WHAT EASTER MEANS TO ME 4-4-12
Bluefield VA UMC Lenten Service
1. Easter means EXCITEMENT about an EMPTY TOMB! I don't know about how it was for you, but when I was a very young fellow, Easter was a very important holiday. Now, I didn't know about the crucifixion, or the resurrection. I didn't know about empty tombs and appearances at several places in and around town.
What I did know about was Easter baskets, bunnies that left colored eggs, and all the candy one could possibly want! What I did know about was a new pair of shoes, a new shirt and pants, and a trip to Church. I don't recall EVER tying the two, Easter and Church, together, until I was much, much older.
And then, as I grew from, say age 6 or 7 to the early teens, some of the excitement started to wane. It started to fade. The holiday lost it's sparkle. It became rather like an old PEANUTS cartoon... you may remember this one, if you are a PEANUTS fan.
Snoopy was planning to attend a family reunion at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm in Petaluma. The cartoon strip went on for days, showing his anticipation and excitement. And finally, the big day arrived. He went, and returned home. Someone asked him how it was, and he said words that rang so very true. He said, THE ANTICIPATION FAR EXCEEDED THE ACTUAL EVENT. And that was my feeling pretty much, until I made a trip to Israel over 40 years ago...and visited a tomb that is said to have probably been the one. And it was empty. I still recall my thoughts and feelings as I let the anticipation build as the day approached when that would be a part of the activity. I remember walking up to the tomb, seeing that large circular rock, rolled to the side, and going inside that tomb. Some of you have been there, too.
And suddenly, the EXCITEMENT of the EMPTY TOMB was kindled within me, in a way that defies description. I cannot say much farther than this - BECAUSE HE LIVES, I CAN FACE TOMORROW! And that, my friends, is EXCITING!
2. Easter, to me, means ANTICIPATION! Because that tomb in Israel, those nearly 2,000 years ago was empty, I now anticipate a future that is so incredibly beyond belief that I scarely know where to start. Can you even begin to imagine meeting Jesus for the very first time, in visible form? Can you possibly wrap your mind around standing before God, and hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant?" I might say I can, but, in reality, I cannot.
The long gone relatives that I want to meet, friends who were so dear, but now have been gone for years, but who are still remembered at odd times and moments, the freedom from the bodily limitations that confine us to this existence .... that old song that has the phrase BARS OF BONE HOLD MY SOUL, will be just a memory.
To learn things that have piqued my curiosity for years, to have Moses try to explain his feelings about seeing the promised land, but not being able to enter it ... to ask Noah about all those days in the Ark with all the animals? I wanna know who cleaned the stalls, with only 8 people on board!
And now, friends, I have a great expectation about EASTER, every year. I look forward to the rising sun on Sunday, April 8, this year, and knowing that another SON arose, and claimed victory over death, and has invited me ... me, mind you... Jerry... to share in that glorious experience!
3. EASTER, to me, means SURPRISE! Look at Mary and her friends, and the disciples, as they came to the tomb that first Resurrection morning! Of every thought that had come to them over recent days, of every experience they had endured, of seeing their friend JESUS on a cross, nail piercings, a spear wound ... and empty tomb was DEFINITELY NOT on their list of what they were going to see. I don't think the word, 'surprise,' is adequate to express some of what they must have surely felt.
But, then, I don't know what word WOULD suffice. Amazement? Astonishment? Dumbfounded? Awe? Miraculous? Incredible? Phenomenal?
I don't know what has been my life's biggest surprise...I know there have been many along the way... but the biggest? I just don't know. But I dare say that any of those folks who saw, first hand, the empty tomb would be able to tell you what their biggest surprise was!
And, now, in my own life, EVERY EASTER is a surprise, simply because I get to experience that thrill of knowing Whom I have believe, and I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him!
4. EASTER, TO ME, means that my own theology is challenged. I mean, let's face it... over the 43 years of ministry as a pastor, and another 13 behind that of singing at funerals ... a total of over 55 years, now ...I've been in many cemeteries, and either sang at or conducted many funeral services. I've never seen someone's loved one restored to life.
One of my cousins was married to a man, a United Methodist minister, by the way, who 'died' in the hospital perhaps as many as a dozen times over the last 10 years... and they were able to bring him back. Last fall, he coded 4 times in one day. And he still came back. But 2 Sundays ago, Bruce died... and he's not coming back, this time.
And this experience agrees with my theology, you see. My theology says the dead do not rise. But, my Bible says my theology is wrong! And I believe my Bible on this one, friends. My Bible says that Jesus did move out of the tomb in which He was laid, and laid there for good. But, the tomb couldn't hold Him!
And, between you and me, I just LOVE this challenge to my theology! I just love being wrong on this one!
Why? Because Jesus promised me that I, too, would know victory over death! I, too, will have a glorious resurrection!
5. To me, EASTER means EXPECTATION! OK, what do I expect?
How about this? Look at 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 from THE MESSAGE: For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less.
Or this: John 14:1-4 again, from THE MESSAGE:
Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live.
I expect great things, when this life is over. I do not know all the details, yet, but I do expect that there is waiting a life experience that is inconceivable to our mortal minds. I do not expect to be disappointed, in the least.
6. EASTER, to me, means a REAFFIRMATION of the many promises that have been made to those who are faithful to God. Let's look at just a few of them, if you please. Let's call this the CHRISTIAN'S TWELVE STEP PROGRAM FOR RENEWAL!
Here are 12 promises for the Christian to claim. *
God’s presence -- "I will never leave you" (Heb. 13:5)
God’s protection -- "I am your shield" (Gen. 15:1)
God’s power -- "I will strengthen you" (Isa. 41:10)
God’s provision -- "I will help you" (Isa. 41:10)
God’s leading -- "And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them" (John 10:4)
God’s purposes -- "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil" (Jer. 20:11)
God’s rest -- "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)
God’s cleansing -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9)
God’s goodness -- "No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly" (Psalm 84:11)
God’s faithfulness -- "The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake" (1 Sam. 12:22)
God’s guidance -- "The meek will He guide" (Psalm 25:9)
God’s wise plan -- "All things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28)
This, my friends, is what EASTER MEANS TO ME.
*This list is copied from a mid 1980’s devotional guide.
