HOLY WEEK BLOG #7 – HE’S ALIVE!

Today I would like to share with you, not a detailed account of the first Easter, as much as the feeling the events of that day generated.  It’s an Easter feeling…a feeling we, as believers, should have every day.  We are called an Easter people.  That should mean something. 

I’d like to begin with a few comments about a very simple word which had tremendous implications on this Easter morning.  The word is ‘empty’.  That’s right…EMPTY!  Now right off the bat that word often brings up a negative image.  Think about how it affects your thoughts.  If I mention an empty plate or an empty cup that might conjure up an image of a hungry child.  If you hear someone speak about having empty cupboards or an empty fridge then you know they need to get some food.  If I spoke of empty promises or empty words you might think of a friend, a co-worker or even your spouse offering you lip service and little else.  If my wife or I jump in our car and see that the fuel gauge is on empty that’s going to definitely mean something negative because we live many miles from the nearest gas station.   If I go to find some gasoline and then try to write a check but discover that the account is empty I now have an even bigger problem.  You see, empty can carry a very negative feeling.  God, through Jesus Christ, turned the world upside down on that first Easter morning!  He also turned the word ‘empty’ completely around.  After Easter morning ‘empty’ came to mean the source of a life which could be full and overflowing!  Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)  You see, ‘empty’ can have a whole new and positive image.

                             OUR FAITH IS A LIVING FAITH BECAUSE "JESUS ALIVE!"   

That is the essence of Easter (Resurrection) Sunday.  The empty tomb means a risen, living Savior, not a dead, dusty God.  The empty tomb means we have a God who is always there for us no matter where we are.  The empty tomb means we can have a full heart and a full life (John 10:10).

- We are alive because He is alive and we will live forever when He lives in our hearts.

- Our God is a God of "will be" not a God of "was".

- Our God is a God of second chances.

- Our God has already been where we are going. We don’t have to fear the future because God is already there!

- God knows the days of our life and he knows when and how it will end.

WE SHOULD LIVE IN JOY BECAUSE "JESUS IS ALIVE!"

Our lives can and should be:

            - a parade, not a post mortem

            - a march of victory, not a dirge of the dead or dying

            - a fair, not a funeral

            - a wedding, not a wake

            - singing, shouting, smiling...not sadness, sorrow and sobriety

            - a continuously new beginning, not an ending

            - a pleasure, not pain

            - excited anticipation, not dread

            - filled with faith, not fear

            - filled with love, not legalism

            - filled hope, not hatred

- filled with joy, not sadness

Worship should be joy, celebration, enthusiasm, anticipation because Jesus, the one we worship, is alive!  Not rituals or rules and regulations but a living experience with a living God.  I read a great quote somewhere that I’d like to share with you right now. 

"Some churches have so successfully cultivated a somber mood that their sanctuaries resemble funeral parlors more than a place of celebration.  Worship has the feel of a memorial service.  If the Gospel really is good news, when do we get to shout "Whoppee!"  We should come to worship with the enthusiasm of one invited to a party, not the reluctance of one going to the dentist."

At the church in Upstate New York where I served as pastor we had a lighted sign out by the road.  One week I put this message on the sign in large capital letters: “HAPPY HOUR – SUNDAY 10:30AM – JOIN US”!  Some of you may take issue with that but it was to make a point.  Church should be a place where can experience the joy of the Lord…and we certainly experienced it there.  As a matter of fact we had new people come and check us out just because of that sign.  When we fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ it’s a celebration of life, or it should be.  We can have this new life because Jesus is ALIVE!  If Jesus Christ is in your heart then know that He’s alive.  God is alive in you!!!  And you should know that He will be with you no matter what.  It can make such a difference if you will let that assurance take root in your heart.

Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.  This joyful attitude doesn’t mean we won’t have troubles.  Jesus made that abundantly clear in John 16:33 when he said, “I tell you this so that in me you can have peace.  In this world you will have troubles but take heart.  I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)  And again, in

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid.?"  (Psalm 27:1)

Listen (or read) the words of Psalm 100.  Better yet, read them out loud if you dare!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness;  come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.   For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Aren’t these wonderful words (and actions)!  We can feel this way about God for one reason…HE’S ALIVE!   Jesus had victory over death and because He did, we can too!  Baptism symbolizes the Easter experience.  Whenever I baptize an individual as I put them beneath the water I say “You are buried with Christ in baptism.” And then as I raise them up out of the water I say “And you are raised up to walk in new life!”  We are buried with Christ in Baptism and raised up to walk in new life.  We are a new creation.   Just as Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)  When we understand and accept that our God is alive it makes all the difference in the world about: our faith, abundant life, the ability to handle difficulties and problems… not just to survive another day, but to live it victoriously “to the full” just as Jesus said.  (John 10:10)  Like the old hymn says, “Because He Lives I can face tomorrow;  Because He lives, all fear is gone.  Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives."

We are called to be an "Easter People", living each day in the newness, the freshness of the resurrection.  We can begin each day, each new moment with the wide-eyed expectancy and assurance of God's presence, His forgiveness, His promises, and His provisions for us. 

I’ve selected a few quotes from people whose names should ring a bell.

"God is not a God of sadness, but the devil is.  Christ is a God of joy.  It is pleasing to the dear God whenever you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart."  Martin Luther

"Sour godliness is the devil's religion."  John Wesley

"Leave sadness to the devil.  [He] has reason to be sad."  St. Francis of Assisi

Rev. Frank Yates of St. Luke's Presbyterian Church in Amarillo, Texas had this to say about the "Risus paschalis" (Easter laugh):  "Easter is the morning when the Lord laughs out loud, laughs at all the things that snuff out joy, all the things that pretend to be all-powerful, like cruelty and madness and despair and evil, and most especially, that great pretender, death.  Jesus sweeps them away with His wonderful resurrection laughter." 

I want to leave you with a picture that I absolutely love.  It’s entitled ‘Risen Christ By The Sea’ and it was painted by Jack Jewell.   When I was serving as Pastor in a church in Upstate New York we ordered this picture in poster size and place it in the foyer on Easter Sunday morning just outside the entrance to the sanctuary so all could see it as they arrived for Resurrection Sunday worship. The last I knew it still hangs in the sanctuary.  Can you think of a better image of Jesus on the morning of his resurrection?  I can’t. 

HE IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN, INDEED!  JESUS IS ALIVE!  Believe it!  Live it!  PASS IT ON!"

The angels told Mary and the other women.  Then Mary and the women went and told the disciples.  Then the disciples began to tell others.  Now it’s our turn.  We are to continue passing that word on today and telling the world that…

"HE'S ALIVE!  HE'S ALIVE!  CHRIST JESUS IS ALIVE"!

Warning!  Shameless Plug

If you like this picture of Jesus by the sea and want a framed copy of it, or business card sized to share, or even bulletin covers with it is available through a wonderful Newsletter called the Joyful Noiseletter.  Here’s the information from their page (http://www.joyfulnoiseletter.com/risen_Christ.asp).  To order, you can use their secure online store, their printable order form, or call toll-free 1-800-877-2757.