The title of this sermon is: We do what we do.
Some years ago I went to a theater to see a performance of Handel’s Messiah. My family went with another family, so there were nine of us total—somehow I was given the stack of tickets. The ticket taker scanned them with her little zapper. Halfway through the stack we started to get into a rhythm. Be—be-boop. She got through all nine. Flawless. And I looked up with a big smile and said, “Nice shots.” And she looked up with a smile and said: “Yeah, we do what we do.” We do what we do! I love that! I ran up to my family and was like, “You’ll never guess what the ticket taker just said to me.” They were like, “Well Dad, we don’t know, but you’re probably thinking about how to use this in a sermon…”
Easter Day. Easter is a Sunday.
But watch this: every Sunday is an Easter. Why? Because we proclaim the resurrection. Today is special: the flowers are magnificent, as is the music; and you all look fantastic. But what we do at this worship service is what Christians have been every Sunday for 2,000 years—daring to declare that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And then sharing his body and blood.
If you are a Christian, if you’ve been Baptized… into Christ… that is what you stake your life on: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. If you are not a Christian, or you are thinking about being Baptized… into Christ… that is what you are preparing to stake your life on: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Every act of Christian worship and service stands on that foundation. So… We do what we do. Because… Jesus did what he did.
God loves you so much.
He loves you so much; and he knows everything that you’ve done. He knows your wins. He knows your losses. He was with you in every win. He was with you in every loss. He says I will never leave you.
But ok, three points for you today:
What did Jesus do?
Why did Jesus do it?
What difference does it make?
What did Jesus do?
Jesus Christ died on a cross, was buried, and three days later, rose from the dead—bodily. What is that? It is nothing less than the son of God picking a fight with the greatest enemy of all: death itself. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And so we think, ok the Good Shepherd feeds the sheep, he leads the sheep. That’s true. But he also fights for the sheep. A shepherd will defend the flock from any predator – putting his body between the sheep and the wolf. The Good Shepherd will fight and if necessary will lay down his life for the sheep. You say wait a minute: where does the Bible say that Jesus fought? He doesn’t fight the Romans. He doesn’t fight Pilate. He doesn’t fight the chief priests. No, he fights death itself. On the cross, Jesus let his body be broken, and in so doing—he broke the power of death itself. On the third day God raised him from the dead.
If you have read the book The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, you may remember that Aslan, the great lion, he rises, and he says: “The Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.” That’s resurrection.
Why did he do it? Why did Jesus die and rise?
Short answer: love. This is the message of the Gospel.
God loves you. Whoever you are. Whatever you have done.
God. Loves. You.
If you had been the only person to ever live, Jesus still would have come, and died and rose again, just for you. He loves you that much. I want to say something to every person who might not be sure what God is doing in your life right now. If you are totally secure and you fully understand God’s purpose for you, you can stop listening to this part. But for everyone else…
You know, God only needs a tiny opening to work in your life. He needs just a sliver. I was trying to open a vitamin bottle the other day; and it had that plastic wrap on the cap. So I was picking it and picking it, and it wouldn’t come off. Finally, I got a knife and I cut just a tiny slit in the plastic, and then I pulled and the whole thing came right off. It’s the same with God – he just needs a tiny opening to do extraordinary things in you and through you.
What difference does it make?
Many years ago, at a summer camp in New Hampshire, I knew a man named John Harutunian. Isn’t that a great name? He said this: every person—each one us has two words written on our hearts in big bold letters: ME FIRST. When you accept Jesus, he changes that - and he begins to scrub away those words. Your heart will be broken, in repentance. But God will give you a new heart. Not of stone. But of flesh. This is forgiveness. This is new life. This is grace.
My wife Danielle had a dream recently – she dreamt that she saw a forgiveness machine. Anything that you put into this machine—it would whirl and flash—and out would come forgiveness.
Jesus said “I came that you might have life and have it to the full.” He took everything that the world had to throw at him…. Rejection. Cruelty. Betrayal. Beatings. Humiliation. He took all of that into his blood stained hands—and he twisted it and transformed into mercy and new life. In modern culture, we love self-sufficiency. We like to think that we can do everything for ourselves. But Jesus says: “You can’t do this. You can’t rip life out of death. But I can. And I’ll share it with you.” If you are in Him – in Christ. All that he has becomes yours. His death is your death. His resurrection is your resurrection. His victory is your victory.
Last analogy:
Some of you are football fans. Some of you were very happy when, last year, the Eagles won the super bowl. Do you know, when a team wins the super bowl, which players get a super bowl ring? Answer: All of them. Every player on the team. What about the players that didn’t play in the game? They get a ring. What about the players who were injured and couldn’t play? They get a ring. What about the players who were on the team earlier in the season but got traded and weren’t even on the team when they won the super bowl? They get a ring. Someone says, “Well that’s not exactly fair!” Yes, but it’s good.
Jesus Christ has won the victory. And if you are in Him—you get a ring. Or, more Biblically, you get a crown.
Which changes how you live.
How you worship.
How you show mercy.
How you show up.
How you do what you do.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
