Good morning, Friends! Thank you all so much for coming today!
I know that this is a busy weekend for a lot of people. There are starting to be a lot of graduations. Next week is Birthday Sunday. This weekend is Furniture Market. A lot of people in our meeting used to work the Furniture Market.
Back when Market ran for a whole week, many families in High Point used to rent out their homes. People don’t do that as much now, but it’s still a very big thing in our community. So, let’s think of everyone who’s busy this weekend, and pray for everyone who can’t be here today.
After a big holiday like Easter, there’s always a question, “What happens next? Where do we go from here?”
It was a question for everybody in the early church, too. Not everyone got the memo right away, that Jesus was still alive, that Jesus had risen from the dead.
There were plenty of eyewitnesses – people who had met Jesus again, people who touched him and listened to him. But there were a lot of people who hadn’t seen him, who were slow to believe.
It didn’t all come clear at once. For a generation, people kept asking, “Did it really happen? Was it real? Was it only a vision?” If it was only a vision, well, a whole lot of people had the same vision, together. They were more than convinced, and they were spreading the word.
But people still asked, “Is he really God’s son? What did Jesus achieve? What does it all mean?” There were people who believed, and it changed their lives. And there were people who fell away and dropped out. It was not much different from today.
There were certainly people who came to church only to show off, although that was mostly later on. The early Christians were risking everything, including their lives, because of their faith.
But there were people who only came to church because of the food – back then there was always a meal, and sometimes there was pushing and squabbling over the food. There were widows and orphans who needed help. There were slaves who came to get away from their masters for an hour or two.
There were people who liked to sing, and there were people who wanted to pray. Sometimes the praying got a little wild and out of hand. Some people liked that. Other people didn’t.
There were people who weren’t satisfied with the kind of worship they grew up with, who wanted something deeper, something more.
You can read all this, in Acts, and in Paul’s many letters to the new, young churches he started.
This morning, I want to look at that question, “What next? What happens, after Easter?” Let’s listen to this message that Paul wrote, about his own experience.
Christ has shown me that everything I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have given up everything else and count it all as rubbish. All I want is Christ, and to know that I belong to him.
I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying all the old rules in the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ.
All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life.
I have not yet reached my goal. I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.
My friends, I don’t feel I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.
All of us who are mature should think in this same way. If any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.
Philippians 3:7-11
Sometimes I wonder, what Jesus did, when he first woke up on Easter morning. When he opened his eyes, what did he see?
When the grave clothes fell off him, did he feel free in that moment?
When the stone rolled away, and the daylight shone in, did he have to shield his eyes for a minute?
I decided this week that on Easter morning, Jesus probably sang a song. And after hours of research, I decided that the song Jesus probably sang was,
“Oh what a beautiful morning!
Oh, what I beautiful day!
I’ve got a beautiful feeling,
Everything’s going My way!”
You didn’t know that was an Easter song, did you? You probably thought it was from a Broadway musical.
Maybe Jesus was amazed on Easter morning. Maybe he was just happy and joyful that it had all worked out, just the way God promised.
I think there’s every possibility that Jesus still hurt quite a lot. He still had those wounds, the Bible says. His back, his hands, his feet, his side, his head where he’d worn the crown of thorns. His shoulders probably still hurt, from carrying the cross.
But even if Jesus was still in pain, he was alive. He knew he was alive. He knew who he was, and he knew his Father was real.
Sometimes, we all get discouraged. We all hurt. We all have our doubts, and question our faith.
I want you all to remember, that Jesus felt all those things, too. Jesus suffered in every way that a human being can suffer. Because he knew people, all kinds of people, he knew the human heart from the inside out.
There is nothing that we suffer, that Jesus doesn’t know about. He’s been through the same thing, or much worse. And he’s still alive. That’s the big thing. He’s still alive. He loves us. And he’s still, and always will be, our friend and our Lord.
Because Jesus is alive, we can always ask him for help. Because he said so, we can always pray in his name. We have an infinite credit line at the Bank of Jesus. All the resources he has, Jesus has placed at our disposal.
He is ready, willing and especially he is able, to help us as we move mountains, spread the word, heal the sick, and do everything else that Jesus himself did. Because – he’s still alive.
There is no place in the entire world that we can go, but Jesus is already there, ahead of us. There is no place that is so dark, that he can’t see us, and be there.
Do you believe that? If so, then you’re a Christian. And if you want to believe that, if you hope in that, well, you’re a Christian, too.
This past week, a lot of people felt they lost a friend. Pope Francis died, and for many people around the world, it’s a tremendous loss.
Francis was a pretty simple guy. Not an impressive person. When he led the Catholic church in his home country, instead of riding around in a limo, he used to ride the public bus.
When he was elected Pope – a job he never really asked for – he threw away hundreds of years of tradition. He refused to move into the gorgeous palace where popes had lived for centuries, and he moved into a small, two-room flat.
Francis brought a lot of hope, and a lot of change, in the few short years that he led the Catholic church. We need more people like him.
Another person I thought about this week was a bishop from Africa, a man named Desmond Tutu. His parents were from two different tribes, which means they spoke different languages. It was almost as if he came from a mixed race family – which, there’s nothing at all wrong with that. But it was a big challenge for him, growing up.
He worked for years, to bring people together in South Africa. He worked to end the violence, to tear down the walls of race and injustice.
He was awarded one of the biggest prizes the world can offer, the Nobel Peace prize. And he had the most wonderful smile I think I ever saw.
There’s a prayer Desmond Tutu wrote that I like a lot. It’s actually a hymn in our hymnal, #296 if you want to look it up. The words of the hymn are:
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness,
Life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours, through him who loved us.
This is really the same message that Paul wrote in today’s reading:
Christ has shown me that everything I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. . .
All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life.
I have not yet reached my goal. I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.
I know that this can all feel very strange, and very removed from who we are, here in our small church. I know that we struggle a lot. We don’t have a lot of money. We don’t have very many people. Of course, we wish there were more.
But we are still here. We are very much alive. We have been as small as this, here in this place, many times before. And we are still alive.
Jesus said that we are like seeds. God’s word is a seed in us. Each one of us, is a tiny seed in the world. Who we are, and what we do, really matters. How we treat people, and how much we pray. How often we reach out a hand, and whether people see us, and know that Jesus is truly alive, in us.
Any time that you can bring hope. Any time you can share your faith, even if you don’t feel you know the right words. Anywhere you can bring a little light into the world. You’re bringing the light of Christ. You’re being a Christian.
Our job isn’t to be big. Our job it to tell everyone how big Christ is. Any time we can tell how Jesus helped us. Every time we can talk about how we’ve been forgiven. Every moment, where we can share a bit of grace, just a little of what we’ve received.
That’s what it’s all about.
Nothing else really matters, as Paul said today. All the stuff the world spends so much time and money on. It doesn’t matter.
If we can teach children that Jesus loves them. If we can make this church a safe place for children to experience God’s love. Even when they grow up and move away, they’ll take that with them. And maybe they’ll share what they learned here, with someone else.
If we can offer comfort and courage to anyone. If we can learn as much as we can about Jesus, and share it, every day. If people see our hope and confidence and love, they won’t be so scared. If we can listen to people, with the mind and heart of Jesus, we will be blessed.
I don’t want anyone here, to be some kind of a religious fanatic. Fanatics aren’t fun to be around!
But live more deeply, because Jesus is alive. Share whenever you can, because Jesus has given you so much. Never be afraid to speak up, in any situation, and say whatever you think Jesus would say. The Spirit will guide you. Jesus promised that.
What are we supposed to do, after Easter?
Do what Jesus said. Be who Jesus was, and is. Because he’s still alive.