Sermon for March 23rd (Easter)

What is an obstacle to your faith? At the entrance to Jesus’ tomb, soldiers sealed the place where Jesus was buried with a rock, a large stone. That stone is not put there to keep Jesus in, but to keep people out. The soldiers were not worried about Jesus escaping. He was dead. They just didn’t want anybody stealing his dead body and making up some fantastic story. The stone was an obstacle for others, not for Jesus.

This is clear from the story you heard today. The story speaks of an angel that arrives, scares the guards around Jesus’ tomb and rolls away the stone in front of it. Then, when Jesus’ followers arrive at the tomb, the angel says, “COME AND SEE!” The stone is moved so that people can go in and see that Jesus is already raised from the dead. The stone is not an obstacle to Jesus, but an obstacle for us. We can’t see the hope of Easter morning with that big stone standing in the way.

What is an obstacle to your faith? When my family was driving across Pennsylvania, on our way to Cornwall, I remember seeing signs that said, “Watch for Falling Rocks!” I always think to myself, well, if a huge rock falls right in my path in front of the car, what could I really do? Depending on how big of an obstacle it is, I might just have to watch that falling rock smack right into my car. What could I do in the face of such an obstacle?

What is an obstacle to your faith? It may be very generic or perhaps very personal. Right now, many people in our country are wondering how they are going to pay their monthly oil bill, feed their families and pay off their home mortgages. Who has the time to trust in God when you have to work extra jobs and extra hours just to keep things afloat? If you gave some of your hard earned dollars to a charity or to a church, how would you pay your bills the very next month?

Money is a big obstacle to faith, but it has very little to do with whether you are rich or poor/ hard working or lazy. This issue is not about where you place your money, in a mutual fund, an offering plate, or in a slot machine. This issue is about where you place your trust. You start looking to money as the answer to all of your problems and trusting in your wealth to make you happy. This is true whether you have a little or a lot. So, for those of you who have allowed your pocketbooks to sit on God’s throne, I forgive your idolatry in the name of Jesus Christ your Savior.

Jesus has made you a promise, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” No amount of money you give to your bank, to your friends or to your church will make one bit of difference for your salvation. You have been given the gift of eternal life free of charge. There is nothing left for you to do.

There are some obstacles that you cannot move. No matter how much you’d like to. When there is an obstacle to your faith, God must get involved. Martin Luther said it this way, “I believe that I cannot believe.” He wrote this in the Small Catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel.”

What is an obstacle to your faith? For many people, it is the church and what it symbolizes in society. Maybe you are frustrated with how little churches and denominations do to get involved socially and politically. You want your church to stand up to oppression and “let justice roll down like waters” as the prophet Amos writes. Or, perhaps you are frustrated with how much churches and denominations are getting involved both socially and politically. You want your church to focus on teaching and preaching the faith, “to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” as Jesus declares, “so that all these other things will be given to you as well.”

It’s understandable, in this world broken by sin and death, to expect better from your church and Christians in general. You start wishing that your church would be the symbol of what you wish you could be. To be a utopia where everybody is always getting better. For those of you who find the church itself to be an obstacle to your faith, I forgive you in the name of Jesus Christ. You are forgiven for your desire to be in a pure church where there are no sinners.

Jesus has a promise for you as well, “God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” What does this mean? Every church is full of sinners who actively sin against God and against one another. That is why you are welcome here. All of you. So what makes a church different than any other place? It is a place where God publicly forgives his enemies, teaches his laws to serve society and makes you a new creation. This means that a church has much less to do with a building or even other people and much more to do with hearing God’s words and God’s promises. God promises to use your hands and feet to get your neighbors loved and to give faith in Jesus Christ.

We might think that it is so easy to get faith sometimes. We just say, “Well, what are the problems in my life? Once I get them out of the way, everything will be hunky dory!” I don’t think that there is an “Idiots guide to believing in Jesus” or a “Faith for Dummies” book, yet. But if you are anything like me, self-improvement doesn’t usually help. My best efforts don’t usually make much of a difference when it comes to faith.

What is an obstacle to your faith? Maybe it’s just that faith seems too complicated to believe. It was easier when you were four and you just knew that Jesus loved you no matter what. Maybe you hate theology. Maybe you can’t stand Bible studies and sermons. Or perhaps you read some book or met someone that challenged your faith to its core. And now you can’t be sure that you could ever believe anything at all.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I forgive you for your doubt and despair. Jesus has a promise for you as well, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” If you can’t believe, then let Jesus believe for you. It’s not about what you know, but who knows you. Jesus knows you and has chosen you as his precious child. Even if you don’t understand why or how.

Obstacles to your faith are not going to keep God from searching you out and finding you. God sends people into your life to roll away the stones so that you can believe in Jesus Christ and his promises for you. Again and again. They might your mother or father who took you to confirmation even though it was the most boring time of your life. Or your children who get you out of bed so that they can go to Sunday school and see their friends.

What is an obstacle your faith? Come and see what God has done. The stone has been rolled away for you to see inside Jesus’ tomb. Come and see what God has done for you. Jesus is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! God has killed death. God has defeated the Devil. And God has forgiven your sins once and for all. And since Jesus is alive, God has moved the stone away from your tomb so you can come and see and taste and hear your hope of eternal life.