1 Corinthians
15:19-28
Easter Sunday
March 31, 2013
Life is hard and then you die.
That could have
been what the women were thinking as they made their way in the dim light of
early dawn to the tomb where Jesus had been placed Friday evening. Jesus’ life
had certainly been hard. Born in a barn
to poor parents, became a refugee in Egypt when he was a young child because a
crazy king felt so threatened that he killed all the children around Bethlehem
under two. When he started his ministry
Jesus was immediately challenged, first by Satan, then by religious authorities
offended by his sermons and teachings. Jesus was criticized for hanging out
with sinners and tax collectors and he was verbally attacked by demons.
There were some
bright spots, of course. Some of what Jesus said about the kingdom of God
seemed so hopeful, some people were healed by his great love.
But in recent days
things had gone from bad to worse.
Jesus was arrested while praying.
One disciple betrayed him, ten ran away, and even Peter denied him three
times while Jesus was standing before the authorities. Though Pilot could find no adequate reason
to condemn him, and offered to release him, an angry mob had formed demanding
that Jesus be crucified like a common criminal. On the way to the cross Jesus was beaten and mocked, even by one
of the other criminals hanging beside him. And when he died there wasn’t even enough
time for a proper funeral or burial.
They had to hurry and put him in a tomb and then wait until the Sabbath
was over.
Life is hard
and then you die. It’s a common sentiment.
You often see it on bumper stickers. If you google “then you die” you’ll
find several crass blogs, and some rock and rap groups; one explains “this is
why we get high – cause you never know when you’re gonna go.” The feeling was also summed up by Oscar
Hammerstein in the 1920s for the Broadway song Old Man River sung by an old
tired dockworker who mournfully confesses, “I get weary and sick of trying, I’m
tired of livin’ and scared of dyin…” The sentiment is a double negative. I hate life here and now and but the only
escape is to death which is worse. It
leads one to begin to believe he or she is a helpless victim. “It is what it is.” Life is hard and then you die.
The Real End of the Story
When I read
through Saint Paul’s words to the church in Corinth and started thinking about
this sermon one sentence really struck me. 19If for this life
only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. In
this sentence Saint Paul is critiquing the hopeless victim belief that death is
the end of the story. A belief that
even if we meet Christ, listen to his teachings, witness a few miracles, and
get our hopes up enough to shout Hosanna as Jesus rides into Jerusalem the
story still ends with death. Since we
are all really helpless victims there really isn’t much we can do in this life
to make a difference. We’ll just try
our best to find fulfillment in this life, to enjoy whatever success we can in
this life, to numb the pain of this life as much as possible as we wait for
death.
But
Saint Paul makes us stop and question the belief that death, our deaths, are
the end of the story. 19If for this life only we have hoped in
Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Mary Magdalene and Joanna
and Mary the mother of James may have been thinking life is hard but then you
die as they got up that first day of the week to tend to Jesus’ body. But when they got to the tomb, discovered
that Jesus’ body was not there and were greeted by angels who asked them why
they were looking for the living among the dead, everything changed. The angels helped them to remember that Jesus
had been teaching them that the story would continue after his crucifixion –
that on the third day he would rise again.
It seemed impossible then. But
now looking at the empty tomb it started to become clear. Death was not the end of the story. The women ran to tell the apostles and all the
rest. They became the first ones to
proclaim the Lord’s resurrection.
It
took a while for Jesus’ disciples to figure things out, and to explain it well.
This news of resurrection is so different from how most people think that we
still don’t have easy words to talk about it.
But this is what Saint Paul was trying to tell the Corinthians. There is more to the story than hard life
followed by death. We know because
Christ was raised from the dead and he is the first fruits of those who have
died. First fruits – the seeds of a
zucchini seem dead when you plant them in the ground, but then they grow and
produce new fruits and when the very first zucchini becomes ripe, you can be
pretty sure that lots of other zucchinis will do the same. All humans like Adam die – even Christ. But Christ rose and promises that in him all
will be made alive. Saint Paul assures
us that we can believe in resurrection – not just that Christ rose, but that we
will too.
Going to Heaven vs. Resurrection
So from the point
of view of Christian faith death is not the end of the story. Resurrection follows death. But what exactly
is resurrection? Some people try to feel better about death by thinking of it
simply as an escape. For them the
bumper sticker should read: “Life is hard but, good news, then you die –
call 1-800-Kavorkian. We might laugh, but Christians have been accused of
taking this line of thinking. We just soften death more with a pretty picture
of heaven. One woman explained heaven to her son like this. “It’s as if
everyone were on tranquilizers. It’s beautiful. Everything is soft and white.
There are clouds, like dry ice everywhere. Nobody does anything.”[1] Don’t we often think of heaven this way -
maybe without the tranquilizers and dry ice – but comforting, peaceful, a place
where our spirits go to relax and enjoy ourselves after our bodies die? So life is hard, but just wait it out,
you’ll go to heaven when you die. It’s
a belief that secular critics call “pie in the sky by and by.”
But even though a
lot of Christians believe in this kind of heaven, this is not what Saint Paul
means by resurrection. This is not the
biblical story of what happens after death.
The soft white cloud picture of heaven where nobody does anything comes
from Greek philosophers like Socrates. They believed that humans are good souls
trapped into evil prison bodies and thus death of the body becomes freedom for
the soul. Belief that we go immediately
to this sort of heaven immediately when we die makes us miss the point of
Christian salvation. It turns God into
a kind of kiosk operator handing out tickets to “the greatest show not on
earth.”[2]
Often when this
view of heaven is presented it is used like a reward to try to influence
behavior. If you are good you can earn
a ticket to heaven. And sometimes views
of hell are used as a deterrent – if you are bad you’ll go there instead. Which is like saying life is hard, and if
you are bad, you’ll have to keep suffering eternally. But neither the carrot of a fluffy cloud heaven, nor the threat
of eternal suffering seem to do very much to really change people. At best people with this belief that life is
hard but if you’re good enough you’ll get to go to heaven when you die –
sometimes try to do the minimum of what they think is good enough to get
in. Even worse are those people who
think we are already saved, because we believe in Jesus, so we just keep
sliding through life not really living any differently than any other “good”
person out there in the world. Or worst
of all we can become arrogant, thinking that we are the chosen ones, and
looking down at all the nonbelievers. Our arrogance can easily become a
stumbling block preventing others from even wanting to know Jesus.
In
contrast Saint Paul’s view, the biblical view of life beyond this life is
something that has not yet taken place.
In the biblical view the dead who belong to Christ rest in peace,
waiting for Christ to return to experience resurrection. Saint Paul describes this second coming of
Christ as the “grand consummation, when after crushing the opposition, he hands
over his kingdom to God the Father. He
won’t let up until the last enemy is down – and the very last enemy is death!”[3]
So
the message of Easter, of resurrection refutes the second part of the popular
saying. Life is hard and then you die,
comma but then comes resurrection. Not
just Jesus’ resurrection that happened 2000 years ago – but our own
resurrection that those who belong to Christ can look forward to – not a
spiritual life of ease in fluffy clouds – but a full bodily resurrection at the
end of time when Christ comes again and the cosmos reaches the
happily-ever-after-ending that God always intended.
Sin is Why Life is so Hard
But
the message of Easter also addresses the first half of the saying. Life is hard – but the good news is
that it was never meant to suck. Life is a gift from God and when human beings
even begin to truly live their lives according to God’s will, life remains hard
but also becomes enjoyable and exciting.
Have you ever watched a butterfly leave its cocoon? As it emerges into a new life it struggles
with animating force that is inspiring.
There is work involved when we accept Jesus’ call to new life, life
lived the way God always meant it to be.
We have to give up a lot of bad habits like greed, pride and
cynicism. And we have to practice and
grow into the virtues of this life like humility, love and self-control. But when we see the goal beyond the hard
things in this life and beyond death – the goal of eternal life as one of the
holy people of God, we can start fighting like a butterfly shedding its cocoon.
The Bible has a
name for the force that makes life so disagreeable: sin. And according to the good news of Jesus sin
is actually tied to death and not life at all. Sin is a power, it is crafty,
maneuvering, always enticing us away from God, and from seeking to do God’s
will. Jesus often pointed out how sin will use good things to take control of
our lives laws can keep those who want to stay pure from offering emergency care
to one who is dying. Our relationships to parents might lead us refuse Jesus’
invitation to the wedding feast.
Sin
is responsible for the vast majority of suffering in this world. Yet the good news of Easter is that in his
death, Christ destroyed sin. And when
truly put our faith in Christ he sets us free from sin and death. When we let him become the master, and we
live to serve him, to let him teach us how to truly live, then life may still
be hard, but it also becomes full of joy and goodness and light.
Christ has been
raised – his is the first fruits – so his followers, who through baptism become
members of the body of Christ will be raised at his coming – in this process,
on this long journey Christ will
destroy the power of sin over our lives, and when he comes again Saint
Paul says, he will even destroy death.
The
Christian affirmation is this: Life is hard, but when we let Jesus rule our
lives and we face death like he faced death, refusing to become a victim of sin
and death, then we will enter into new life like Christ – a life fueled by the
fire and wind of the Holy Spirit – a life of imagination – a life where we can
laugh, sing, dance and fly
We’re On Our Way.
Sounds
nice – but how do we get there? What
practical steps can you and I take today, later this week, in the weeks to come
that will actually move us from the victim mentality about life – to actually
living the good news of Easter?
Start by
meditating on these things. Reflect on
your life as a journey to Easter. If you’ve saved the bulletins from Lent, or
go to our church Facebook Page and look at the artwork Sarah Chandler gave to
us. Think of yourself on that path
moving toward Easter. When have you
been walking with hope toward a promise?
When have you been in the valley of the shadow of death? When were you
moving toward freedom from sin and death, and when did you turn the other way,
controlled by sin, making life harder for those around us and for ourselves?
Where are you
now? If you are being controlled by
your sin all you need to do is simply repent – turn back toward Christ and the
goal of resurrection. If you need help
come talk to me, your pastor. Jesus is calling you. Let the forgiveness and
love of God wash over you and remind you who you really are in this life. Don’t
let the fear of death and pain keep you from pressing on.
Where are you now?
If you are walking toward Christ stop to notice if you’re trying to go it
alone, or if you are walking with others who belong to Christ, brothers and
sisters who will support you along the way through prayer, and encouragement.
Find one or two people you can be really honest with, who will respectfully
listen to where you are on this journey and will stick with you through the
hard parts. Small groups like the Bible
study, the prayer group even the crafty ladies can be places where we become
real with each other if we try.
If you are moving
toward Christ on the journey how are you moving? Are you plodding along, looking down at the ground, hardly making
progress? Do you feel weighed down with
heavy burdens of guilt or shame, resentment or fear in your backpack? Easter
Day is a day to set those down and look toward the bright light, noticing all
the beauty God puts on the path. How much more pleasant the journey is when we
can playfully walk and leap and praise God as we go? Sing as you move along.
We’re on our way to freedom land. Let your voice join the unending hymn
of all the company of heaven – Holy, holy, holy Lord, heaven and earth are full
of your glory.
Are you free
enough from any fear so that you are moving out of the shadows into his
marvelous light? Are you free enough to
really let your light shine, declaring the wonderful deeds of God in Christ to
all the world? Are you free enough to
proclaim the mystery of faith beyond these walls – Christ has died, Christ is
risen, Christ will come again! Pray for
the Spirit to let you know this week when it is time to speak up and tell
someone about the love of God you know through Jesus. As you travel toward the
freedom of resurrection are you working as part of the body of Christ in
ministry to all the world? Are you
living so that you are part of God’s answer to the prayer for God’s kingdom to
come on earth as it is in heaven? We have another opportunity to serve at
Breaking Bread coming up. There are
lots of other ways we as a church can work together to spread the love of God
out into our community. It’s time to
imagine, and dream and prepare for this church to move upward and outward
Wherever we are on
the journey Christ is calling to us to keep moving forward. And today we are invited to share in the
meal that will give us strength to keep moving on our way to a life of freedom
in Christ. So prepare yourself to come
and receive. There is enough grace here
at this table to teach us all to fly to Easter.
Soar we now where Christ has led Alleluia! following our
exalted head Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise our the cross the
grave the skies Alleluia!
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