Resurrection of our Lord (Easter Day) April 1, 2018
Resurrection of our Lord
Mark 16:1-8; Romans 6:4
April 1, 2018
“We Too May Walk in Newness of Life”
Holy Baptism – Fourth
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires,
and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I apologize that I couldn’t get the painting by Johann Overdeck to appear any clearer in your bulletin. That‘s the best I could do. But it’s a great painting. Jesus is walking out of the tomb with his victory banner, His eyes toward heaven. The angel sits on the stone, flaming sword in hand. The guards on the right tremble like dead men, not being able to figure out what’s going on because the glory is too bright. And in the background the women are coming, carrying their spices that they’ve prepared for His body, talking about who will roll the stone away for them.
I was specifically looking for a picture of Jesus walking out of the tomb because it’s not just Him that walks out of that tomb—it’s all of us. That’s our tomb. We’re the ones trapped inside. That grave is our sin. That grave is our death. That grave is the grave of your husband out in the cemetery, the grave of your parents in the cemetery, that grave is the grave of your Grandma or Grandpa who died and was buried, the grave of your children or grandchildren, and that grave is the one you and I will lie in. The grave Jesus walked out of is ours. We’re all going to die because we’re all sinners. We deserve it. But on Easter morning Jesus said, “We’re walking out of here!” And so it is. Even though we die, yet shall we live. And one day all the bodies of everyone who believed in Jesus Christ will walk out of their graves with Jesus to eternal life. It’s a real walkout! A real March for Life! A walkout with Jesus from our sins and from our death, marching in forgiveness and newness of life, with Jesus holding the banner of victory.
Now this all happens for you because you’re baptized into Jesus. That’s how St. Paul explains it in Romans chapter 6. We’re baptized into Jesus so that we too may walk in newness of life. Just as He did, we do. Now some translations of the Bible, like the NIV, translate it, “we too may live a new life.” But that’s not helpful, in my estimation. It might sound better in English but it’s not what Paul says. He doesn’t say you may live a new life. The word isn’t new. The word is more than just new. It’s a different word. It’s newness. And there’s a difference. Something just new will quickly become old. Like your new cell phone. In a few months it’ll be old. Like your new joke. It’s already old. So if Jesus just gives us a new life, then tomorrow it will be an old life because we’ll be sinning and dying again like we always do. I don’t just need a new life. I need newness of life every single day.
So Jesus walks us out of the tomb, through our Baptism, into newness of life. Not new, newness of life. The newness never goes away. It’s always there. Like the newness of Spring. You’ve all lived through Spring before. It’s nothing new, right? Yet when you live through a cold, snowy, dreary winter—Spring is always new. It’s newness never goes away. And that is our life in Christ. It’s always new. Every single day we’re marching out of the tomb with Jesus saying, “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” “I am baptized into Christ!” I’m walking out in newness of life.
Now maybe you think we’re just talking about the saying, “Tomorrow’s a new day.” Are we just getting a nice moral object lesson here today? “Don’t dwell on the past. Make today a new day.” Sounds like one of these long, cheesy, sappy commercials we’re subjected to on the TV all the time. But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about what this day is before God. Not just how I’m going to visualize this day or some nonsense like that. We’re talking about getting up out of yesterday’s tomb and standing before God and God saying, “You’re new in Christ. I forget your sins from yesterday. They’re forgiven. They’re gone. You’re baptized. You’re My daughter. My son. I love you. And today you walk with Jesus in newness of life.”
Every single day of this life you don’t know what’s going to happen. Just like that, today could be one of the best days of your life or one of the worst days. Two weeks ago we were celebrating the first day of Spring. Then on the very next Saturday we’re all stuck in our homes shoveling ten inches of snow. Or maybe you tried to go out and you were stuck in a ditch somewhere.
We simply don’t know. I could die right here giving this sermon. You could die listening to it. Maybe you think you’re dying listening to it. A thousand different things could happen today—good or bad. Those women went to the tomb that Sunday morning thinking it was one of the worst days. They went with their spices fully expecting to find a dead body. Then they’d anoint the body, and then spend the rest of the day weeping. They say, “Who’s going to roll the stone away for us?”
And instead, in a moment their whole day changes. Now we’re sitting here two thousand years later talking about their day. We’re talking about Mary Magdalene and how this one day she got to the tomb and it was empty. We’re talking about how she was crying outside of the tomb when Jesus appears to her and comforts her.
So you don’t know what today will bring. But it’s an Easter day. And you walk in newness of life. Our Catechism tells us how we should pray in the morning. It says, “In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Then say the Creed. Then the Lord’s Prayer. Then a prayer commending yourself to God. And then it says “go joyfully to your work.”
Go joyfully. Every morning is like that picture I put in your bulletin. We get out of bed looking like we’ve been dead for three days. Right? Maybe our mind was racing through the night about this or that. Maybe we couldn’t sleep. Maybe we were up too late doing things we shouldn’t have been doing. Maybe we’re dreading what’s coming today. But we get up, make the sign of Jesus’ cross over our heart, and we say, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And we pick up that banner of victory, our Baptism into Jesus Christ, and we walk out of the dark with Him into the light with our eyes toward heaven. We too walk in newness of life. And there’s God’s angel sitting waiting for us, with flaming sword in hand, to keep the evil foe away from us.
And then we go joyfully to our work. Not knowing what this particular day’s going to bring. But knowing that we’re baptized into Jesus and so we go with Him. He meets us in our prayers, like He met Mary outside of the tomb, calling us by name, “Mary.” He meets us in the Sacrament here today, like He met the two disciples on the road of Emmaus and sat down to break bread with them and they recognized Him. He meets us in His Word, as He met all His disciples in the upper room on Easter evening, saying, “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.”
Now maybe you think I’ve made too big a deal about one little word—newness. That it shouldn’t just be “live a new life”. Well, I’ll tell you why it’s important. Many Christians today are taught that Baptism is just a one-time event that happened way back when. It’s old news now. Now you’re supposed to be living that new life. You’re supposed to be living for Jesus. You’re supposed to be a new person. And yet, curiously, you keep looking like the same old sinner you were yesterday. We keep telling you to be better but you keep sinning. We keep telling you exactly what your new life should look like but you keep screwing it up.
Now compare that to what the Scriptures say. God doesn’t say your new life is a once and done deal. He says it’s an “every day done deal”. You walk in newness of life. Yes, you are still a sinner. A big one. You really stink at a lot of things. You know it and we know it. But you are baptized! Today’s an Easter day! You’re walking out of the tomb again this morning with Jesus. He’s rolling away the stones of yesterday, creating in you a clean heart, and renewing in you a right spirit. Jesus wasn’t just risen 2,000 years ago. He is risen! Today! And every day! And so are you. So walk in your newness of life! “I am baptized into Christ!” We were buried therefore with Him, by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.”
In Jesus’ name. Amen.