Theme: Run with Hope
Text: John 20:1-9
Happy Resurrection Day!!
Greetings: The Lord is good and his love endures forever. We began the lent with the theme “Throw Off Hindrances - Run with perseverance - Fix your eyes upon Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-3). On this resurrection day, Easter Sunday morning, let us greet one another by saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).
Joke: Rest in Peace
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed a Sunday school boy was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. The plaque was covered with names. The pastor walked up, he called the pastor and asked
“Pastor, what is this?”
“Well, son, it’s a memorial to all the men and women who have died in the service.”
He asks, “Which one, the 7:00 am or 9 am service?”
This morning I would like to encourage you to RUN WITH HOPE. John 20:1-9 has the record of running disciples, Mary ran from the tomb to the city, and Simon and John ran from the city to the tomb in desperation. However, Thursday night became a nightmare for the disciples, and fled the scene.
1. Ran away from Jesus
Mark records that the disciples ran away from Jesus. “Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young fled naked leaving his garments behind” (Mark 14:50-51). Peter and other disciples spoke emphatically that they would never leave Jesus, but all the eleven ran from the scene. Peter showed some drama but couldn’t succeed. Judas was already parted with money (Mark 14:31). However, running away from the presence of God is not safer, easier, and less risky.
While Jesus was alive, disciples were happy to move around with Him. They were not afraid of anybody – they never worried about either the Tyrant Roman rulers or the Jewish religious leaders. As long as Jesus was with disciples, they had extra-ordinary powers to do things, they preached the Kingdom of God, cast out the demons, and they had authority over the satanic powers. But now, their master was treated very badly along with the robbers, he was given a cruel punishment and death on the cross. The death of Jesus brought great fear and anxiety.
People have different reasons for running away from God. Some are running away to keep their bad habits, running away to keep unwanted relationships, and unapproved conduct which is not pleasing to God.
People run away from God but keep maintaining their false piety, hypocrisy, and pseudo-identity. Some follow Jesus like Peter at a distance (Matthew 26:58). But one thing is sure you will never be safe when you are away from God. It is good to be under the wings of God (Psalm 91:1-2).
Are you running away from Jesus because your prayers were unanswered, your sincerity was not appreciated by God, your faith was insulted, and your claims of the promises did not hold good for you? The God of impossibilities allowed you to experience failures, defeats, and losses which you never wanted, you never longed for and waited for. So, sometimes you feel like giving up Jesus.
Do you want to Ignore him in your life? Your high expectations about him, and your great testimony about him are not working in your life. You spoke highly of him. You introduced him to many of your friends and neighbors as a great unfailing God. But now you experience the defeats. Now you feel like giving up your faith, your confessions, and professing of faith. It seems that he couldn’t and he can’t lead you to success.
But remember that despondency came to saints: Moses made a painful prayer of discouragement and despondency (Number 11:10-15). Job was telling ‘I despise my very life’ (Job 3:21, 10:1). Rebekah said: ‘I am disgusted with living because of these Hittite women’ (Genesis 27:46). Solomon said: “I hated living under the sun, all of it is meaningless to chase life (Ecclesiastes 2:17). He further said that the dead are happier than the living (Ecclesiastes 4:2). David cried unto the Lord ‘My God and My God, why have you forsaken me’ (Psalm 22:1). And he sings: Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7). Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword? (Romans 8:36).
Dear people of God, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Are you still running from the battles of life and not winning? Jesus is our victory. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:57).
2. Running without Hope (John 20:1-2)
Joke:
A little girl became restless as the Pastor’s sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, “Mommy, if we give him the offering now, will he let us go?”
But mom whispered over to her, “If you don’t be quiet, Pastor is going to miss his point and he’ll have to start his sermon all over again!”
When we meet a person our first question is,’ how are you?’ He responds ‘somewhat running, what to do?’ We have to manage days.’ That was the story of Mary and the disciples after Thursday night.
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome had gone to the tomb (Mark 16:1). Only a day has gone but everything seems to be bleak, gloomy, and non-futuristic. They were afraid of the Constitutional authorities, religious leaders (John 7:13, 9:22), and guards.
The search for Truth with unbelief always leads to an empty, fearful and useless situation in life. They had forgotten the new teachings of Jesus Christ on Resurrection.
Mary had faith in God but she was controlled by science, reasoning, and rationale. She was a spiritual person but not too extensive! She was not an ecstatic, not a person without reasoning. She lived with the reasoning and gave place for the science to work its course. Mary stood outside the tomb and cried without hope (John 20:2, 10-11). She forgot like many of us, that Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
Some of us are reading the Bible, having meditation without ceasing, and regular fellowship groups. We are there in every prayer meeting and spent time with God through fasting. You may be thinking that I am the only person honoring all the spiritual programs of the Church. Yet at the end of everything, you feel dejected, perplexed, and fearful of the future? Check out whether your Jesus is the dead corpse, mortal remains of clay, or the resurrected and resurgent God.
Dear friends, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ comes to you with the good news of peace, joy, and love. “Peace, be with you” and “Long live”. Joseph was locked up in a prison room for 13 years. His hands were cuffed; his vision was put into a dark room (Genesis 39:20). Daniel was locked for a night in the den of the Lions (Daniel 6:16-17). But the Lord opened the closed dark rooms and changed them into daylight. They were freed and given new opportunities to serve people. Noah was locked for more than 40 +150+40+7 = 237 days (Genesis 7:17, 24, 8:6, 12). He was forced to live with his wife, and children for 237 days, almost 8 months.
3. Run with Hope (John 2:3-9)
Joke:
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather’s lap as he read her a bedtime story.
From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his weathered, wrinkled cheek. She would alternately stroke her own cheek and then touch his again.
Finally, she spoke up: “Grandpa, did God make you?
“Yes, sweetheart,” “God made me a long time ago.”
She said: “is it so” “Grandpa, did God make me too?”
He said, “Yes, honey, God made you just a little while ago.”
Stroking their faces again, she said, “God’s getting better nowadays?”
Today we are surrounded by the powerless people who are sick-stricken, people living in poverty, affected by pollution, fed up with corruption looking for hope.
Run with the message of love, hope, and grace. Run with Christ’s message. Elisha told Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run” to the house of death to give the life of hope (2 Kings 4:29).
Angel told Mary, ‘Go quickly and tell his disciples, he has risen.’ (Matthew 28:7). Mary reached the disciple’s room and told: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (John 20:18). It is strange that it was a woman and not the apostles who were the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the risen Lord. The risen Christ thus restored to the women their dignity, which they had lost with the first sin (ref: Pilgrim info).
It has come out of her personal talk, personal touch, personal confirmation that she has seen the Lord. Without personal experience, it would be hard to preach. This resurrection is a cosmic event of love, shattering death, linking heaven and earth (Pope benedict).
Mary ran without hope. Disciples of Emmaus ran to Jerusalem on the same night. Disciples ran with the message of Hope.
Faith brings the belief that Christ has triumphed over evil despite appearances and that the Resurrection is the definitive act in human history. So, we celebrate the mystery of the Resurrection and proclaim our faith and hope (Ref: Sacred Space).
Pope Francis: We proclaim the resurrection of Christ his light illuminates the dark moments of our existence. with our attitude, with our witness, with our life - we say ‘Jesus is Risen,’ with our soul.” (Ref. Sacred Space).
Mathew Henry: if any human wants to write the history of Jesus would have said: "Let his ignominious death be private, and his glorious resurrection public." But God ordered that his death should be public before the sun. But his resurrection should be reserved as a favor for his particular friends, and by them be published to the world, that those might be blessed who have not seen, and yet have believed.
The tough times of life can bring us close to God, or distance us; suffering can make us better people, or make us bitter and isolated. We may feel a bit of both at times. The empty tomb is the message that nothing is final in this life, not even death. God's love is stronger than any human power, violence, or cruelty. Love conquers all. (Ref: Sacred Space).
The open tomb of Jesus leads the disciples to many open doors in life. Our Lord Jesus Christ is known as the God one who opens so that no one can shut, and he shuts so that no one can open. He is so powerful God. Let us take this message of love, and hope to this world. If anyone calls you today, tell that person Jesus has Risen! so victory is yours!!
Help your friends to open their eyes and to recognize him (Luke 24:31). Help them to understand in their minds (Luke 24:45). the Lord will open a door of faith (Acts 14:27). “The Lord opened her heart to listen to the word”. (Acts 16:14) The Lord says that he has placed an open door (Revelation 3:8).
Conclusion:
‘I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!’ (Psalm 119:32). Paul says to the Galatians, ‘You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?’ (Galatians 5:7). Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we do for an imperishable. So, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
