April 8 Easter Sermon - Catching Resurrection Faith
Today in the gospel, we journeyed with Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
and other women to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid to rest on Friday.
We first met these same women early in Jesus’ ministry and were told
they had provided support for His work.
They were with him in Galilee, and followed Him on the journey to
These same women stood at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, while Peter and
the guys were hiding.
They witnessed Jesus’ body being laid in the tomb. Now they go to his tomb to perform a final
act of devotion.
BUT, when they reach their destination, they encounter the
unexpected: an empty tomb.
Rather than shouting “Christ is risen”,
they are simply perplexed by this unexpected development. They stood their puzzling –what did it mean?
They were women of faith; they believed in Jesus, they believed his
teaching, but at first they didn’t believe in His resurrection.
What changed their minds?
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Two men in dazzling clothes – angels – challenge them:
“Why do you search for the living among the dead?
“Don’t you
remember that he told you that He must be crucified and on the third day
rise?” Luke 24:5-7
The women are challenged to remember what Jesus told them – remember
the Lord’s words.
On several occasions on the journey, Jesus had taken aside his closest
disciples – Peter, the eleven, and these women –and told them that when he got
to
As they remembered his words, they began to believe.
It’s not that they didn’t believe before – but now they believe
something more.
Faith has both breath and depth.
Depth – how
deep into your heart and mind does it go – to the core, the center? How strong is it? That’s depth.
Breath – how
wide is your faith? How much does it
include?
The women’s faith was very deep – at the center of their lives. We can see that depth of faith expressed in
their faithfulness. They stuck with
Jesus all the way to
But even a strong faith can grow and develop. Their faith became broader. They already believed in Jesus – and in most
of his teaching – but not in His resurrection.
But at the empty tomb, that changed.
Maybe it didn’t seem possible that Jesus could rise from dead – that
they would ever see him again.
They were bringing spices to anoint his dead body.
Then they’re challenged – remember what he said – remember His word-
and take a leap of faith - simply believe His word.
An invitation:
Believe His word – believe the Word of God.
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Our faith is always developing.
Sometimes no change is apparent for a long time. Then some event challenges us. Often it’s a sudden tragedy – the loss of a
loved one – a medical diagnosis. Or
maybe just a personal set back.
The challenge comes – what will our response be?
The challenge can threaten our faith – weaken it or even cause it to
fail. After all, that’s what happened to
Peter on Thursday night when his faith failed, and he denied Jesus.
Or like those women, you can remember what the Lord told you. Remember and believe words from scripture
that begin to help us answer the challenge.
Continue to rely on the Lord.
With the His guidance and help that challenge can strengthen your
faith.
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The women had a deep faith, and on that day it became broader. Someone else went to the tomb on that first
Easter morning: Peter.
When the women told Peter and the others, Christ is risen, they didn’t respond “He is risen in deed”. The gospel reports They
did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the empty tomb – Could their report really be true?
He found it just as they said.
Then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Not believing, but full of wonder.
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The same evidence the women saw, but a different reaction.
Why?
The women remembered Jesus’ words – and realizing they were fulfilled,
became ready to believe that he had risen as he said he would. There’s no suggestion that Peter remembered
Jesus word.
Maybe he wasn’t ready to believe – to expand his faith.
We’re all different – at different points in our faith journey. And some of us respond more slowly – perhaps
that means we’re more cautious or more reflective.
The women expand the breath of their faith rather quickly – but with
Peter it takes more time.
How did it work for Peter?
Listen to what he says in our lesson.
It’s years later and Peter is looking back.
We are all witnesses… God raised Jesus on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people, but to those chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Acts 10:39-41
That sentence recalls several scenes in the gospels, when Jesus
appeared to his disciples as they gathered for a meal. We’ll read two of those accounts over the
next two Sundays.
There is a communal character to all these stories. Peter’s faith both broadened and deepened in
community with other disciples, as they experienced Christ’s presence.
Faith in the risen Lord was based on the experience of His presence and
power in the community of disciples. In
fact, it is these encounters that shape and form the community we call the
church – bring it into existence.
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Let’s go back to those women for a moment.
You might think of them as the first Women’s Bible Study group. Notice how we keep meeting them, not as
individuals, but as a group. And their
faith was strengthened and nurtured within that group as they worked for the
Lord. Just as our Women’s Bible Study
group strengthens and nurtures faith today.
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Your faith is a very personal matter, yet it can be nurtured and
developed within a community of faith.
That nurturing community should be the church, and it also can be your
family and groups or classes within the church.
Faith is contagious. We catch it
from other believers. The breath of your
faith increases as they give us new insights.
The depth of your faith grows with their support and encouragement. Seeing someone else’s faith in action will
strengthen your faith.
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In life we’re pushed and pulled by many forces. We’re pressured into decisions, sometimes
without much time for reflection.
But our decision of the moment is influenced by what we allowed our
minds to be subjected to beforehand.
If God’s word has been planted in our minds – then just when we need
it, we’ll remember what the Lord had said to us through the words of the
Bible. His teaching will come to mind
simply because it’s part of our mind-set – a regular part of our lives.
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A journalist went to a third world country where a nasty little war was
underway. He visited a town that had
been the scene of the fighting. The
small mission school had been turned into an aid station for wounded
soldiers. He saw a nun, a teaching
sister in the school, cleaning the diseased wounds of soldiers. The wounds were ugly – disgusting – and he
told her “I wouldn’t do that kind of work for a million dollars”
She replied “Neither would I”,
But even though she was trained as a teacher, she saw human need and
remembered the word of Jesus.
She wouldn’t do it for a million dollars, but she’d do it because she
remembered the master’s words.
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The community of faith helps you to ‘remember what he told you’
- and the risen Christ invites you to believe
His Word.
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On Easter, the Lord Jesus rose glorified that His spirit might be with his followers of every
time and place.
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If,
like those women, you seek Jesus
Listen for Him speaking in the words of scripture
- for when His word is read, His Spirit is among us, and He speaks to you through the words of the
gospel.
If you seek Christ, come to the altar
- the risen Christ continues to eat and drink with his disciples whenever they
gather around the bread and wine. He invites you to Holy Communion that he might feed your soul.
If you look for Christ, meet him in service
to others
See him when you welcome the stranger into fellowship
- when
you visit the sick, feed the hungry, and serve the least of the brothers and
sisters for he is present when ever we offer ourselves in service
Christ is risen that he might be present among
His people today in worship and service.