UTTER NONSENSE? OR GOSPEL TRUTH?

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1 UTTER NONSENSE? OR GOSPEL TRUTH? The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday (Year C) March 27, 2016 Lessons Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 65:17-25 Psalm 118:1-2, (24) 1 st Corinthians 15:19-26 or Acts 10:34-43 St. Luke 24:1-12 or St. John 20:1-18 Pastor David J. Risendal drisendal@stplc.org facebook Dave Risendal Twitter: drisendal Saint Peter Lutheran Church 9300 East Belleview Avenue Greenwood Village, CO voice: 303/ fax: 303/ facebook.com/stplc Prayer of the Day O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin, that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. the Easter message Jesus Christ is ris n today God s gift to the world Sermon Christ is risen! R/ Christ is risen indeed! Christ is risen! R/ Christ is risen indeed! Christ is risen! R/ Christ is risen indeed! Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Amen. Happy Easter to you all. It is so good to have you worshipping with us this morning at Saint Peter, as we gather to celebrate the good news that Christ is risen. [R/ Christ is risen indeed. ] We ve been preparing ourselves for this day since Ash Wednesday (February 10 th ). Now, finally, the Lenten fast is done. We have made it to the new day. With brothers and sisters all over the world, and all through the centuries, we join in the proclamation: Christ is risen. [R/ Christ is risen indeed. ] 1 Romans 1:7, 1 st Corinthians 1:3, 2 nd Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 st Thessalonians 1:1, 2 nd Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 3; New Revised Standard Version Bible ( 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America).

2 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 2 (And by the way thanks for braving the roads and joining us this morning. Your presence here in this room is testimony to how important worship is to you; how important the good news of our faith is to you. I am so grateful for that!) Today we have gathered to hear the Easter story the story of our Lord s resurrection. In case you missed it, on Maundy Thursday we remembered his last meal with the disciples: a meal that includes images of servanthood, calls to radical love, and the promise of Christ s presence whenever believers gather at this table. On Good Friday we remembered his suffering and death, and reflected on it as a sign of God s deep love for us. Yesterday we participated in the Easter Vigil, the dramatic service that carries us from Lent and the Three Days to the first celebration of Easter. It has been painful, moving, captivating, humbling, inspiring am I missing anything? And now, today, our Gospel lesson brings us to the first day of the week, just as the sun is coming up, at the tomb where Jesus has been buried. The women don t come, expecting to discover resurrection. They are looking for death. They have seen the one they love suffer and die. They have heard of his burial. They have wept with his other followers. They have wrestled with how to understand this terrible turn of events. And now they come to see for themselves. The spices are prepared, and they are ready to honor Jesus as best they can. St. Luke tells us that when they find the stone rolled away from the tomb, and the body of Jesus missing, they are perplexed. It isn t what they had imagined. It makes no sense to them at all. As they are trying to wrap their minds around this, all of a sudden two men in dazzling clothes stand beside them. These aren t men sporting Benetton sweaters. These are angels. Messengers from God. And they get right to the point: Why do you look for the living among the dead? The angels know why Mary and Joanna and Mary and the others are there. And they know these women won t find what they have come to find, because it isn t there death isn t there. Jesus is risen. He is gone. Death couldn t hold him. We ve heard the story so many times, that we can barely imagine how difficult it must be for them to understand what has happened. But on some level, the message from the angels gets through to them, so they race back and tell the eleven and all the rest what they have learned. You would think the disciples would be thrilled. You might expect them to print up some worship folders, gather some brass players, bang a bit on the timpani. But the exact opposite happens. They don t believe a word of it. Our text, this morning, says that they considered it an idle tale. Other translations describe the women s testimony as foolish 2 talk. Neither of these translations seem an apt rendering of the Greek word λη ρος It would be more accurate to translate it pure nonsense. The disciples do not believe the women, and consider their story to be pure nonsense. We might be surprised to hear this. After all, these are Jesus closest followers, and if anyone should understand what is taking place on that first Easter morning, you d think it would be them. But the truth is: this theme of rejection has carried through most of St. Luke s Gospel. From the very beginning, when Jesus preaches his first sermon in 3 Nazareth, to the numerous run-ins he has with religious officials, to his own disciples 2 3 λῆρος, ου (leiros) m: speech which is complete and utter nonsense nonsense, humbug, pure nonsense. ἐφάνησαν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ λῆρος τὰ ῥήµατα ταῦτα it seemed to them that these words were pure nonsense Lk 24:11. St. Luke

3 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 3 inability to grasp what he is saying; the message and ministry and purpose of Jesus is rejected by many. Easter Sunday morning is no exception. The ones he had hand picked to carry his message to the world are presented with the central proclamation of his story and they think of it as pure nonsense. Except for Peter, that is. Saint Peter, who so often got it wrong during the course of Jesus ministry, is the one disciple who is moved by the testimony of these women. We have no idea what he is thinking (and frankly, that is a bit of a pattern for him there are times when you don't know what Peter is thinking, or whether Peter is thinking at all). But after hearing the message of the angels he immediately runs to the tomb himself, stoops down, looks inside, and sees that the grave clothes are there by themselves. St. Luke tells us that as Peter makes his way back home he is amazed. Peter is amazed. But amazed doesn t mean faithful. There are no cries of Christ is risen. [R/ Christ is risen indeed. ] among the disciples that morning. I used to have a hard time understanding this story. When I was younger, most everyone I knew had some form of attachment to the Christian faith. There just wasn t much questioning of it. In those days I just couldn t imagine having been there on that first Easter, having had the chance to talk with those who heard the proclamation of the angels, and then not believing what they had to say. But things have changed in my lifetime. Now this response seems sadly familiar. There are many in our day so many who hear that you and I are people of faith, and suspect that what we believe is pure nonsense. It s just the way our society is these days. And it can become awfully frustrating for us. After all, Jesus commands us to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and 4 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit You could make the case that this is the central responsibility of the church. To be faithful at helping others to become disciples, when we know that many who hear us will think of us as foolish, is not easy. But here s a word of comfort: God moved through the followers of Jesus to draw many people into a sincere faith during those early years of the Christian church, and God can do the same today, through us. That s why this story is so powerful. Not because Jesus closest followers saw this all coming. Not because the disciples found it easy to believe in the message of the resurrection. Not because the early church shared an irrefutable and simple-to-embrace truth with the people of their day. But because the power of God moved, and despite their inability to believe even to understand what had happened in their midst, God moved them to a place of faith. This has long been my response to people who ask me why I have such faith in this story. If they ask for proof that Jesus is who he claims to be, and that his resurrection from the dead is an act of God, I point out to them that these eleven followers of his one of whom denied him three times on Good Friday, and ten of them who ran and hid when he needed them most none of whom seem to believe or understand in the resurrection on that first Easter Sunday morning that these eleven followers eventually invested their entire lives in this story. They began to share the good news of the resurrection with the people of their time even though it was a terrifically dangerous thing to do. The complete transformation of their lives is about the best sign we have that God is in this, and it is real. Martin Luther understood this. Many of you know that of the volumes and volumes of sermons and treatises and letters he wrote, I am most grateful for one simple paragraph 4 St. Matthew 28:19, New Revised Standard Version Bible, op. cit.

4 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 4 he inserted into a small teaching tool he created for children. Luther wrote, I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. 5 Others may think of our faith as pure nonsense. There may even been times when we are tempted to think of it in these terms. But the truth is, despite our inability to fully comprehend what God has accomplished in Jesus, the Spirit continues to enlighten us, and strengthen our faith, and draw us into the promise, and help us to build our lives around the story of God s amazing love that we have come here to celebrate today. We are here because, in some form or fashion, we have been touched by the proclamation of the Easter Good News. We are here because the story of the resurrection of Christ has found a place in our hearts. The disciples themselves may at first have considered this utter nonsense. There well may be many in our day who would agree with that assessment. But inspired by the Holy Spirit, we understand it to be the Gospel Truth. Today we thank God for this extraordinary gift, and pray for the strength to be faithful to the Risen Christ in all we say and in all we do. Happy Easter, friends. May this day be a celebration of the joy we know that comes from no other source than God s love. Amen. David J. Risendal, Pastor Gospel Lesson; English Text 6 24:1 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened Luther s explanation to the Third Article of the Creed, in his Small Catechism (Wittenberg, Germany, 1529): I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church he daily and abundantly forgives all my sins, and the sins of all believers, and on the last day he will raise me and all the dead and will grant eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true. A list of Bible lessons for the coming weeks is available at St. Luke 24:1-12, New Revised Standard Version Bible, op. cit.

5 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 5 Gospel Lesson; Greek Text: 24:1 Τῃ δε µιᾳ τω ν σαββάτων ὄρθρου βαθέως ἐπι το µνη µα ἠ λθον φέρουσαι ἃ ἡτοίµασαν ἀρώµατα. 2 εὑ ρον δε το ν λίθον ἀποκεκυλισµένον ἀπο του µνηµείου, 3 εἰσελθου σαι δε οὐχ εὑ ρον το σω µα του κυρίου Ἰησου. 4 και ἐγένετο ἐν τῳ ἀπορει σθαι αὐτα ς περι τούτου και ἰδου ἄνδρες δύο ἐπέστησαν αὐται ς ἐν ἐσθη τι ἀστραπτούσῃ. 5 ἐµφόβων δε γενοµένων αὐτω ν και κλινουσω ν τα πρόσωπα εἰς τη ν γη ν εἰ παν προ ς αὐτάς τί ζητει τε το ν ζω ντα µετα τω ν νεκρω ν 6 οὐκ ἔστιν ὡ δε, ἀλλα ἠγέρθη. µνήσθητε ὡς ἐλάλησεν ὑµι ν ἔτι ὢν ἐν τῃ Γαλιλαίᾳ 7 λέγων το ν υἱο ν του ἀνθρώπου ὅτι δει παραδοθη ναι εἰς χει ρας ἀνθρώπων ἁµαρτωλω ν και σταυρωθη ναι και τῃ τρίτῃ ἡµέρᾳ ἀναστη ναι. 8 και ἐµνήσθησαν τω ν ῥηµάτων αὐτου. 9 Και ὑποστρέψασαι ἀπο του µνηµείου ἀπήγγειλαν ταυ τα πάντα τοι ς ἕνδεκα και πα σιν τοι ς λοιποι ς. 10 ἠ σαν δε ἡ Μαγδαληνη Μαρία και Ἰωάννα και Μαρία ἡ Ἰακώβου και αἱ λοιπαι συ ν αὐται ς. ἔλεγον προ ς του ς ἀποστόλους ταυ τα, 11 και ἐφάνησαν ἐνώπιον αὐτω ν ὡσει λη ρος τα ῥήµατα ταυ τα, και ἠπίστουν αὐται ς. 12 Ὁ δε Πέτρος ἀναστα ς ἔδραµεν ἐπι το µνηµει ον και παρακύψας βλέπει τα ὀθόνια µόνα, και ἀπη λθεν προ ς ἑαυτο ν θαυµάζων το γεγονός. 8 First Lesson; English Text: 10:34 Then Peter began to speak to them: I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. 9 First Lesson; Greek Text: 10:34 Ἀνοίξας δὲ Πέτρος τὸ στόµα εἶπεν ἐπ ἀληθείας καταλαµβάνοµαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήµπτης ὁ θεός, 35 ἀλλ ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούµενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργαζόµενος δικαιοσύνην δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστιν. 36 τὸν λόγον [ὃν] ἀπέστειλεν τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ εὐαγγελιζόµενος εἰρήνην διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὗτος ἐστιν πάντων κύριος, 37 ὑµεῖς οἴδατε τὸ γενόµενον ῥῆµα καθ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἀρξάµενος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας µετὰ τὸ βάπτισµα ὃ ἐκήρυξεν Ἰωάννης, 38 Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέθ, ὡς ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς πνεύµατι ἁγίῳ καὶ δυνάµει, ὃς διῆλθεν εὐεργετῶν καὶ ἰώµενος πάντας τοὺς καταδυναστευοµένους ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἦν µετ αὐτοῦ. 39 καὶ ἡµεῖς µάρτυρες πάντων ὧν ἐποίησεν ἔν τε τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ [ἐν] Ἰερουσαλήµ. ὃν καὶ ἀνεῖλαν κρεµάσαντες ἐπὶ ξύλου, 40 τοῦτον ὁ θεὸς ἤγειρεν [ἐν] τῇ τρίτῃ ἡµέρᾳ καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν ἐµφανῆ γενέσθαι, 41 οὐ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, ἀλλὰ µάρτυσιν τοῖς προκεχειροτονηµένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἡµῖν, οἵτινες συνεφάγοµεν καὶ συνεπίοµεν αὐτῷ µετὰ τὸ ἀναστῆναι αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν 42 καὶ παρήγγειλεν ἡµῖν κηρύξαι τῷ λαῷ καὶ διαµαρτύρασθαι ὅτι οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ ὡρισµένος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κριτὴς ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν. 43 τούτῳ πάντες οἱ προφῆται 8 9 St. Luke 24:1-12, The Greek New Testament, Aland, Kurt, Black, Matthew, Martini, Carlo M., Metzger, Bruce M., and Wikgren, Allen, ( 1983, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart). Acts 10:34-43, New Revised Standard Version Bible, op. cit.

6 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 6 µαρτυροῦσιν ἄφεσιν ἁµαρτιῶν λαβεῖν διὰ τοῦ ὀνόµατος αὐτοῦ πάντα τὸν πιστεύοντα εἰς αὐτόν. 10 Alternate First Lesson; English Text: 65:17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord and their descendants as well. 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord. 11 Second Lesson; English Text: If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last Acts 10:34-43, The Greek New Testament, op. cit. Isaiah 65:17-25, New Revised Standard Version Bible, op. cit.

7 The Resurrection of Our Lord; Easter Sunday Year C (March 27, 2016) 7 enemy to be destroyed is death. 12 Second Lesson; Greek Text: 19:19 εἰ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ ἐν Χριστῷ ἠλπικότες ἐσµὲν µόνον, ἐλεεινότεροι πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐσµέν. 20 Νυνὶ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιµηµένων. 21 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δἰ ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, καὶ δἰ ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν. 22 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰµ πάντες ἀποθνῄσκουσιν, οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες ζῳοποιηθήσονται. 23 Ἕκαστος δὲ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγµατι ἀπαρχὴ Χριστός, ἔπειτα οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ, 24 εἶτα τὸ τέλος, ὅταν παραδιδῷ τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί, ὅταν καταργήσῃ πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν καὶ δύναµιν. 25 δεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἄχρι οὗ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. 26 ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος st Corinthians 15:19-26, New Revised Standard Version Bible, op. cit. 1 st Corinthians 15:19-26, The Greek New Testament, op. cit.