that our sins could also be put to death. Death is the penalty for sin. But He had to die, go to the grave where all who had died before so that He could be resurrected from the dead and free those who were dead to heaven and those would be dead to heaven. It was the Resurrection that mattered. His body rose again after death, after the penalty was paid. We do not like to think about death. It reminds us of our own mortality. But that is just it, Easter and the resurrection of Jesus gives us our immortality. Easter is not as well attended as it used to be. Christmas Eve has more attendance here than Easter Morning. There is no real reason that we can put our fingers on and instantly correct it.
Here is something to help you understand the importance of Easter. We as Christians come to church on Sundays. Why do you think that is? Jesus arose on Easter Sunday, and we celebrate each subsequent Sunday as a mini-Easter. We celebrate the Risen, Resurrected Jesus as our savior, redeemer our Lord, our intercessor. Why shouldn’t Easter have more relevance to us? Holy Week and the days before Easter Morning guide us to understand what it took to receive the gift of Salvation and God’s Grace to a sinful people. It is about the Resurrection and how much it matters!
Chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians is one of the more important chapters of the New Testament. Paul tells us of the importance or the resurrection. He also tells us and the church of Corinth of its significance to anything else in the world and how Jesus then appeared to the Disciple after His resurrection. If Jesus had not been resurrected, then our faith is worthless and in vain. Paul professes that Jesus did arise and defeated death. With this Paul says that Adam brought death to the world by his disobedience and Jesus brought back life eternal by His death and resurrection. Paul continues that the resurrection cannot be removed, whitewashed or minimized and any shape or form. It is the very essence of our faith and belief. If we take any of that to the resurrection story, it reduces the Son of God, the Son of Man to just a good man that was killed by some bad people or just plain bad decisions. Before Jesus resurrection, death and Satan had an iron grip on all of humanity after our death. Paul states that this is not just stories of people, but he has had contact with people who truly witnessed it. Through Jesus dying on the cross and then walking out of the tomb through the resurrection the last enemy we have, death, is defeated by God. Imagine being one of the five hundred people who witnessed the risen Jesus if you can!
With the victory over death, we have eternal life that is promised to us. We have the assurance that everything is going to be alright when this mortal life is through. We do not have to think of this as painting our world with rose-colored glasses with all that is wrong in the world. There is not false hope, but true, earnest and genuine Hope promised by God with the resurrection of Jesus. However, we must approach this gift with the view of God’s Kingdom coming down to earth with an understanding of loving our neighbors, even if they appear to be an enemy. That is what Jesus lived. That is what he took to the grave but rose again defeating death and bring back to the world eternal love. The simple answer to this morning’s question is remember the Sabbath. This Easter, know that the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, assures our eternal resurrection in the name of Jesus the Christ you are forgiven.
