March 23 – Easter – New Life in
Christ
John, chapter 20 and Colossians 3:1-4
Colossians 3:1-4 - The New Life in Christ – Easter
Second Lesson
Translation: New Revised Standard Version
So if you
have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not
on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be
revealed with him in glory.
Same
passage, but from a different, contemporary translation: “The Message”
So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with
Christ, act like it. Pursue the
things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground,
absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what
is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his
perspective.
Your old life is dead.
Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is
with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember)
shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious
you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
While it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the
entrance... John
20:1
Mary is literally in the dark. Her first thought is someone stole the
body. She rushes back to get Peter and
John.
They race to the tomb, look inside, and find it
empty; the linen burial clothes neatly folded up.
Peter is confused; John comments that he believed -
but believed what? They still did not
understand the scripture, that Jesus had to rise from
the dead. John 20:9
So Peter and John head back to breakfast. The stealing of Jesus’ body is simply the
final indignity.
If you have trouble believing it all, you’re in
good company with Peter, John and Mary Magdalene.
But Mary stayed, weeping and stooped to look into
the tomb. She is given a brief vision of
angels, but their words do not console her.
She turns around, sees someone standing there, someone she doesn’t
recognize.
Seeing is not yet believing. Even when the risen Christ first speaks to
her, she does not know him. Revelation,
even when it comes through hearing, is hardly ever self-evident or
immediate. She thinks he’s the gardener.
Then Jesus calls her by name, and at that moment
she hears, sees, understands.
She replies “Teacher” - perhaps a term of
endearment - and gives him a big hug.
Jesus says, “Do not hold on to
me.” John 20:17
The Risen Christ is on the move, restlessly eluding
our grasp. He is not to be held, even by
those who love him.
Jesus is risen and on the move - and he gets Mary
up and moving to.
Go instead to my brothers and tell
them...
So she went to the disciples with the good news,
“I have seen the Lord”. John 20:18
Once the risen Christ goes forth from the tomb,
loosed from the bonds of death, He’s on the move and doesn’t stop moving –
moving into where ever His disciples are gathered.
The crowning evidence that Jesus is alive is not a
vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship of disciples – Not a rolled away
stone, but that first church on the move.
Easter is an on-going reality that continues beyond
the historical event. The resurrection
of Jesus marked the triumph of God over evil and death, but it also marked a
fundamental change in God’s relationship with his people. When Christ rose victorious, the power of God
was released in a new way. For now the
Spirit of God would be given to all of Christ’s followers.
Disciples both male and female become the new
family of God, and representatives of Christ in the world, as the risen Christ
told his first followers later on Easter Sunday: As the Father has sent me,
so I send you. John 20:21
The risen Jesus sends us into the world to be his
hands and feet, his voice serving people where ever we are.
Christ’s victory is both a past event and a present
reality. His resurrected presence - His
Spirit - is in the world and in our lives.
His resurrection is both something that happen to Him and something that
happens to us.
In our lesson, Paul says
You have been raised to new life
with Christ… Colossians
3:1
His Spirit can lift you up, set you on your feet,
and give new breath. The Spirit of
Christ can energize us afresh each day, making us alive to a new life – alive
with new life – revived and renewed.
Christ gives us a share of His Spirit that we can walk in His way – and
be our true selves.
Martin Luther wrote:
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong
bands,
For our
offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand he
stands
And
brings us life from heaven.
Christ rose and ascended, and now brings us life
from heaven.
As Paul wrote in our lesson:
Your new life, which
is your real life—even though invisible to others —is with Christ... So don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground,
absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and see things from
Christ’s perspective. Colossians 3:3,1
See things from Christ’s perspective and look up to
new potential and new possibility. Jesus
has risen and that means His Spirit and His power are available to us. His resurrection gives us a glimpse us that
divine power, and invites us to open ourselves to His Spirit.
You – your personality, your body and soul – can be
renewed, so that instead of being part of the old creation – a place of sorrow
and ultimately death, you can be a part of the
Set your minds on the things that
are above… Colossians 3:2
Have the mind-set, the attitude of Christ.
We are summoned to become more truly human, to
reflect the image of Christ into the world.
Those who belong to Jesus are called, here and now, in the power of the
Spirit, to agents of God’s healing love.
Those who follow Jesus are called to live by the rules of the Kingdom,
rather than the rules of the world.
So don't shuffle
along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look
up, and see things from Christ’s perspective.
Just as Jesus walked among the people of His day,
showing mercy and healing, treating others with respect and love, so we can
make a difference, bind up the broken hearted, lift up the fallen, and be a
blessing those around us.
Have the mind-set, the attitude of
Christ – See things from His perspective.
Colossians 3:3
That will means dying to our natural selfish
interests – saying no to self as we put the needs of others first.
Actually, most of things we are called to do are
mundane and straightforward. Sometimes
it’s only listening to someone over coffee.
If someone needs a kind word, then speak a kind word. If someone needs forgiveness, then say “I
forgive you.” Do small things with great
love.
So if you're serious
about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.
Pursue the things over
which Christ presides. Colossians 3:1
You can hide in the shadows at the back of the
church for a while, but sooner of later you have to decide whether this is for
you or not. Each of us is called to
respond to Christ’s call a personal level.
But maybe some of you have trouble believing. You’ve got your doubts, and some of those
doubts are mixed with fear. You don’t
know what tomorrow holds for you.
Or you feel you’ve failed at your past attempts to
be a faithful follower of Jesus. Someone
might even say “God has disappointed me before.”
Or even, “The situation is hopeless. He’ll never get over this addition.”
Well, here’s the good news. There is no force on earth, including the
force of our own doubts and unfaithfulness, that can
keep the risen Christ from us. The Risen
Christ is here for you. His Spirit is
among us, and His power can work in your life.
The risen Jesus came to His first disciples, and He
promises to keep coming back to us – to keep intruding among us – and keep
opening the door we don’t know how to unlock.
Even at the dark door of death, Christ promises not to forsake us, to
keep coming back for us, keep talking to us through His Word, and breathing His
spirit upon us.
For
Christians, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ unlocks the door of hope and makes everything possible. . .
On Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead -- transformed Him so that His Spirit can be
present among His followers of every time and place.
With God, all things are now
possible.
His Spirit is among us - here in this
place and God’s Spirit can raise us up
to new life - Your new life,
which is your real life, is with Christ.
New life - showing kindness,
serving humbly, living generously, doing justly, giving cheerfully and
experiencing the elevated life in Christ.
We are people of hope - By the power of
His spirit we can be healed of our hurts and pains
-- we can freed from additions and fears and loneliness
We can enjoy a future that is
better than today.
People
of hope, who know things do not have to be the way they are - we can change for the better - as
individuals, as families and as a congregation
The empty tomb is an open door - the door hope.
And
Jesus invites us, by faith, to walk through the open door of hope.
Pass through the door to new life.
-- because Jesus rose on
Easter morning, and His spirit is among us today,
all things are possible with the Lord
- His Spirit
can transform and empower us, leading us in hope
to a better future.