Easter C
4/8/2007
Luke 24:1-12
“Good God, It’s Morning!”
I’d like to begin this morning’s service by asking you a very simple, but direct, question: How do you wake up in the morning? When you wake, do you roll over, put your head under your pillow or blankets & moan, “Good God, it’s morning!” dreading the prospect of facing the world w/ all its trials, tribulations & problems. Or do you inwardly (or even outwardly) shout w/ joy: “Good God, it’s morning!” thrilled by the potential a new day in God’s creation offer & filled w/ hope at the possibilities of what you might encounter, good or bad, that you might bring honor & glory to the name of God.
Think about it & be honest w/ yourself. I know that there are some you who, as you were jangled out of your sleep for the service at Preparation Point & knew it might be a bit nippy, might have found yourselves tempted toward the former of these possibilities.
Well, my friends, you’re in good company. Because that’s exactly how the disciples initially felt that first Resurrection morning. The women disciples had gone to the tomb &, boy, were they in for a surprise. You see, they didn’t go the tomb to experience the resurrection. They didn’t know what you & I know. They went to the tomb in sadness, to anoint Jesus’ body. When they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and the body gone. This probably horrified them & definitely confused them. Luke says they were “perplexed.” I can imagine them w/ open mouths, items slipping from their grasp, as they wondered, “What’s going on here.”
They weren’t excited & delighted by what had occurred. The possibility of resurrection was the farthest from their minds. The events of Friday, the crucifixion, made them ache. Jesus was dead…they’d come to embalm his body…& they discovered it missing. Not exactly a recipe for being happy campers. That doesn’t even deserve a dismal “Good God, it’s morning.” That’s more like, “What else can go wrong.”
Well, how about "two men in dazzling clothes" who come, stand beside them & scare the pajeezers out of them. & I’m not talking “I’m late coming home from my date, I hope Mom & Dad are in bed” scared or “I hope that police car following me w/ its lights & siren on isn’t coming after me” scared. I’m talking hair rising on your neck terrified!
They didn’t have clue one what was going on until the “men in dazzling clothes” began to speak: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be handed over to sinners, & be crucified, & on the third day rise again.”
Finally it had sunk & the women are overjoyed. “Good God, it’s morning! Christ has risen!” & they run off to tell the other disciples, who just so happen to be stuck in the same funk they were just a few moments ago. They’re stuck on the events of Good Friday, Good God, it’s just another morning” & they don’t believe them. Their words “seemed to them an idle tale” scripture says. It was nonsense. In other words, they were either hallucinating or lying.
Even so, Peter responded. Maybe it was something in the back of Peter’s mind that spurred him to action. Whatever it was, he ran to the tomb to see for himself. What he saw was an empty tomb w/ “the linen cloths by themselves” and “he went home, amazed.” “Good God, it’s morning! Christ has risen!”
Don’t you wish that every day, but especially Easter, could still offer that kind wonderment to us? Wouldn’t it be great to awaken w/ a mighty shout: “Good God, it’s morning! Christ has risen!” Perhaps we’ve become too jaded. Perhaps because of all the planning & gift buying & preparation for out of town guests, Easter has become just another day & it no longer surprises us. Perhaps we’ve heard the message so much that we don’t incorporate into our lives & we take it for granted. That would be sad, indeed. Maybe I can help you go from “Good God, it’s morning!” it’s just another day to “Good God, it’s morning!” Christ has risen!
I’d like to tell you a story that maybe you’ve heard before. & that’s ok if you have. It’s still a
wonderful Easter story, w/ a great theme for Easter. It’s about a man named George Thomas.
George Thomas was a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit.
Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, " What you got there son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.
"Take ’em home and have fun with ’em," he answered. "I’m gonna tease ’em and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time."
"But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I’ll take ’em to them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh? Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing and they ain’t even pretty!"
"How much?" the pastor asked again.
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy & said, "$10." The pastor reached in his pocket & took out a ten-dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.
The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir. I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap using bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ’em all!" "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry & divorce each other, how to hate & abuse each other, how to drink & smoke & curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns & bombs & kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I’ll kill ’em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don’t want those people!!
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door, and he walked from the pulpit.
This morning, my friends, we celebrate Easter; w/ emphasis on the word celebrate. For the Christian, Easter serves as a blessed reminder of why we can say “Good God, it’s morning!”
You see, for you & me the price has been paid. The cage you are in is your sin. The door is open but Satan has placed a delusion in your mind, blinding you to the open door. All it takes to gain freedom is to believe that Jesus paid it all, accept his payment for you, & walk thru the door. He wants you to. Do it now, don’t delay, all there is between you and eternity is a single breath. Jesus died for us, God’s only begotten son, accepting the punishment for our sin. He was the pure lamb sacrificed for our sake. & on Easter morning he arose, conquering the power of sin & death, that the gifts of life abundant & life eternal would be ours. Isn’t that something that we would want to celebrate…something we’d like to say “Good God, it’s morning!” about? If you agree w/ me, then say it: “Good God, it’s morning! Christ has risen!”
But sometimes we can’t celebrate “Good God, it’s morning!” because of some unforgivable sins that lies w/in us & won’t allow us to get passed it. It lies there like a piece of festering, old meat, turning your life inside out: grinding on you, getting you down, tying you to its power & controlling your life.
Well guess what? You don’t have wallow in the filth of unforgivable sin because the price has been paid. Sin doesn’t have control of your life. Satan doesn’t have control of your life. The price has been paid. You are the beneficiary of God’s grace & Jesus’ love. God forgives you…let me say that again, because I don’t think we here it enough…God forgives you. Now turn to your neighbor & remind them: “God forgives you.” Now turn to your other neighbor, or someone in front or back of you & remind them: “God forgives you.”
Now I want you to do the hard part. Look at yourself and say to yourself, “God forgives me.”
You see, my friends, when we accept the forgiveness of God, we are well on our way from moaning over the new day, to celebrating the new day in the presence of our merciful and loving Lord.
Hear this memorable promise from Romans 10:13: “For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
As reconciled & forgiven we can say w/ joy “Good God, it’s morning!” & w/ confidence that “Christ has risen!”
Don’t wait another day to accept the loving grace of God. Do it today, and know the joy of eternal life in Jesus Christ. And know that every day you live will be a new and wondrous day as you proclaim, with believers everywhere: “Good God, it’s morning! Christ has risen!”
I trust the Lord will truly bless each one of you this Easter.
