Sermon for April 4th (Easter)

Have you seen the sun shining outside the past few days! God created a gorgeous world for us. The flowers are blooming, with our yards full of bright yellow daffodils and deep purple crocuses! The trees and bushes are beginning to bud and the mountains all around us proclaim the greatness of God! What a life we have! You can spend you mornings on your knees in the flowerbeds or later in the evening hiking through trails at Mohawk. This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Yet, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus stayed two days longer and then leaves to go see his sick friend. However, when Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus, his friend died. He had already been in the tomb four days. Jesus came to the tomb and said, “Take away the stone.” Then, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! Can you imagine! What joy there must have been that day! How surprised and awe struck and overcome with emotion Mary and Martha must have been at seeing their brother alive after mourning his death for four days! Then, can you imagine, their sadness, when Lazarus died again. Maybe weeks, or months or years later. To have him die all over again, because Lazarus was only human and, like the rest of us, he would have had to of died . . . again! Can you imagine what heartbreak they must have felt at that second death? Even though he had been raised from the dead already once! The apostle Paul says, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

What if, because you were a Christian, you were blessed with all these things: divine health, a favorable reputation, great moral character, a healthy family, a loving marriage, and a long meaningful life? Wouldn’t that be a great reason to be a Christian? When you do business with someone, does it make a difference to you if they are a Christian? In some towns, it stills matter that you belong to a church in order to make contacts and gain people’s respect and trust. To some people it will. Do you believe that you are healthier because of your faith in God? Many people find meaning in their life by becoming more religious and faithful. Parents often bring their children to Sunday School because the church teaches the right values. What if, because you were a Christian, you were blessed with all these things: divine health, a favorable reputation, great moral character, a healthy family, a loving marriage, and a long meaningful life? Wouldn’t that be a great reason to be a Christian? The apostle Paul says no, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Jesus said that he came so that we might have life and have it abundantly, but not that we might simply have a good life here on Earth. Paul says, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Jesus was a great teacher, a great preacher, a great healer, a prophet of justice, and a wonderful worker on the behalf of the oppressed and afflicted, but . . . if that is all he was then we are pitiful for following him. We would be wrong for worshipping him. Jesus was many things, but he was first and foremost your Savior. Not simply to help you escape from the troubles of this life, but so that you might have eternal life.

The Easter holiday has become focused on many other things that are not ultimately most important. It often focuses only on THIS life. It is about celebrating the Springtime after the long nights of winter. It is about getting together with family for good food, conversation and building relationships. It is about spreading happiness with flowers and candy and fun Easter games. Maybe it is even a time for us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ but even if THAT is all we are celebrating we are most to be pitied. “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.” Do you understand what that means for you! It means that on Easter is not only about this life, or that one event in history where Jesus rose from the dead. . . Easter is about the promise of YOUR resurrection. Not your escape from this life, but a new life for you after your death.

Christ is not the only one who’s resurrection we are celebrating today. We are celebrating the promise of YOUR resurrection. He is not the only apple on the tree—he is only the first fruits—God expects more apples! Good fruit! For as Paul says, “Since death came through a human being, the resurrection has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ . . . If for Jesus’ new life only we have hoped in Christ, we would all be people that should be pitied.” Being a Christian is not only about having a good life or living a good life. Being a Christian is not only about following some wonderful leader who is a great example for us. Being a Christian is not only about believing that some great man died and was raised from the dead! If that was all, this whole Christian thing would be pitiful.

But I do not pity a single one of you because Jesus has promised you eternal life. I do not pity a single one of you because your wonderful life, this beautiful world, this joyful time is NOT all that you will experience. Because Jesus died and was raised from the dead, when you die, God will raise you from the dead. I do not pity a single one of you because not only do you have a God who gives life abundantly, not only do you have a God who did the unimaginable and raised Jesus from the dead, but you have a God who did it all FOR YOU.

Today is Easter Day! So celebrate the day! Celebrate the resurrection! But it would be a pity to stop there . . . celebrate the fact that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead so that you might live with Him forever. Amen.