The Bungee Cord 4-5-21

Hello,

 

Christ has risen!  Alleluia!

He has risen indeed!  Alleluia!

 

For centuries, these phrases have been how Christians have greeted each other on Easter.  The Bible tells us that these phrases were the news that the first witnesses to the resurrection said to one another.  Early in the morning, some of the women who had followed Jesus went to the tomb to perform some funeral rites.  They had not been able to do so when Jesus died, because of Sabbath rules.

 

When they arrived, they came upon a scene that they were not expecting.  The huge stone that had been rolled across the door to the tomb had been rolled back, and when they looked inside the tomb, Jesus’ body was not there.  Instead, they caught sight of a person/angel or two who told that that Jesus had risen.  The Bible tells us that they ran from the tomb and told the rest of the disciples, “Jesus has risen!”

 

The disciples were not about to believe the women’s words….who would have believed such an outlandish tale.  So, they ran to the tomb, looked in, and they discovered that what the women had told them was true, and although the Bible doesn’t tell us what they said, I am sure that when they took their eyes off of the empty tomb and looked into the eyes of the women, they must have said, “He is risen indeed!”

 

I suspect that all of you have heard the first half of this Easter greeting.   Maybe it wasn’t said to you, but you know that Christians across the globe are singing and shouting about Jesus’ resurrection in their churches on Easter Sunday.  “Christ is risen!”

 

The question that I wonder is this: what do you find yourself saying in response?  I know that there are some who hear this Easter news and respond with an, “Oh come on now.  You’re not foolish enough to believe that.”  Some others might say, “Show me the proof.”  And still others might say, “If that’s what you believe, fine.  But I just don’t see it.”

 

As a Christian who does believe the revelation of a God whose love is so great that he would, as the singer Michael Card said, “die to make you mine.”  And that this God would tread over death underfoot so that as the Bible says, “where I am, you may be also.”  As such a Christian, I do not consider it my job to make people believe this Easter message.  I don’t have to scare people into believing it by hanging them over the fires of hell.  I don’t have to twist their arm with rewards for believing it.  I don’t have to argue until I am blue in the face with people to believe it.  My job is simply this: to proclaim it.

 

My job is to tell the story that has been passed down to me.  My job is to live out the story in my outlook on life, the way I treat other people, and the way I take steps into the future.  My job is to shine the light of this story to the world, and not hide it under a bushel basket.  My job is to be like a reckless farmer and toss the story with abandon into the world and have it land on whatever soil it finds.  My job is to story-motivated walk with people who have been beaten down, and not beat them over the head with it.  I am not a salesman.  I am a “talesman”.

 

I am convinced that the truth bears itself out.  If it true….the truth of it will be seen.  If it is not true…..the un-truth of it will also be seen.  God has worked through others who have spoken and lived out this story in my presence.  These are people who have said, “Christ is risen!” in the unconditional compassion that they have shown me, the inconceivable forgiveness they have given me, and the unshakable hope with which they have embraced me.  And upon thus hearing the news of the empty Easter tomb, I have gone to the tomb, looked inside, and have discovered it empty.  Jesus is not there.

 

And with unbridled joy, I look into those peoples’ eyes and say, “He is risen indeed!”

 

I hope that there might be some inkling in your heart as God works through me in these Bungee Cords to take a look in the Easter tomb, and take a look at the power of God’s love that has been unleashed in the world, and then take a look back at me and say, “Christ is risen indeed!”

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,  (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger