Luke 24:1-12
Easter Sunday It's too good to be true!
When's the last time you said that?
Chances are, you've said it several times recently. Better yet, chances are that you've said it even a half-dozen times this week. You may not even realize you're saying it. We are inundated with propositions on a daily basis for products and ideas, and whatever else is the latest and greatest. Most of them present to us a proposal that is too good to be true. Ever watch an infomercial? How about most of that junk mail that fills our mail boxes and inboxes daily? So, you may not actually say it, but even without saying it, every time you drop that jump mail in the recycling bin, or turn the channel to something on the infomercial, you're saying it---"That's too good to be true" Such a daily, even constant filtering of information makes us pretty savvy at detecting what is worth paying attention to and what isn't.
On that first Easter morning, the women were presented with a proposition that seemed way too good to be true.They arrive at the tomb and find that the stone has been rolled away, essentially the tomb is standing wide open. They investigate and find not the body of Jesus, but two angels who say that Jesus is not here. He is risen and is alive! The women hear this, but at first they don't believe it. This sounds way too good to be true.
The Easter proclamation, "Christ is risen", means that the consequences of our sinful destructive behavior can no longer destroy us. It means that out of all the ugliness of our world, beauty will still rise again. It means that nothing, truly nothing, not even death, can separate us from the forgiving love of God. "Christ is risen"---not even death can keep God from us. "Christ is risen" means we Christians are never without a living, breathing image of an eternal hope. Too often, though, we fail to believe this proclamation, because it seems just too good to be true.
However, when we do believe it, it changes our world. There are times in life when the only thing we have left that keeps us moving forward is the eternal hope that Christ offers to us.
Steven Curtis Chapman, a very popular Contemporary Christian musician, wrote some of the most honest and beautiful lyrics a couple of years ago that speak about the power of this Easter hope. But, to appreciate the music, you have to know the story behind it. The Chapman's 5-year old daughter was tragically killed in an auto accident. The driver of the car that killed their little girl was their oldest son, he was 17 at the time. In the wake of such a devastating loss, Steven Curtis Chapman composed the music for the album "Beauty Will Rise". Each song on this album is written as a response to his grief, and it is powerfully hopeful. One particular song, entitled "See", is written from the perspective of his 5 year old daughter who is now in Heaven. The refrain echoes his pain as well as his joy and hope, as he sings about his daughter reminding him about the beauty of heaven, "Daddy, it's just the way you said it would be, just you wait and see."
The freedom to lament to God, and know that one day we will rise again, that is the power behind this proclamation, "Christ is risen!" And that message is certainly not junk mail. Its the best news the world could receive, and it is a gift from God to all of us who follow Christ.
Lord God, thank you for raising your Son from the grave so that we would be given the ability to believe that you offer an eternal hope to us. May this hope guide my life, shape my life, and give me a reason to carry on. Lord, you make beauty to rise out of ugliness. Make your beauty rise like your Son out of the ugly tomb of my heart. On this Easter day, let me proclaim and believe, "Christ is risen", and he is alive for me. In Jesus' name. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment