Fwd: PBPC Update - Easter Sunday Service
Dear PBPC Friends,
Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Here's is the link to today's PBPC Easter service:
Have a blessed day as we celebrate our Risen King!
Blessings,
Pastor Chris
"Restore & Renew"
April 12, 2020 – Easter Sunday
Chris Coon, PBPC
Matthew 28:1-10
1After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him." This is my message for you.' 8So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.'
Friends, this is the day that we profess and celebrate that God has overcome the powers of sin and death. In this time of coronavirus pandemic, I have heard some suggest that perhaps this is the beginning of the Apocalypse, the beginning of the end of the world. This sickness that we face is like an insidious plague claiming its victims, and in its wake we face the specter of economic collapse and hardship. And all of this on a scale that is hardly imaginable. Does this current reality eclipse the significance of a religious holiday? Perhaps, but Easter is not a simple holiday, and the message of Easter is far bigger and far more magnificent than the greatest tragedies or triumphs of human history. Today we remember what God has done for all of humanity in raising his Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead.
So, what is the resurrection and why does it matter? The first question might seem like a strange one, but let's start there, because there are always some wrong ideas that seep into our minds from the culture around us.
Let's begin with what the resurrection isn't. The story of the resurrection is not one of those surprise endings that older movies so often liked to pull (think of Bambi) when one of the main characters appears to have died, only to reappear just as everyone is shedding tears over his loss. The Good News is not that Jesus didn't die after all – the Good News is that Jesus did die, and he rose from the dead.
The resurrection story also is not simply the message that Jesus' body died, but his spirit lives on. This is a recurring (false) philosophy and theology throughout the centuries that tells us that physical matter is bad, and spiritual matter is good. It follows that it doesn't matter what happens to our bodies, because ultimately we don't need them and are even better off without – to be a free spirit is our destiny. On the contrary, scripture tells us that Jesus was embodied, and when his body died, he died. It turns out that the body is very important! It was when Jesus rose bodily, that death was defeated and life prevailed.
And the third thing that the resurrection is not, is the idea that the spirit of Jesus lives on, like a good idea, in his followers. As noble as this is, and as true as it is, it does not replace the truth of Jesus' own physical rising from the grave.
Let us be clear right now: what the Bible teaches us, what the gospel narratives and eyewitness accounts tell us, is that Jesus Christ died on the cross, his dead body was laid in the tomb, and on the third day he bodily rose from the dead. And not as a zombie, not as a resuscitated person, but as one who has been both restored and completely renewed.
It was as if Jesus was himself, and yet supercharged. His body had been infused with the life of God and transformed into something more. Jesus was even more himself than he had been.
So why is this important? It was the victory of God over sin and death, it was the ultimate demonstration of God's power, and it means that Jesus lives. But what does the resurrection mean for us?
First of all, resurrection is our destiny. Jesus says "I am the Resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me will never die, and anyone who dies yet shall live." And Paul says that Jesus is the "first fruit" of the greater resurrection that is in store for each one of us who is in Christ. So we have the promise, not just of an eternal spiritual existence, but of new and transformed bodies.
But why would we need new bodies if we are going to heaven? This question assumes that the earth will be no more. On the contrary, God says "Behold, I make all things new," and scripture tells us there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Far from being bad or irredeemable, God's good creation is still much loved by him, and he is going to restore and renew all of it. We will be transformed people in a transformed creation, living in fellowship with God. God's life renews and transforms all things.
Well, if this all sounds too esoteric or spiritually theoretical, I understand. The resurrection gives us hope for the future – the eternal future – and that is a powerful thing which must not be undervalued. But the resurrection of Jesus changes our lives right here and right now. As another pastor and theologian has said, "Eternity is now in session." Our new life in Christ begins right now, because in Christ we can know God, the source of life. And God begins a good work in us when we give ourselves to Jesus – God is transforming us, making us into the people we were meant to be. We are living, can be living, the beginning of the resurrection life right now.
So, friends, the Easter is the most important day of the year because the resurrection of Jesus was the watershed moment of human history, the moment when God not only won the decisive battle over sin and death, but the moment that God set in motion his divine conspiracy to restore and renew all of creation and all of humanity, that is, all who will receive and embrace his gift of abundant and everlasting life. Amen.