Posts Tagged ‘Easter Sermons’
Sermon 7 Easter Yr B
7 Easter Yr B, 24/05/2009
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“The ministry of ordinary people”
John drove in a leisurely fashion to the Amtrak station. The twins were on the spring break and were coming in on the 3 o’clock train. He needed time alone to reflect on all that had happened in the past several weeks. Karenza, his spouse, had finished seminary at the end of the fall semester. The spring had been filled with opportunities to interview for parish pastorates. It had been a learning experience for them both.
He had been stunned by some of the bigotry and subtle discrimination his wife had encountered as she offered her talents to the Lord through the church. They would usually debrief after her interviews, sipping cups of hot tea, and discussing what it meant to be called in the face of those other disciples who thought women ought not be pastors. He had never doubted Karenza’s gifts for ministry; he was beginning to doubt the church’s ability to utilize them.
The twins greeted him at the station with enthusiastic stories about campus life. Eric looked at his dad thoughtfully, “How is the whole thing going for Mom now? She beat us to graduation by six months.”
John filled them in on all but his wife’s tears. They were silent for a while until Linda said, “It’s God’s church and she’ll be chosen for something. I know it.” Her firm optimism somehow eased the strain.
The next Sunday they all attended a church where Karenza preached as part of the calling process in that parish. During the coffee break before the meeting to vote on her, Linda struck up a conversation with a man in the coffee line. He sat down with her at a nearby table as they munched cookies.
“You’re a visitor here. We’re about to actually consider a woman for our pastor. I have a hard time with that. After all the Bible says women should be silent.”
Linda looked at him and nodded, “Yes, for a particular time and place that was true. But I understand when we are baptized it means we are all together in this. All the gifts God gives ought to be used, whether they belong to women or men. Jesus said in one of his parables that one of the people who got gold was afraid and hid it in the ground. I think doing ministry means we do not hide our gifts.”
The man looked at her and nodded thoughtfully. Then someone struck a glass with a fork and announced that the meeting was to begin. John and the twins went home to await the news from Karenza.
Two hours later she joined them on the backyard terrace, her face filled with joy. “I’ve been chosen to be their new pastor. The chairperson of the committee was not initially in favour of this but he stood up and talked about someone who visited this morning and he said it was obvious she had heard the gospel and he needed to start listening.”1
In today’s first lesson from Acts, we also learn about a choosing and call process to serve Christ among that first generation of Christians. Like the story of Karenza, we learn that God calls and chooses people whom at first, others may not necessarily have chosen. It is the grace and guidance of God at work in the lives of people that determines the end result of any choice in the call process—at least that is what we hope and believe is true.
An important lesson we learn from this story in Acts today is that Christ has given his first followers a ministry in the meantime, that is, in the between time. Today’s story takes place in the meantime, or between time after Christ’s ascension into heaven and before the day of Pentecost. We, too, live in the meantime, in the between time. And like those first-generation followers of Jesus, Christ has also given us a ministry in the meantime, the time in between. We live in the meantime, the between time after the day of Pentecost and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and before Christ’s second coming. Do we simply do nothing and wait for Jesus to come for us today? No! We continue to do the ministry he has given us, while we wait for his coming again.
Even in the short between time of the first-generation Christians, they were not content to do nothing. Rather, they were directed to serve Christ by choosing another apostle to succeed Judas. The choosing of a twelfth apostle is consistent with what Jesus had promised earlier in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 22:28-30. In that passage, Jesus promised the twelve apostles they would have a privileged status in his future kingdom. The twelve apostles would sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Therefore it was now necessary here in our passage from Acts to reorganise the sacred band of twelve apostles in fulfillment of this promise to choose and call a replacement apostle after Judas had defected and committed suicide. According to Peter, who is here taking a leadership role among the other apostles and the 120 first-generation followers of Jesus, this reorganizational process was necessary to continue the ministry of Christ and his church.
So, Peter proceeds to lay out the qualifications of a new, replacement apostle to be chosen among those 120 first-generation of Christians. The first qualification, so it seems, is that the successor of Judas must have been present with Jesus in his earthly ministry from the time of the baptism of John until the day of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. In other words, the person should not be a recent convert who had not accompanied Jesus in his earthly ministry. This qualification makes a lot of sense, because the continuing ministry of Christ on earth; if it were to be successful; had to reach people with the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel message, of course, is Christ-centred, therefore who better to preach the Gospel than the closest friends and followers of Jesus? The first-generation apostles had an advantage over everyone else, because they were with Jesus in his day-to-day earthly ministry; they remembered what he said in his preaching and teaching; and they witnessed his miracles and signs. The apostles then were the most qualified folks to “go and tell,” to spread the Gospel to into the world.
The second qualification that Peter spells out is that the replacement apostle “must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” In other words, the resurrection was “the” single, most important Christ-event of them all. Therefore, the replacement apostle had to be an eye-witness to Christ’s resurrection. The resurrection was “the” single, most important life-changing event out of which the Christian church was born. Christ’s resurrection confirms God’s saving power over the powers of evil, sin, and death. If God works in a saving way through Christ’s resurrection for all people, by giving the promise that one day, those who believe in Christ and his resurrection; then, all people would need to hear the Good News of Christ’s resurrection. Who better to spread the Good News of Christ’s resurrection than the original, first-generation eye-witnesses to the resurrection?
Out of the 120 first-generation followers of Jesus, two people are suggested as candidates that meet the two qualifications for a replacement apostle, they are: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. One of the fascinating things about these two followers of Jesus is that we have zero information about them, other than their names—nowhere else in the New Testament are they mentioned again.
What does this teach us? Well, I believe that it teaches us Christ can and does call ordinary people; folks who may not be that popular or famous. You don’t have to be a world famous televangelist to spread the Good News to others. Christ is able to bless the ministry of even the least among us. In fact, the least known may be the most common way in which Jesus works in the church. If we were to number the total membership of active Christians in the world today and compare that with the total number of the most famous and popular Christian leaders; I think there would be way more ordinary, unknown Christians than there would be popular, famous ones. The vast majority of Christians today are not well known and famous—rather, they are like Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias, little, if anything is known about them. Yet, Christ chooses and calls such ordinary folks as you and me to share in his ministry equally as much as he chooses and calls the rich and famous. We ordinary folks are equally as important in Christ’s eyes as are the most popular people in the church.
So, in the meantime, the between time, it was not at first clear which of these two candidates should be chosen and called to replace Judas as an apostle. The group of those first-generation Christians then turn to the Lord in prayer to ask for guidance as to who is to replace Judas. After that, being Jews, they turn to a familiar method of casting lots to determine which of the two people is going to replace Judas. For them, God was at work even in the chance aspect of casting lots—whether it was choosing straws, rolling dice, or some other method, we do not know. What we do know is that the lot fell on Matthias, and the other apostles, along with the 120 followers of Jesus accept Matthias as the new, replacement apostle. After that, we have absolutely no information on the ministry of Matthias in the New Testament.
In the meantime, the between time, we too, like that first-generation of Jesus’ followers, need to turn to the Lord with one mind and heart and pray for guidance. Prayer, when we listen as much as speak, can and does change our hearts and minds or confirms the truth as we already know it. Prayer is our spiritual oxygen, as I’ve said on many other occasions. If this is so, then we shall want to be in constant communication with the Lord to discern his will for us both as individuals and a congregation. So, may the Lord’s will be done among us individually and as a congregation—that we, like that first-generation church may be faithful witnesses to Christ and his resurrection power. Amen.
1 Cited from: Susan K. Hedahl, “Opening The Door,” in: 56 Lectionary Stories For Preaching: Based Upon The Revised Common Lectionary Cycle B (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1993), pp. 63-64.
Sermon 5 Easter Yr B
5 Easter Yr B, 10/05/2009
Acts 8:26-40
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch”
Pastor Harry is a retired minister who is working as an associate pastor. He had to take an early retirement due to several health difficulties. Yet that hasn’t stopped him as one whose heart is bigger than life. He is a very gentle and consistent servant of Christ.
Pastor Harry tells of the story of Mike, a neighbour of his for many years. Mike was born into a home that never discussed items like faith, God and salvation. He was brought up in a very humanistic mindset. He could do anything on his own power without the help of anyone. In fact, the business he owned he made happen. He and Pastor Harry would always visit and discuss topics. Pastor Harry knew that if he was ever to witness to this man it had to be at the right time and in the right place.
Pastor Harry’s second love in life is wood-working. He can make anything from a prayer box for the church to a complete bedroom furniture set. He invited Mike to a woodworking group that met at Pastor Harry’s every Monday evening. About seven men gathered for wood-working, refreshments and a short time of devotions. Pastor Harry invited Mike and reluctantly Mike came. He came for seven weeks in a row and didn’t say much when it came to the time of devotions. He just sat and listened. Finally, after the 10th week Mike asked Pastor Harry if he would stick around and talk with him. He replied that it would be fine. Mike stayed and asked question upon question about this faith of Pastor Harry’s and this Lord that the pastor testified about. It was then that Pastor Harry shared the good news of God’s love in Christ. That night Mike became part of the Christian faith and now is involved in his local church.1
The story reminds us that we can make a difference; Christ can place us, through the work of the Holy Spirit, in a path of someone who may be open to the Christian faith. We, like Pastor Harry in the story, can be missionaries for Christ and bear witness by sharing our faith and the Gospel message with those whom God places in our pathway of life.
In today’s first lesson from Acts chapter eight we learn of how God gives Philip a nudge by speaking to him through, an angel and then the Holy Spirit—telling what to do in order to serve Christ and the Gospel. The story brings into focus one of Luke’s favourite themes. According to Luke and Acts, the followers of Jesus were to go out and spread the Gospel and the new Christian faith from Jerusalem and Judea, out to the Gentile world, to the ends of the earth. Philip, as a faithful disciple and missionary of Jesus, does exactly that in today’s story.
I find this story of Philip quite an interesting one and also instructive in terms of Philip’s faithfulness. Prior to our first lesson, Philip had been engaged in a successful preaching and healing tour in the city of Samaria. We learn that crowds were quite impressed with Philip’s preaching and works of healing. With such success in his ministry, you’d think that Philip might want to stay on in Samaria.
However, God has other plans. Philip is told by an angel: “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) Now why would Philip want to leave the comforts and successes in the city of Samaria to travel in the wilderness? What was he to do there? Nobody lives out there. Notice in our story too that the angel is not identified by name, nor described by Luke. All there is for Philip to go on is a simple command. “Get up and go…” Now, I wonder, if you and I were Philip, would we believe or listen to this angel? Wouldn’t we want to continue with the satisfying ministry among the crowds of Samaria? Why would we want to go into nowhere-land, a desolate wilderness with next to no people? Furthermore, our life could be in danger there, that’s where the criminal element hangs out—they could rob us, beat us up, and leave us die alone out in the desert heat. Yet, the amazing thing is that Philip listens and obeys the angel’s command. He doesn’t seem to doubt or argue with the angel. Nor does he run away in the opposite direction, like old Jonah did. No. Rather, he listens and believes and acts upon his beliefs. Luke says: “So he got up and went.” Was he disappointed because he couldn’t stay on at Samaria? We don’t know. Did he inwardly wrestle with and doubt the angel’s command? We don’t know that either. All Luke says is: “So he got up and went.” Now that is an act of faith on Philip’s part. Faith that can inspire us to listen to, believe, and do the right thing—even when that “right thing” is difficult for us and less attractive than what we might be doing right now.
As the story continues, Luke describes a Gentile man, a foreigner of considerable status. Luke tells us this fellow was “an Ethiopian.” He goes on to speak of his sexual, social and political status, saying that he was a “eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury.” In ancient times, eunuchs may have been regarded as trustworthy servants of royal courts, not posing as sexually threatening to the king’s harem. The words “the Candace,” are a title of the Ethiopian queen. As “court official” and “in charge of (the queen’s) entire treasury,” this chap likely had plenty of political and financial smarts—a minister of both external affairs and finance. He was a trustworthy advisor to the queen.
Luke then states the purpose of the Ethiopian eunuch’s visit to Jerusalem, and tells us what his reading material was while travelling in his chariot back to his homeland. “He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.” In other words, he was a Gentile who had a deep, spiritual desire to worship the One True God—elsewhere in Acts, Luke calls such Gentiles “God-fearers.” The “God-fearers” believed in the One True God, but did not necessarily keep the Torah dietary laws or the Jewish requirement of male circumcision. For the Ethiopian eunuch to travel so far a distance to worship God is a clue that he was very serious about his devotion to God.
The fact that he was reading from the prophet Isaiah tells us that this chap was quite literate: perhaps he was fluent in the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages, in addition to his own mother tongue. God’s prevenient grace had been at work in the Ethiopian eunuch—sending him to Jerusalem, placing the prophet Isaiah’s work in his hands, giving him a hunger and thirst for biblical truth, and a deep desire to draw into closer communion with God. Long before we humans realise it, God’s prevenient grace is at work to lead us to him.
Enter into the story once again Philip. Now, we’re told, it is the Holy Spirit speaking to Philip and giving him the following command: “Go over to this chariot and join it.” Once again Philip listens and acts in faith. Upon hearing the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah out loud, Philip asks him a question that opens the door for him to witness to this Gentile. The question may have been placed on Philip’s lips by the Holy Spirit: “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian eunuch gives Philip an honest answer, along with an open door invitation, saying: “How can I, unless someone guides me.” Luke says he actually invited Philip to come and sit beside him and teach him. Perhaps the Ethiopian had been waiting to speak with someone like Philip for a long time. What we do know is that he had an open heart and mind for God’s Word. The time was ripe for sowing the seed of God’s Good News in his heart and mind. Such opportunities are a God-given grace event—they are what we would call Kairos moments, teaching moments, right times to bear faithful witness. Philip is here a wonderful role model evangelist and missionary for us to learn from. He unpacks the passage from Isaiah 53:7-8, interpreting the passage as a reference to Jesus, and then goes on to preach to the Ethiopian the good news about Jesus. Philip’s faithfulness here is a fulfillment of Christ’s command to go and preach the Good News. The message Philip preaches touches the heart and mind of the Ethiopian eunuch and he is baptized by Philip into the Christian faith. Indeed, tradition has it that this newly baptized disciple of Jesus went home to Ethiopia and preached the Gospel to his people.
Does this missionary and evangelistic story inspire you? If so, then maybe you could go out and share the story with some non-Christian that you might know. May Philip’s example of witnessing inspire us to go and tell the Gospel story.
1 Cited from: Emphasis Vol. 24, No. 1, May-June 1994 (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., Inc.), p. 13.
Sermon 2 Easter Yr B
2 Easter Yr B, 19/04/2009
I Jn 1:5-7
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“Walking in the Light”
Light. We cannot live without light. Life is possible because of light. Our world, as we know it, needs light to exist. The same is true for us spiritually. Listen to the words of the writer of our second lesson again: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” We all need the light. Without light we are lost in darkness.
In her book, The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder tells the story of how difficult life could be on the frontier especially during the winter. She recalls one winter in particular when it started snowing in October and did not seem to stop until April. The temperature dropped to 40 below. Snow reached the roof tops and the townspeople nearly starved.
Things became so bad that two young men, Cap Garland and Almanzo Wilder set out on a 40-mile round trip to bring back wheat for the village. It was a slow difficult trip, with the 19-and 24-year-old boys enduring frostbite and a wagon that turned over in the drifts. The trip back was long and the boys realized they were down to the last mile but because of the darkness and snow they were not sure that they had not passed by the town.
Almanzo headed for the town, which was somewhere in the thick darkness, as well as he could. Almanzo yelled to Cap, “You see anything?” “Nope. We’re in for it, I guess,” Cap answered. “Town cannot be far ahead,” Almanzo told him.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a gleam of light. He looked toward it and then saw nothing in the storm but dark. Then he saw it again, a glow that shone bright, then abruptly went out. He knew what it was; light shining out from a door that had quickly opened and closed. Near where it had been, he thought he saw the faint glow of a frost-covered window and yelled to Cap, “See that light? Come on!”1
We all need light, without light we are lost in the darkness. We cannot live without light. Light reveals, helps us to see the truth. The risen Jesus appeared to his first disciples, revealing himself as the Light of the world. In the resurrection accounts, Christ’s appearance is described as bright and shining. The writer of our second lesson today also states that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”
Greek philosopher, Plato, once said: “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy is when adults are afraid of the light.” The people who engage in criminal acts and acts of evil often wait for darkness to commit their crimes and evil acts. Overall, the majority of such crimes and evil acts are more likely to happen in the darkness of night. Folks guilty of such crimes and evil acts regard light as their enemy because the reveals what is true. You cannot hide in the light.
The writer of our second lesson says that those who walk in the darkness cannot do what is true, they are living a lie. What the writer means here is that those who love to engage in sinful acts like breaking the ten commandments, for example, and then say that they are doing nothing wrong are liars. Such people denied that they were sinners or guilty of sin, therefore they said they really did not need Jesus to forgive them. For them, the death of Jesus was not necessary and did not cleanse them from sin because they had no sin and were not sinners.
John, on the contrary states that we walk in the light when we believe that we are sinners, have committed sins and need Jesus, the Son of God to forgive us. According to John, the shed blood of Jesus on the cross is life-giving; it has the power to cleanse us from all sin. In believing this, we walk in the light. Why? Because Christ, the risen Light of the world has shined on us; has given us the true revelation about himself. The true revelation is that he died for us on the cross to forgive our sins and he was resurrected on Easter morning, defeating the powers of death and evil and opening up for us the way of eternal life by promising that one day we to shall share in a resurrection like his. This is the message of Christ the Light of the world. The message shines on us so that we can walk in the light. We walk in the light when we rely on Christ to live a life of love—loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving neighbour as ourselves. We have been given this light, therefore we reflect it outwards to others, to the whole world to see. The message of this Easter season is that we are going to let our light shine; we let the Light of Christ shine through us. We are reflectors of his resurrection Light.
The story is told of a church way up in the highest mountains of Switzerland. A beautiful church, built with great care by the villagers who lived nearby. Yet, there was one thing the church did not have. Can you think of what that might have been? If you guessed no lights, you are correct. The villagers could not go into the church and switch on the lights like we do here. Yet every Sunday evening the people living on the mountain-side opposite the tiny church saw something wonderful. The church bell would ring and worshippers would wend their way up the mountainside towards the church. After they entered the church, all of a sudden it would light up brightly. What do you think happened? Yes, you see the people had to bring light with them, so they carried lanterns. Arriving at church, they lit their lanterns, and then hung them around the church on pegs set in the walls, so the light would spread all around. If only a few people came to church the light would be very dim because there were only a few lanterns. However, when lots of people came to church there was plenty of light. After the service the villagers took their lanterns home. While exiting the church, those who watched from a distance saw a stream of light pouring out of the church and over the mountainside. For many it was a sign that all was well. God’s light was with them and in them. The only time the little church lit up was when people were there. That’s when it truly became a church, and the light shone most brightly.2 The villagers were walking in the Light of Christ and others saw it because they reflected it.
So, too, we are walking in the Easter Light of Christ whenever we reflect it to others through words and acts of love, serving God and our neighbours. Amen.
1 Emphasis, Vol. 23, No. 6, March-April 1994 (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., Inc.), p. 52.
2 Cited with some modifications from Rev. Richard Fairchild, the 5th Sunday of Year A, 1999, at <www.spirit-net.ca/sermon.html>.
3 Easter Yr A
3 Easter Yr A, 6/04/2008
1 Peter 1:17-23
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
“Life in Christ”
Once there was a young lad leading his donkey in front of some soldiers. Several soldiers began to harass the boy. One soldier asked him, “Why are you holding onto your brother so tightly?” Without hesitation, the boy replied, “So he won’t join the army.”
The author of 1 Peter, was also writing to Christians living in Roman provinces of Asia Minor—modern day Turkey—who felt like this young lad, harassed and threatened by the pagan culture around them. The writer provides several word pictures of what Christ has done through his death and resurrection; who these Christians are now because of Christ’s saving work; and how they are now able to respond as they proceed to live a new life in Christ.
The first picture we are given of these new Christians in Asia Minor is that of exiles, aliens, or refugees. If you talk with exiles today, many of them share similar concerns or fears of the dominating culture into which they have come to live. As a minority group, it is difficult to maintain and preserve one’s identity—especially if the mainstream culture is hostile to you and pressures you to give up your own cultural or religious identity. These Christians lived in a culture that worshipped many gods and goddesses. The worship could involve wicked and immoral acts and beliefs in conflict with Christian acts and beliefs.
In one sense, we Christians are all exiles in this world—since our true, eternal home is in heaven. Therefore, there will always be certain temptations of the mainstream culture that threaten our status as Christians and may lead us away from Christ and our Christian faith. Exiles, if they face hardships and even persecution, long for the day when they can return to their true homeland where everything is familiar; where they can feel and live in peace and security. The same is true for us as Christians, we long for our true homeland where we can live in familiar surroundings; where we can feel and live in the peace and security of God and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the author of 1 Peter instructs these Asia Minor Christians to live with the proper kind of fear—not the fear of the majority culture all around them. Rather, they are to live in reverent fear of God, as are we while they and we live in exile. What is reverent fear? Well, it is fear that expresses itself in awe. Awe and wonder at the power and love and presence of God in Christ. Awe for what God in Christ has done for us. Awe that trusts and believes God is in control of the world and has planned things out very carefully and lovingly even since before the foundation of the world. Awe that says, “No matter how difficult it is to live in this world, I am in God’s hands. He gives me life today and every day and provides what I need. He has also provided for me eternally—thanks to the saving work of Jesus Christ.”
A second word picture that the author of 1 Peter provides us is that of Christians who are captives, slaves in need of being rescued and freed from the sinful ways of the pagan world. The saving work of Christ here is pictured as a ransom—that is to say, he paid the costly price to rescue and free us from our sinful ways. This word picture is also meaningful in our contemporary world.
A few years ago, you may recall the story of Canadian hostage, Norbert Reinhart, owner of the Ontario-based business, Terramundo Drilling. He turned himself in to Colombian rebels in exchange, as a ransom for a kidnapped employee. The story began when the rebels kidnapped diamond-driller Edward Leonard.
Reinhart eventually made a deal with rebels to free Leonard. The deal involved Reinhart changing places with Leonard. At the time, Foreign Affairs Minister, Lloyd Axworthy did not approve of the deal. He told Reinhart and Reinhart’s family that negotiations should have been left to the Colombian government. However, once Reinhart turned himself in to the rebels, they released Leonard, who went back to his family in Creston, B.C.
Christ, says our second lesson, ransomed the Asia Minor Christians and us not with perishable things of this world, but with his precious blood, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He paid the price of his suffering, even dying on the cross, shedding his precious blood, which atoned for the sin of the world. Just as the Passover lamb’s blood on the doorposts of the Israelite slaves in Egypt saved their lives—so Christ’s blood atones for and saves our lives. Just as the Passover for the Jews is a festival celebrating their freedom from Egyptian slavery; so Christ’s death and shedding of blood and God’s raising him on the third day is our celebration of our freedom from the powers of sin, death and evil.
A third picture the author of 1 Peter provides concerning the work of Christ and the identity of Christians is having been born anew thanks to the immeasurable love of Christ displayed by his suffering, death and resurrection. Such profound, all encompassing love of God in Christ transforms us; gives us new birth through the living and enduring word of God. The Good News, the Gospel, proclaiming and receiving this word of God changes us. Having received this love of Jesus, we now are free to love one another.
Something of Christ’s love for us and our freedom to respond in love by passing it on to others is demonstrated in the following story. Richard Wauro was only a toddler when his parents were given the shattering news that their little boy had been born with serious brain damage and would be mentally defective for the rest of his days. His speech, sight and hearing would always be seriously impaired. Bravely, Olive and Ted Wauro decided that, whatever the difficulties, they were going to keep Richard at home and look after him themselves. It was a heartbreaking choice, and it meant endless work and personal sacrifice.
Then, when he was six, Richard began to draw. Not the scribbles of a demented child but the figures and scenes from life all around him. His talent, as it developed, astonished the experts and delighted the growing number of people who wanted to buy one of Richard’s pictures.
Richard is now an adult, and his paintings are exhibited all over the world. His remarkable story is told by Ron Thompson, a television reporter, in his book Never A Dull Moment.
As Ron Thompson wrote, “Somewhere in the darkness of Richard’s mind there shines a light which has brought Olive and Ted Wauro out of their despair and into the sunshine of a new life.”1
That is the power of love, when given away and generously spent on others, it is amazing how it can change people and give them new life—as Christ’s love has done for us. Amen.
1 Cited from Ron Thompson, Never A Dull Moment (Dundee, Scotland: David Winter & Son Ltd, 1974).
Sermon 2 Easter Yr A
2 Easter Yr A, 30/03/2008
Jn 20:29b-31
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
“Resurrection Faith: Thomas’ and Ours”
A saintly man who was a professor in a science department of a university, once was asked by a junior colleague, an agnostic, how he managed to reconcile his religious belief with his scientific knowledge. He answered in some words of another scientist, Thomas Edison: “We don’t know the millionth part of one per cent about anything. We don’t know what light is. We don’t know what gravity is. We don’t know what heat is. But we do not let our ignorance about these things deprive us of their use. 1
Belief, faith, trust…. In our gospel today, we learn of the slow awakening of belief for the apostle Thomas the doubter. I suspect that many of us here today can empathize or identify with the doubting disciple, Thomas. Ours is an age of scientific advancements, which are, without doubt, very impressive. Unfortunately, what science has taught us is that nothing is a provable fact or real unless we can examine things with our five senses; using a method of normal repeated experiments to analyze the data and draw our conclusions, based on our observations in the experiments.
In the closing verses of our gospel today, John raises for us the whole issue of believing. What do we believe? Or maybe it would be more appropriate to ask: Whom do you believe? During this season of Easter, we are confronted with the belief of the early Christians in the risen Christ. The resurrection, for those early Christians was a whole new reality, which they had never experienced before. It is, among other things a great mystery of our faith; a reality that is not easy to explain completely. If we approach the resurrection of Jesus today from a scientific worldview, we are in trouble, for the resurrection is not meant to be based on a series of repeatable experiments, observing normal data. Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus is quite the contrary—it is not a normal event, rather, it is a supernatural out-of-the-ordinary; extraordinary event. That is why we cannot base our belief—or for that matter our disbelief—in the resurrection on normal scientific data, analysis, observations or conclusions. Thomas Edison was right, what we believe from a faith or religious point of view need not be understood completely before it is of use to us. Another way of putting it may be to say that where our science ends, our faith begins.
That does not mean, however, that in matters of faith we leave our minds at the door and stop using them. Not at all, there are many profound matters of our faith, which challenge our intellect a great deal. What it does mean, however, is that our faith involves a whole series of realities going beyond our intellectual, emotional, and other faculties of our five senses. There is a multidimensional aspect of our faith, which, if you like, might be called “the sixth sense;” wherein we are dealing with deep and holy mysteries.
Jesus tells Thomas and all future would-be Christians: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now likely those of us trained to approach reality from a scientific worldview will respond to Jesus by asking: “But how does one come to believe without seeing?” I would answer that question in at least two ways. First, I would say that belief, faith in Christ, God and the resurrection come to us always as a gift from God. God is free to give us this gift of believing; initially then, it is God who speaks to our lives, who reaches and touches us in our deepest places so that we are able to say: “Yes! I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in my own resurrection.” In this answer, it’s really not so much the “howness” that’s important, as it is the “whatness or thatness” of God’s gift of faith. You see, faith is always relational. It is always based on and deeply rooted in God’s relationship with us individually and collectively. God speaking to us and being present with us and for us in many and various ways—for most of us that means the Word and the sacraments; for others of us it is through prayer or Bible study; for others it might be through fellowship with others and deeds of loving-kindness; for others, it might mean something else.
That leads me into my second answer. In addition to faith and believing in God, Christ and the resurrection as a gift from God; we are called on to trust that the original eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection were telling the truth—they were not telling lies or writing nice myths and fictitious stories. To believe then in the resurrection, without seeing the risen Christ ourselves means: the eyewitnesses were telling the truth about the risen Jesus; we can trust their testimony. Here John helps us to understand this aspect of our believing and faith when he clearly states his purpose of writing his Gospel in verse 31: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
In other words, in writing his Gospel, John wishes to pass on; to communicate to future generations of readers the story of Jesus Christ as he experienced it. In this sense, we all are like John, God has given us the gift of believing and faith not to keep it bottled up inside, but to spread it, share it with others. In this sense, the words of John in these last verses of our gospel today challenge all of us by causing us to consider personal questions like: “What am I doing to be a witness for God? How good an advertisement am I for Jesus and his resurrection? Do people really know that Christ is risen by observing my words and actions every day? What does the resurrection of Jesus mean for my everyday living and overall attitude towards life?”
How blessed do you feel today to be here worshipping the risen Christ? The meaning of the resurrection is that through a variety of ways and means Jesus is present with us. We experience his resurrection and an inkling of our own resurrection each and every day. This happens when we wake up each morning and are given a new fresh day and fresh start to share his love with others. We too experience little resurrections whenever or wherever we encounter a new found hope or inspiration after we’ve been struggling with doubts or fears or failures. Christ is so much larger than our doubts, fears and failures. He is able to use them in our lives and in the lives of others to deepen our faith and believing. We experience new resurrections whenever we are given a clean bill of health after fearing that we might have some sort of fatal disease. We experience new resurrections in life whenever we are able to grow in trusting God with all of our life, not just in church on Sunday mornings. Our faith, if it is healthy is always on a journey into a deeper maturity, which helps us to grow in our experiences of and appreciation for Christ’s resurrection and the promise of ours.
Actually, faith is a response of the whole person. It is not something that one has once and for all—like a book on a shelf, a pearl in a drawer, a diploma on a wall or a license in a wallet. It is not merely a practice, a statement or a structure. It is mysteriously both God’s gift and our responsibility. We must recover and nourish it daily, in spite of our personal sins and stupidities, and in the face of the world’s arrogant self-sufficiency. 2
May we grow in our trust of the risen Christ, who is able to work miracles in us to spread the Good News of his resurrection to others.
1 Cited from: F. Gay, The Friendship Book, 1985, meditation for May 7th.
2 From: Richard A. McCormick, “Changing My Mind About the Changeable Church,” in The Christian Century, August 8-15, 1990 Vol. 107, No. 23, (Chicago:The Christian Century Foundation, 1990), p. 736.
Sermon Easter Day Yr A
Easter Day Yr A, 23/03/2008
Col 3:1-4
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“Raised with Christ”
A grouchy husband made it into heaven along with his wife. However he was still rather glum. “What’s wrong now?” the wife asked. “Can’t you see, we’re in heaven? This is beautiful—the music is great, the food is out of this world, the mansion has everything and more we’d ever dreamt of, the golf course is the best we’ve ever seen, there’s no fees, no taxes, our health is fantastic, why aren’t you happy? What’s wrong with you?”
The husband replied, “If we hadn’t eaten that miserable oat bran, we could have been here ten years ago.”
The punch line of this joke compliments the words of our second lesson today. In this passage, the Christians at Colossae, which was a town of Phrygia in Asia Minor, close to Ephesus, were exhorted to focus on heaven. Earlier they had been told that through the entrance rite of Christianity; through the sacrament of Holy Baptism; they had died and risen with Christ. Now, continuing with that line of thought, they are instructed: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
In other words, they are to live, to act like Easter people. They are to live and act as resurrection people. This is true, because for the writer of this letter, the resurrection is something that has already been accomplished in the past, the writer reminds them and us: “you have been raised with Christ,” an action, a fact that has already occurred—not “you shall be raised with Christ” in the future. The resurrection is an accomplished action; a victory won; a fact that has now become part of Christian salvation history, says the writer of Colossians with utmost confidence.
Pastor and professor, Donald Deffner tells the following story: An atheist who served as a custodian at a seminary enjoyed baiting the young theologians. He told one who was reading a book about eternal life, “If you ask me, that’s so much hogwash. When you’re dead, you’re dead.” The student replied, “You’re right, George. When you’re dead, you’re dead.” The janitor walked away, wondering what in the world that young man was doing at a seminary. The student’s point was that hope of eternal life comes only after one has faced the reality of eternal death—which the janitor had not.1
Our second lesson reminds us that hope of eternal life comes only after we have faced the reality of eternal death. We have all done that when we were baptised. In baptism we were buried with Christ in his death and in baptism we were raised with Christ to new, resurrection life. Therefore, the writer exhorts the Colossian Christians to focus on this new reality of resurrection. Resurrection, says the writer, is to be the Christian’s entire orientation in life. Resurrection is the key, the guide, the reason for living life now in this world. Resurrection is the Christian’s life focus. What does that mean? Does it mean that we’re so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good? No, not at all! That is to misunderstand the message of our passage. Rather, it is to live life on earth in light of the reality, the accomplished fact that Christ, through his death and resurrection has won the victory for us and for everyone—that is why he is now “seated at the right hand of God.” This picture of Christ being exalted, by sitting at God’s right hand is a Jewish concept of future reward in heaven; it is giving Christ the ultimate honour as the Messiah. It reminds one of a winner, victor after a great battle. Christ is the Victor, Christ is the Winner, and Christ is the Ultimate Conqueror. Hence militant Easter hymns like “The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done,” and “Thine Is the Glory” are most appropriate as we celebrate the truth of Easter Sunday and the power of the resurrection. Christ has defeated the powers of sin, death and evil. If that is true, says our second lesson, then the way we live as Christians each day points to that reality of the resurrection.
One of our magazines carried a cartoon of a pastor addressing an overflow congregation on Easter Sunday and asking, “Are you not just a little curious as to what goes on here between Easters?” Regardless of the motivation, what does Easter mean to you? Or rather, what does Christ mean to you? Do you reckon him a notable historical personage like Socrates, Buddha, Gandhi? Do you reverence him as the sublimest ethical teacher of all time? Or do you believe that he overcame the sharpness of death, that is to say, he is not only the Jesus of history but the Jesus of experience, alive and at work in the world here and now? If you incline to shy away from that last question, dismissing it perhaps as sheer mysticism, take another look at the facts. Christianity is something more than hero-worship. It is not just the perpetuation of a great memory. It is a relationship to and a fellowship with a Christ who is “alive for evermore.” Everything in Christianity depends on the reality of the resurrection of Christ, on the fact that he rose from the grave, appeared to his disciples, made his presence felt in their lives, and still makes his presence felt, is in our generation as great an actuality as he was to his first followers.
“Shall I tell you,” David Livingstone asked the students of Glasgow University on his return from sixteen years spent in Africa, “what sustained me amidst the toil and hardship, and loneliness of my exiled life? It was the promise, ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end.’” For multitudes this is life’s most precious conviction. When they speak about Christ, they use not only the past and future tenses but the present tense as well. “Lo, I am with you always.” That is the heartwarming, heart-gladdening fact we celebrate this morning.2
For us Christians, our ultimate security; our eternal home; our most healthy state of being is in heaven with God in Christ. That does not mean we are so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good. Rather, that means living in light of the fact of our baptismal inheritance and covenant. That means living in light of the fact that, as our second lesson reminds us we: “have been raised with Christ.” This is an accomplished fact that shapes all of our history, personally and collectively. In light of this fact, our life on earth can bring resurrection where there is death; hope to the hopeless; love to the loveless. In the face of all sufferings and failures—there is healing and ultimate victory thanks to our risen Saviour Jesus Christ. Yes, we “have been raised with Christ!” Alleluia! Amen.
1 Donald L. Deffner, Sermons for Church Year Festivals (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1997), p. 68.
2 Robert J. McCracken, “The Inevitableness of Easter,” in: Paul H. Sherry, Editor, The Riverside Preachers: Fosdick McCracken Campbell Coffin (New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1978), pp. 99-100.
