Transcription
But I like to think about what’s going on. And this past week, I walked and I thought about what all those women could have been thinking about every step of the way. And then as I turn the corner on the main street and I look down, I see what lies ahead.
The church, work, my office. And you can imagine what these women initially see as off in the distance they see the tomb. And it gets closer and closer with every step.
Until all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the angel descends, rolls back the stone, and it feels like an earthquake. You think these women all of a sudden didn’t have a moment in that nervousness? All of a sudden, they see the angel. And if you think angels are this nice, sweet little things coming down, think again.
There’s a reason why the introductory phrase every time an angel appears in scripture is do not be afraid. Angels aren’t the cute little Eroses from Greek mythology. They’re crazy.
Read the descriptors in scripture. It is crazy how they’re described. And here, you have all the nervous energy, all the worry, all the fear in these women, and then they see this.
It’s not a normal day for them at all. Matthew describes terror and amazement as the angel descends. Think about what this moment does to those present.
The women are struck with fear, but they would have been schooled in knowing what this could be. The hardened Roman legionnaires standing guard are terrified to the point that they’re like dead men. Ever want an idea of how scary that is? These guys have been into war, have fought against barbarians, and yet here they are, terrified of the angels.
But it’s not about them. It’s about these two women and the angel. It’s about the message that the women deliver to the angel.
All that they say is, guess what? He’s not there. Look, if you want to look, look. Get your verification, and then go.
Tell his disciples to go to Galilee. Go where he is. If there were a soundtrack here, we would pick up the music.
It all of a sudden gets a little more tense, gets a little more upbeat. But the women hear what’s happened. And they don’t sit down and have an espresso or a cup of coffee.
Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. They don’t pause. It is all boom, ba-boom, ba-boom, and they are off to tell the disciples.
There’s no worrying or wondering or pondering in this moment. They have a mission to do. They could have been lost in the turmoil.
They could have been lost in the fear and the wondering about what is going on, but they’re not. In this moment, these women get up and get going. Sure, there are emotions present.
Sure, there are things going on for them. But none of that matters, because they have a mission. But before they can fulfill that mission, they get a one-to-one with Jesus.
He appears before them, and you can imagine in that moment all those fears, all those worries, all that wondering happening and going away. The relief that they must have felt when they see Jesus. When they see the confirmation that He is risen.
Okay, you’re getting better. The reality is Jesus just appears and reiterates for them what their job is. He meets them along the way, meets them as they are.
When I drill down and dig deep into this moment, one thing comes to mind. There is so much power in this moment. Power that raises Jesus from the dead, but power that moves throughout the rest of the story.
Because the power of the angel, the power of God in that angel scares the, well, mostly life out of those Roman soldiers. Those guys are gonna go back and tell of this moment forever. You ever have a friend who had a terrifying story and you’ve heard about it so many times, you kind of smile a little bit as they start to tell the story and you gotta find a way politely to tell them.
You told me that about 18 times. No minister ever does that, right? They are like dead men. That’s the power in this moment.
The power of the resurrection comes to those two women who are on their way to anoint the dead body of Jesus and then are leaving with the good news that He is risen. Power changes and shifts all throughout this. And there is great power also when Jesus meets them on their way to tell the good news.
There’s power still in this moment today. There’s power in the resurrection today. If there’s a scientist in the room, you might remember the law of conservation of energy, which I encountered in physics class many, many years ago.
The law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. So if we take that within the resurrection, the power of the resurrection cannot be created or destroyed. It still is in different ways, different points around us.
As we think about how the church has gathered and existed and celebrate, the power of the resurrection is there, continually there. And if you don’t believe in the power of the resurrection, let me tell you a little story. I’m gonna tell you the story of a gentleman named Dwayne.
Now, when I first met Dwayne, he was an addict who was suffering from various forms of mental illness, from schizophrenia to some levels of high, high OCD. When he was sober and taking his meds, you could not tell that he had these issues. But more often than not, he was off his meds.
When he was on his meds, he would have given you the shirt off his back, helped you with anything. But when he was off his meds, he would take a razor and shave points in his hair. When he was off his meds, he would go out and shovel snow in the summer or winter or fall or spring in his underwear.
In an effort for sustainability of mental health and sobriety, he moved away. And we didn’t see Dwayne for almost 10 years until my mom’s funeral. And then we saw him.
And seeing Dwayne in that moment will make you believe in the resurrection because God led him away from the town, away from the crises that were constantly putting him in a bad space. When we saw him, we couldn’t recognize him. That was how different he was.
He was healthy physically. His hair, he had hair. He was clean shaven.
And he talked about how his transformation had started in that ministry. And that’s where he had found his choice, his God-led choice to get away and get clean and get healthy. Problem is we don’t see all the resurrection around us.
We don’t see how God is active in the individuals, in the churches. Many of us have seen churches struggle and strain to keep their doors open. But God is present and the resurrection is present there as well.
I think of one particular church in which there was a chippiness in the church. They didn’t like one of the other churches in town because they stole our young people. Anybody ever heard a church say that? They stole our young people, so we can’t work together with them on anything.
But they had decided that their ministry couldn’t continue as it was. They were gonna have to shut their doors. And so instead of just going out and shutting their doors and ending their ministry, they decided that they were going to find a means of resurrection.
They were going to try and find a way that their ministry wouldn’t end. And so they merged, joined more accurately another church. Not the one that stole their young people.
There was too much baggage there. But another church. And in that merger, in that joining together, there was a resurrection there as well.
The key for us is to see and live into the resurrection all around us as we look, as we see how God is and is using us. Just because the resurrection happened over 2,000 years ago doesn’t mean that his power isn’t continuing around us, through us, through our body. The challenge and difficulty for us is to listen to what Mary and Mary did.
When they encountered the resurrection, they went and told everyone, everyone being the disciples. They went and told of the glory that had happened, the resurrection that had been. And so brothers and sisters, may we go forth looking for moments of resurrection in our world, but also living out the resurrection around us.
At this time, let me invite you to join, to share together from the bounty that God has given us. Let us pray. Mighty and gracious God, we thank you.
We thank you for the many blessings that you have given us, for all the ways you watch over us and care for us and keep us. Watch over us and bless us, oh Lord, as we seek to lead your world into hope, the hope of a new day, the hope of the resurrection, the hope of peace. Be with us, Lord, guide us and keep us.
In your name we pray, amen. You all may be seated. Now, before we begin communion, I’m gonna ask my helpers, what ring do you guys take? Outer ring.
Outer ring is the juice. Don’t forget it, they remembered it. But more important than that is that your place is here, because this isn’t my table.
This isn’t Hurley Reform’s table. This is the Lord’s table. And if he is your Lord and your savior, you belong here with your brothers and sisters communing together.
So brothers and sisters, let us go before him. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Supper which we are about to celebrate is a feast of remembrance, of communion and of hope. We come in remembrance that our Lord Jesus Christ was sent to the Father and to the world to assume our flesh and blood and to fulfill for us all obedience to the divine law, even to the bitter and shameful death of the cross.
By his death, resurrection and ascension, he established a new and eternal covenant of grace and reconciliation. We come to have communion with this same Christ who has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the world. In the breaking of the bread, he makes himself known to us as the true heavenly bread that strengthens us unto life eternal.
In the cup of blessing, he comes to us as the vine in whom we must abide if we are to bear fruit. We come in hope, believing that this bread and this cup are a pledge and a foretaste of the feast of love of which we shall partake when his kingdom is fully come, when with unveiled face we shall behold him, made like unto him in his glory. Since by his death, resurrection and ascension, Christ has obtained for us the life-giving spirit who unites us all in one body, so are we to receive this supper in true love, mindful of the communion of saints.
May the Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts.
And as we lift them up to the Lord and we give thanks to the Lord, let us give thanks and praise to him. Holy and right it is in our joyful duty to give thanks to you at all times and in all places, O Lord, our creator, almighty and everlasting God. You created heaven with all its hosts and the earth with all its plenty.
You have given us life and being and preserve us by your providence. But you have shown us the fullness of your love in sending into the world your son, Jesus Christ, the eternal word made flesh for us and for our salvation. For the precious gift of this mighty savior who has reconciled us to you, we praise and bless you, O God.
With your whole church on earth and with all the company of heaven, we worship and adore your glorious name. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Most righteous God, we remember in this supper the perfect sacrifice offered once on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world.
In the joy of his resurrection and in expectation of his coming again, we offer ourselves to you as holy and living sacrifices and together we proclaim the mystery of the faith, that Christ has died, that Christ is risen, and that Christ will come again. Send your Holy Spirit upon us, we pray, that the bread which we break and the cup which we bless may be to us the communion of the body and blood of Christ. Grant that being joined together in him, we may attain to the unity of the faith and grow up in all things into Christ our Lord.
And as this grain has been gathered from many fields in one loaf and these grapes from many hills in one cup, grant, O Lord, that your whole church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night in which he was betrayed took bread and after he had blessed it, he broke it and he gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you.
And in the same manner, after they had supped, he took the cup and he gave it to his disciples saying, this is the New Testament in my blood. As an often as you drink it, do so in remembrance of me. Children of God, these are the gifts of God for all of you.
Come, for all things are now ready. Brothers and sisters, the body of Christ which is broken for you, and the blood of Christ which is shed for you. Brothers and sisters, would you please join me in our Thanksgiving after communion.
If you don’t know by heart, and I don’t even do that, it’s on the insert in your hymnal. Brothers and sisters, since the Lord has now fed us at his table, let us praise God’s holy name with heartfelt thanksgiving. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, who forgives all your iniquity, who redeems your life from the pit. The Lord is merciful and gracious. He does not deal with us according to our sins.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, as a father has compassion for his children, who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, and will also give us all things with him. Amen. At this time, brothers and sisters, let me invite you to share any joys or concerns.
I do have one Appleyard-Pekich concern to pass on to you. My aunt, Helen, as some of you will have met her, she lives with Crohn’s disease, and it is…