Always
The Church of the Wayfarer
Dr. Norm Mowery, Pastor
EASTER—April 24, 2011
Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20
This morning I am not going to argue about the reality of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
I am not going to tell you what Jesus’ resurrection body was like.
Today I am not going to attempt to give a scientific answer to explain the ascension of Jesus into heaven after the resurrection.
I might be a bit simplistic but I just accept the resurrection.
I don’t argue about it.
I don’t defend it.
I don’t feel a need to question it.
I just accept it.
Why? Because the resurrection story is my story!
The song says,
“You ask me how I know He lives.
He lives with in my heart.”
I believe in the resurrection story because it is my story—my reality.
Jesus last words were, “Remember, I am with you always.”
Always! Yes, always!
There is much that I don’t know. But I know that Jesus is with me—always.
The resurrection story is not only Jesus’ story but it can be your story, too. During Lent we listened to stories of Love and Loss.
· We heard how Abraham and Sarah laughed when the angel told them that they would have a child in old age and subsequently became the parents of many nations.
· We heard how Jacob, a scoundrel though he was, was forgiven by his brother Esau.
· We heard how Joseph, though sold into slavery, experienced good growing out of evil.
· We heard how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt but not into the Promised Land.
· How Joshua drew on spiritual powers to break down the walls of Jericho.
· And how Ruth, a foreigner, became a part of the lineage of Jesus.
We saw ourselves in these stories of Love and Loss and we are in the Easter story, too, which is also a story of love and loss.
This past week, on Holy Thursday, we lived the story of Jesus in the Upper Room with his closest friends on the eve of his death and we had a most intimate time together.
On Friday we walked with Jesus to his death as seven of our own members shared about Jesus last words.
This morning we have read the story of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus into heaven.
It is not good enough for us to know some one else’s story. Even if it is: Abraham’s story
Or Joseph’s
Or Ruth’s
Or even Jesus’ story.
We only need to know our story.
What is your story?
Do you have a story of faith?
Is Jesus a part of your faith journey?
Can you say the following?
“And He walks with me.
And he talks with me.
And He tells me I am his own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there.
None other has ever known.”
I can say that. That is my story. That is how I experience the truth of the resurrection.
My story of faith began when I was born as my parents lived and shared their faith with their seven children through prayer, Bible study, family devotions, and regular church attendance.
My faith was there from the beginning of my life. It was an important part of me. I didn’t question it—that is until later in life. I will tell you about that in a few minutes.
I remember well the time that my parents’ faith became my faith.
I remember the time when I made a conscious choice to believe.
There have been
many moments of decision,
many opportunities to say ‘yes or no’ to faith.
My story includes—
doubts,
questions,
bad decisions,
guilt—
But, Jesus was always there.
I will never forget a hot summer night in a very emotional revival meeting. (Some of you know what those are.) That was the night I said yes to follow Jesus and his way of love.
Looking back I think that the preacher
was probably manipulative,
I know that there was peer pressure,
I know that guilt, fear, judgment and even hell
was a part of the message that night.
Even so, I made a decision to believe.
As a pastor today I proclaim the positive forces like hope and meaning and purpose and love and faith. To me that is what Jesus is all about.
No matter how or why I made the decision for Jesus from that moment I knew that he would always be with me.
In our scripture we have Matthew’s story of the empty tomb. It is fitting that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary should be the first to receive the news of the Risen Lord, and to encounter Him.
They had been there at the cross.
They had been there when he was laid in the tomb.
And now they knew the joy of the resurrection.
Three Imperatives spring out of this resurrection appearance.
1. They were urged to believe.
“Come and See,” see for yourselves the angels said.
2. They were urged to share.
“Go quickly and tell his disciples,” they said.
3. They were urged to rejoice.
“Chairete,” meaning rejoice was the first word that Jesus spoke after the resurrection.
But this is not the end of the story. At the end of our lesson Jesus gives his final words.
1. He assured them of his power.
He gave them and us the Holy Spirit to live a positive, abundant, fulfilled life.
2. He gave them a mission.
He commissioned them to tell the world the good news.
3. He promised them a presence.
He said he would never leave them or forsake them.
Jesus very last words after the resurrection were, “And, look you, I am with you always!
When I read this I thought of the Wal-Mart slogan of some years ago. I think it was, “Always the Low Price Leader” and then because of truth in advertising they had to change it to simply say, ‘Always.’ I guess that ‘Always’ didn’t fit either because now Wal-Mart’s slogan is, “Save Money. Live Better.”
Jesus words don’t have to be changed. They are eternal truth.
I discovered that Jesus’ ‘always’ means ‘always’ when I was in my mid life.
I told you earlier that I never really questioned my faith—the faith I had developed as a child. That was true till I had been in my career for about fifteen years. At that point I needed to be reminded that Jesus was with me even when: I experienced the death of a parent.
My wife had surgery.
I felt like a failure in my job.
I discovered that I was not a perfect parent.
I felt stress and pain.
I experienced evil in the church.
At that point I needed to be reminded of one word: ‘always.’
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Jesus said.
Today we need to know what truth is. There is much that is not true in our world today.
· Did you know that about two-thirds of the findings published in top medical journals are refuted within just a few years?
· Even worse, there’s a one-in-12 chance that a doctor’s diagnosis will be wrong.
· Having just filed your federal tax returns, you might want to know that professionally prepared returns are more likely to have serious errors than self-prepared returns.
· Fifty percent of all newspaper articles have at least one incorrect fact.
David Freedman has included these shocking discoveries in a book called Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us. He encourages us all to be smarter about how we search for advice and to ask tough questions of people who claim to be experts. The gospel of Matthew tells us that on the first day of the week, early in the morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to see Jesus’ tomb.
The two Marys are nonexperts,
who have now heard, seen and touched
the truth of the resurrection.
The resurrection is still being reported by people who have caught a glimpse of the risen Jesus in the mundane experiences of human life.
Eyewitnesses still report that Jesus is alive and active. The risen Jesus works through individuals in surprising and life-changing ways.
Jesus also appears in communities that are advancing his mission in the world like the Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
When it comes to religious truth, it’s often wise to trust the advice of nonexperts. So who are the nonexperts on the resurrection today? YOU ARE! Your story is truth. You know it if Jesus lives in your heart and life.
I have a friend who was on a flight to Florida. She is an educational psychologist and was preparing her notes for one of the parent-education seminars she conducts across the nation. The elderly woman sitting next to her explained that she was returning to Miami after having spent two weeks visiting her six children, 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren in Boston. Then she inquired what her seat companion did for a living. My friend the psychologist told me she was irritated at the woman and dreaded the rest of the flight. She fully expected to be pestered with questions and was sure that she would be asked for free professional advice. Instead when the elderly woman heard that my friend was an educational psychologist, the elderly woman sat back, picked up a magazine and said, “If there’s anything you want to know, just ask me.”
That elderly woman was confident that she knew more about parenting that my friend.
When our life’s story includes faith we know that Jesus is always with us!
Christ is Risen. Christ is risen indeed. Always.
Christ is Risen. Always. Alleluia.
Easter Prayer
God of glory, we gather to celebrate your victory over death and the power of sin.
The empty cross and the promise of the resurrection are tangible signs of hope in our broken world.
We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who aren’t free to sing their alleluias out loud.
We give thanks for those who glorify you this day in places where hope is in short supply — in countries recovering from natural disasters or torn by war.
We pray for those who suffer in mind, body or spirit, who lack the strength to sing alleluia. We offer alleluias on their behalf, praying for healing so their voices can join in the joyful songs of praise.
We give you thanks for the saints who have gone before us, singing in your heavenly choir, grateful for their lives of faith.
Help us live as Easter people throughout the year; let our lives be signs of your unending love.
We pray in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
