Apr 12, 2020  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel Lesson for today, Matthew 28:1-8. There we read these words:

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightening, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for His is risen, as He said."

We begin in the name of Jesus, AMEN.

Dear Friends in Christ! I remember a number of years ago, I saw an article which was on the internet taken from a small northeastern newspaper, dated March 16, 1999. In that article it said and I quote: "a Pennsylvania man's lawsuit naming God as a defendant has been thrown out by a court in Syracuse, New York.

The story stated:, Donald Drusky, 63 of East McKeesport, Pa, blames God for failing to bring him justice in a 30-year battle against his former employer, the steelmaker now called USX Corporation. The company fired Drusky years before, when it was called US Steel.

"Defendant God is the sovereign ruler of the universe and took no corrective action against the leaders of His church and His nation for their extremely serious wrongs, which ruined the life of Donald S. Drusky," the lawsuit contended.

Drusky wanted God to return his youth and grant him the guitar playing skills of famous guitarists, along with resurrecting his mother and his pet pigeon. If God failed to appear in court, federal rules of civil procedure say He must lose by default, Drusky argued.

The article stated that U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue found the suit, which also named former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, the television networks, all 50 states, every single American, all federal judges, and the 100th through the 105th congresses as defendants, to be frivolous."

We are tempted to say "only in America could such a thing happen," but then I am not so sure that we as a nation have a lock on such expectations of God. I would dare say that everyone expects a great deal from the sovereign ruler of the universe.

I remember as well not that long ago, that the television program "Chicago Hope", I don't know if it was done intentionally or not, the program "Chicago Hope" had a definite theme of life and immortality running through it. There was a little boy who had died, or at least he was brain dead, his body was being kept alive by life support.

He was only about 5 or 6 years old and the parents were, of course, distraught over their loss. They searched for immortality for their son in the future possibility of genetic cloning. All they needed to do was to freeze some of his bone marrow and wait for the day when human cloning would be a reality.

Well, the case came before the hospital ethics review board and several of the doctors contended that life is in God's hands and only He creates and sustains life. With that the doctor who argued the case for preserving some of the young boys tissue for the future possibility of cloning, said, "well, who here thinks that God is doing such a good job anyway." And then she railed in anger about her struggle to preserve life, her battle to save the young boy, almost as if God was sitting by idly, uncaring and aloof, as if God were unconcerned about life and death.

Dear friends, we all have high expectations of ourselves, but whether you care to admit it or not, you all have even higher expectations of God. No doubt when the two Mary's went to the tomb of Jesus that first Easter morning they were somewhat, shall we say "disappointed" with God. I mean, at least until they got to the tomb they believed that death had won yet another victory.

Some of the disciples had fled, but they were there on that Friday when Jesus hung from the cross, His body convulsing in pain. They saw the crown of thorns shoved onto His head. They heard His seven last words from the cross. That day was still fresh on their minds. And why didn't God do something for His Son? Why didn't God stave off death? Why didn't the sovereign ruler of the universe intervene?

The two Marys no doubt had certain expectations of God and when they went to the tomb that morning very difficult questions must have been running through their minds. Questions centering on the "why" of God's actions. Have you ever thought those kind of questions yourself?

Why doesn't He cure disease? Or this pandemic? Why do we have to contend with cancer? Why, as the psalmist says, "are the days of our lives seventy years; or if by reason of strength eighty years..." Why are they "...years of labor and sorrow..." Why "....are they soon cut off and we fly away?" Why God? Why?

There is a saying that sometimes a person can't see the forest for the trees. That a person gets so caught up in the immediate that they can't see beyond it, to the eternal. The truth of the matter is, each one of you do deal with the struggles of life, with all of the pain that sin has brought into this world, and by the way, make no mistake, the suffering of this world is the result of sin, but too often you deal with it all thinking that it is for you to overcome.

Each one of you do deal with all of the disease, the heartache and even death and in the middle of it all it is easy to forget that God is indeed in control and that you have been blessed by Him beyond your wildest expectations.

Good Friday, that day that seemed to all the world to be a victory for the forces of darkness and evil was in fact a victory for God and since it was a victory for God, it was a victory for you, personally.

But how can that be? Well, I wonder. Were you the one to have saved the world from its sin, would you have done it differently? How could there be victory in Jesus' suffering? How could there be victory when Jesus cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" How could there be victory when the sovereign ruler of the universe died?

Well, it is precisely in the fact that Jesus Christ died on that cross that there is victory there. For on that Good Friday cross a great exchange took place. As St. Paul says, "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin that we might be the very righteousness of God in Him." The perfect One, the sinless One, the holy One gave His life for the imperfect, the sinful and the unholy.

In the words of the hymnist, "here we have a firm foundation; here the refuge of the lost; Christ, the rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast. Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, Sacrifice to cancel guilt! None shall ever be confounded Who on Him their hope have built."

There is victory in the cross of Jesus and that victory won in your stead should awaken hope in you as you gaze at the empty tomb. For as one commentator puts it, "if this chapter, meaning this chapter on the Resurrection of Jesus, is not true, if Jesus did not literally rise from the dead, then all the rest might as well have been left unwritten." And as St. Paul writes, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins."

And so, the women arrived there that morning and with the word of the angel they realized that their sin was forgiven and suddenly their sadness was turned to great joy. "Do not be afraid the angel said, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said."

With that word, that revelation from on high, the women could not contain their joy as they ran to give word to the disciples. Christ is risen!!! And assuming those women were all Lutherans the disciples all responded, "He is Risen Indeed." What a joy!!! What a gift!!! What a surprise!!! What a blessing!!!

You know, I think back to Mr. Drusky's court case and to the "Chicago Hope" episode and I realize how true it is that in our sinful blindness people so often cannot see the forest for the trees. They crave immortality while at the same time thinking God has done a rather bad job in dealing with the temporal.

But thanks be to God that He is good. And that in His goodness He has given you the victory over sin, even the sin of expecting more of Him than one ought. Thanks be to God that the grave has been defeated. This, my friends, is real stuff.

So often people look for ways to leave their mark on the world, to lay claim to some form of immortality, and yet, before the world stands Jesus Christ, the One in whom is life, the One in whom is victory, the One in whom is hope.

In the early Christian Church the risen Christ was represented by a lamb bearing a cross, to which a streaming banner was attached. We have that symbol right here in our Church. When you return here, look to the left of the lectern, it is the second window back from the front.

What a striking symbol of victory, of conquest! That picture gave rise to the old hymn, "The Banners of the King are Waving." This is the key-note, in which the Easter season should permeate your thoughts and feelings, your words and actions, your hopes and fears, your joys and sorrows.

Jesus Christ has conquered sin, death and the devil and delivered all men, women, and children from their spiritual foes. His victory on that first memorable Easter morn marked the beginning of a world conquest. Before Him kings and emperors, races and nations, have bent the knee in the course of the past twenty centuries or more.

And even today He is leading His forces on to victory and conquest, manifesting His omnipotence, love and grace, drawing to Himself from all quarters on earth thousands upon thousands. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

St. Paul says "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Christ Is Risen.