Easter Sunrise March 27, 2016
Resurrection of our Lord (Easter Sunrise)
John 20:1-18 & 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
March 27, 2016
“Letting It Sink In…”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The world doesn’t really stop or even slow down for Holy Week, does it? What a busy week it’s been! Spring break which means people on trips. March Madness which means basketball games on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and even Easter Sunday. Presidential caucuses and primaries in three states on Tuesday.
But then in the midst of it came this shocking news—Tuesday morning in Belgium. Terrorists don’t take a break during Holy Week either. Hatred and Evil don’t stop for Holy Week. Over 30 dead in Brussels and almost 200 people wounded. Bombs at an airport and in the subway. Another tragedy. Another ISIS nightmare.
Very quickly those running for President rushed to make statements. Hillary, Bernie, Donald, Ted, John—all of them rushing to tell us how they would make things better if they were elected President. All of them promising us that they would fix this somehow. But let’s be clear. None of them will be able to fix it. I’m not saying their words were useless. No, we want them to have a plan and we hope that whoever is elected will be able to do some good things to minimize these attacks as much as possible.
But no politician or government official will ever be able to fully fix this. The only thing that will make any difference for those 31 people who have died—is 1 person who is living. One person who died Himself and is now risen again.
This latest terrorist attack is just one more reason why Easter morning is so important. It’s one more occasion to let this truth sink in—that Jesus is risen! This is one more day in your life and one more event in our lives and one more day in the course of this world to let this one ultimate truth sink in—that Jesus is risen! Jesus is risen, friends. Death hasn’t won and won’t ever win. It doesn’t matter who is doing the killing. Death will not win. This is one more chance to say, “Lord, have mercy on us.” Because He has won against evil. Because Jesus is risen.
Now this truth has to sink in. Don’t think you’re going to get it in just one Easter morning sermon. This is going to take some time. You’re going to need to go to Church every Easter. And twice on Easter is even better. And every Sunday, for that matter. And every day you need to be hearing it from God’s Word. This truth has to sink in.
On Tuesday, when the attacks happened in Belgium, the news started to trickle in. It always takes a while for news like that to sink in. It’s just too hard to believe at first. You just stare at your TV waiting for it to sink in, “Is this really true? Did this really happen? Who could have done this?” Maybe you flip to some other channels. “Are they all talking about this?”
Little by little, the bad news starts to sink in. You hear from many different reporters. Different reports give different numbers. The numbers go up. Then they might go down a bit. Different eyewitnesses recall what they heard and seen. Somebody caught something on their phone. Little by little, it starts to sink in.
Well, the same is true of good news. The same was true on Easter morning when Jesus rose from the dead. The news needed some time to sink in. See, we’re so accustomed to death that we don’t get it at first. It’s going to take some time. First, the women go to the tomb while it’s still dark. They find the stone rolled away and they see angels who tell them Jesus is risen. But they’re not at all sure about this. So they run back and tell the disciples.
Then Peter and John run to the tomb. They can’t make sense of it. The tomb is empty and the linen cloths are there. But where Jesus is…they’re not sure. They start to remember Jesus’ words that He would rise. But it’s just barely starting to sink in. Then two of the women come back to the tomb again and Mary even sees Jesus Himself. Now, for her at least, it’s starting to sink in more.
Then later in the day, two of the disciples are walking on their way to the town of Emmaus. Jesus appears to them. They don’t recognize Him at first but as He talks with them and as He breaks bread with them—it sinks in. They run back to tell the others. It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet, though, because all of them are hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem. Again, Jesus appears to them. They see His hands and touch His side. He eats with them. It’s sinking in. He’s risen. He’s alive. But Thomas doesn’t believe. So a week later Jesus appears again and Thomas sticks His fingers in the nail marks.
This went on more. For forty days until Jesus ascended into heaven. Little by little, it sank in. Jesus is alive! Jesus has conquered death! And little by little, their fear of all the horrible things in this world changed to joy and peace at all the wonderful things God has done. Fear and sorrow turned into joy. And when Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit, Easter morning had fully sunk in. And they were ready to shout it from the rooftops in Jerusalem and carry the Easter message to the ends of the earth.
Your entire life in this world is always going to be an exercise in letting this sink in—that Jesus is risen! Letting it sink in that Jesus has taken care of everything for you and you really have nothing to fear. He has taken care of your sin. He has taken care of death. He has taken care of eternal life. He is risen indeed! Let it sink in as you hear His Word and as you receive the Lord’s Supper and as you pray and as you tell others.
There’s no doubt that things right now are probably going on in your life where you need to let this truth sink in—that Jesus is risen. Is there a sin that you are battling and you feel like you will never be able to overcome it? Jesus is risen! That means you are forgiven and that sin is buried in His grave. That sin is gone! And that means that as you continue to battle that sin, the ultimate victory is already won. You may continue to struggle—but you have Jesus. And over time, letting this truth sink in of His victory, you can overcome those sins.
Is there a particular heartache going on for you right now that is weighing down your soul? Maybe you have regrets. Maybe shame. Maybe you’ve said something, done something, thought something, neglected something, hurt someone…let this truth sink in—Jesus is risen! It will take time for it to sink in. But it will. Jesus took all our sorrow and all our shame to the cross. He suffered all that we deserve and died our death. Now He is risen without sin. And so are we. You are baptized into Him and His resurrection is your resurrection. Day by day it will sink into your heart and mind—because He lives we shall live also.
For an example, look at how the season of Spring sinks in little by little. First the ugly, dirty snow melts. The ground thaws out. The sun starts to shine a little bit longer each day. The trees and plants start to get buds. The grass starts to green. The rains start to come, washing the earth clean from winter. And little by little by little, Spring sinks into our hearts and minds. We get giddy.
I’ll never forget one particular day when we were living in South Dakota. Obviously, in South Dakota the winter is a bit longer. The snow and the cold starts a little earlier and ends a little later. So it had been a long, cold winter. And I remember one particular day when Spring was just starting to show up. I was driving from our house over to the church and I got out of the van and there, very quickly, right when I got out was this moment of pure joy. You’ve probably had similar experiences. The sun was shining. The temperature was above 40 and there was something in the smell. It was wonderful. Spring was sinking in.
It’s even more wonderful when Jesus’ resurrection sinks into our heart and mind. The long, cold winter of our sins and death is done. Jesus has brought us to the spring of life eternal. It is already beginning now and we will experience it fully in the joy of paradise. But the joy is even now. Even amidst our sins and our sorrows and amidst terrorism and amidst shame and amidst death—eternal life is springing. Jesus is risen! You are forgiven! You have eternal life! Shout for joy all the earth! Christ is risen!
We confess it all the time. I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Let that Creed sink into your life. You believe it. Jesus is risen! We believe in resurrection and eternal life. And no terrorist will change that. No death will change that. No sin will change that.
Let Easter joy sink into your life. Sing the hymns this morning. Hear God’s word of victory this morning. Come and receive Jesus’ body and blood this morning. And keep hearing it and singing it and telling it and receiving it over and over again.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name. Amen.