He Is Risen!

Scripture Lessons: Jeremiah 31: 1-16 and John 20: 1-18 Sermon Title: He Is Risen! Preached on April 9, 2023 I’ve just read a Scripture lesson that I’ve read a lot, pretty much every year. Every year on Easter Sunday, we read an account of Jesus, risen from the grave, but this year something new has my attention. What jumps out to me this year is how surprised everyone is. Why would anyone be surprised that Jesus did exactly what He told them He would do? He told them He would four different times. Four different times in the Gospel of John, Jesus told His disciples that He would die and rise from the dead. He said it in chapter 12, 13, and twice in 14. In chapter 11, He basically spelled it out by raising Lazarus from the dead, even rolling away the stone from the tomb’s entrance and saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Still, here we are in chapter 20: They go into an empty tomb and can’t believe that He is risen. The stone was rolled away from the mouth of the tomb, and they assumed someone stole His body. The cloth that had been on Jesus’ head is rolled up by itself. He rolled that cloth up the way I roll up my PJs after getting out of bed, and rather than trust that He’s up and moving, they saw all this and (reading in verse 9), “did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” Now, it’s bad enough that they didn’t understand after He tried to tell them. We’re supposed to listen to Jesus when He says something to us. We ought to listen and believe, only it gets even worse. After they saw these things, “the disciples returned to their homes.” They go where? What? Why? How could they possibly just go on back home, as though nothing life-changing had happened? How could they go on home to make breakfast or fold laundry after the Lord of Lords had done exactly what He told them He would do? A miracle took place, and they went back to reading their newspapers. I can hear them walking through the door, sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. They take a sip and pick up The Jerusalem Gazette, “Different day, same bad news.” Sound familiar? I tell you, when we get used to reading the bad news, the good news gets harder to believe. This kind of thing happens all the time. Think of what happens to us. We watch the news constantly, so we think we know what’s going on. We see that another bank has closed, and we expect economic disaster. Another school shooting, and we’re no longer disgusted that the politicians won’t do anything about it. We are used to the bad news, so it’s more than just not listening. The disciples being surprised that Jesus did what He said He would do is caused by more than not paying attention. This is more than the classic Far Side cartoon with the boy pushing on the door to get into his school for the gifted even though the sign says, “Pull.” It’s not obstinance. It’s not ignorance. It’s not stubborn bullheadedness. It’s called getting used to disappointment and letting go of hope. Now that’s an important message that I hope you’ll hear today. It’s a relevant message. Are you used to hearing relevant messages from preachers in black robes reading out of the ancient Scripture? Did you come here today to hear an important message, or are you just here so people can see you in your new Easter suit? If you haven’t been to church in a while, or if you’ve never heard a sermon from this pulpit, I want you to know something about the Easter service in which you are sitting. This service isn’t about peeps or Easter egg hunts. This is not about bowties and Easter bonnets. I am not here to drone on about what you should or shouldn’t do. I didn’t get up this morning to wag my finger at you while you fall asleep, biding time before Easter lunch at the club. Friends, sometimes we feel as though the Bible was written so long ago that it can’t have anything relevant to say to us today, or maybe you’re used to having a preacher who just tells a couple jokes and then says, “He is risen.” That’s not what I’m about today because the Gospel is so much more than that. This resurrection message speaks to a culture where the politicians argue with each other while the people suffer. This resurrection message speaks to a culture grown used to disappointment. This resurrection message speaks to a culture that has stopped expecting solutions. This Jesus will help those who have forgotten what it means to believe. This sermon is about living in a culture that has seen an empty tomb and assumed that someone stole His corpse because our hopes are so minuscule, and our expectations are so tiny. Some days, we’re just trying to scrape by in this life. We’re just hoping to go home from the service and have a nice slice of ham and maybe a Bloody Mary, but I want you to raise your glasses of champagne this afternoon and say to your friends that He is risen and know what that declaration means. I want you to believe it. I want you to dare to see the world differently knowing that He has done it. I want you to regain the courage to hope because this man, Jesus, does what He says He will do. I heard about a church that wanted do something special on Easter, so they put out all the Easter eggs in the lawn, had a plane fly over the church, and the Easter bunny jumped out and parachuted down. Pastor said he wanted to make Easter a little more exciting this year. Easter doesn’t need to be any more exciting than it is already, if you can just understand what Jesus has done. He is not dead for He is risen, and that truth changes everything, but for us to change, we must first identify the pattern we’re in, and I believe we are in a pattern not unlike those ancient disciples. We are stuck in a pattern of expecting to be disappointed, while we need to learn that we can expect Jesus to do what He said He would do. Do you remember that one of the first things Jesus told them was to cast out their nets at the end of a day when their nets kept coming back empty? They had already given up. They were on the shore, washing their nets, and He got into one of their boats, the one belonging to Peter, and He asked him to put out into the deep. Now, Peter barely knew this man. Peter had only met Him the day before, yet for some reason he put his boat out into the deep water, and when Jesus said, “Let down your nets for a catch,” they did it, though we must remember that at first, they were reluctant. “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. If you say so, I will let down the nets,” is what they said. When they did, there were so many fish that their nets were beginning to break, but it was not their nets but our bad habits of pessimistic thinking that must be broken because He is risen. My friends, this is the God we serve. The God of Joseph, the dreamer. The God of Moses, who led the people out of slavery in Egypt. The God of Miriam, who with tambourines, sang of the God who triumphed over Pharoah. The God of David, who slayed a giant with a rock and a sling. The God of Ezekiel, who went to a valley of dry bones and watched as they all came back to life. The God of Jeremiah, who brought the children of God back home. The God of Mary and Joseph, Ruth and Rahab, Ester, and Lydia. More than that, we live in this modern age, years beyond Orville and Wilbur Wright, who surely heard that their plane would never leave the ground, and yet they flew. An age where Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. An age of electric cars, phones smarter than us, and artificial intelligence that can write term papers for students and sermons for preachers, yet we no longer expect to find a solution to poverty. We are used to politicians grumbling with each other rather than finding a solution to children getting shot in their own schools. It’s ridiculous to get used to disappointment. It’s ridiculous when you consider that He is risen. Likewise, because He has said, “It is finished,” I need never say, “I am finished.” Because Scripture has said, “He is risen,” I need never say, “I am beaten.” I need never say I am tired, or I am worn. Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely? And long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion? A constant friend is he. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me. He is risen from the dead. He has conquered death. He has won the victory. So we will never be defeated. We need never crawl up into that little ball, under the covers, wallowing in the darkness of our own defeat. My friends, do not get used to giving up. Do not become accustomed to grief. Do not make your bed in the valley of the shadow of death. For He is our Shepherd, and He is risen from the dead to lead us from a place of despair to that place of constant rejoicing. He is risen and so the setbacks will not define us. We know that the hard times will pass. Sorrow may last for the night, but a song comes in the morning. He is risen. I can’t help but think about all this on this Easter Sunday because I am preaching in a church that hit rock bottom in 2016 but has won “Best Place to Worship” in Cobb County for 5 years in a row, so don’t talk to me about managing expectations. Don’t talk to me about getting used to disappointment. Talk to me about hope fulfilled. In the last week, pastors and congregations from different churches, who typically segregate on Sunday mornings, joined for worship here, so don’t talk to me about getting used to division. Talk to me about unity. 110 volunteers showed up to make it happen. 110 in a culture that many have called selfish. 110 came together in a culture that many have said is giving up and turning in on itself. Don’t talk to me about selfishness. Talk to me about service. Talk to me about love. Talk to me about faith. Talk to me about hope. For He is risen. My friends, everything will change. Everything will get better. Miracles happen all the time. You’ll miss them, though, if you expect to be disappointed. Don’t expect to be disappointed. Expect victory. For He is risen. He is risen, indeed. Halleluiah! Amen.