Robert T. Young - "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" Easter Service 9:00 am (April 18, 1976)
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| (symphonic music) | 0:13 | |
| (person coughs) | 1:09 | |
| (symphonic music) | 1:16 | |
| (symphonic music) | 4:39 | |
| (symphonic music) | 7:25 | |
| (choir sings) | 9:23 | |
| - | The Lord is risen. | 11:38 |
| - | The Lord is risen indeed (indistinct). | 11:42 |
| - | And a voice from the throne said, | 11:45 |
| "Behold I make all things new." | 11:48 | |
| (congregation responds) | 11:54 | |
| (gentle piano music) | 12:06 | |
| (congregation sings) | 12:49 | |
| (symphonic music) | 15:56 | |
| (choir sings) | 16:28 | |
| (symphonic music) | 18:40 | |
| (choir sings) | 18:50 | |
| The Lord is risen. | 20:19 | |
| - | The Lord is risen indeed (indistinct). | 20:22 |
| - | Because the Lord is risen, | 20:39 |
| we can find the courage to see ourselves as we are, | 20:42 | |
| with the assurance that God is loving and forgiving, | 20:49 | |
| and calls us to confess our sins | 20:54 | |
| so that we can receive and accept forgiveness. | 20:59 | |
| Let us pray. | 21:04 | |
| Oh, holy God. | 21:08 | |
| On this joyous Easter Sunday, | 21:10 | |
| it is difficult for us to confess our sin. | 21:13 | |
| We give thanks, we rejoice, we are exhilarant. | 21:17 | |
| But we pray, oh, God, | 21:23 | |
| that our rejoicing will not blind us | 21:25 | |
| to the needs of the world. | 21:28 | |
| That our affirmation of the resurrection | 21:31 | |
| will not (indistinct) reality of the crucifixion. | 21:35 | |
| Break our apathy and our arrogance | 21:40 | |
| with the judgment of your law | 21:44 | |
| and the assurance of the resurrection faith. | 21:47 | |
| Then in mercy (indistinct). | 21:51 | |
| Oh, Holy Spirit, | 21:54 | |
| causing us as a community | 21:56 | |
| to be born a new in Jesus Christ our Lord. | 21:59 | |
| (gentle piano music) | 22:27 | |
| (choir sings) | 22:38 | |
| (symphonic music) | 24:00 | |
| Remember Jesus' words: | 24:50 | |
| "Your sins are forgiven. | 24:53 | |
| "I have come that you might have life | 24:56 | |
| "and have life more abundant. | 25:00 | |
| "Behold I make all things new." | 25:04 | |
| For this, we rejoice and give thanks. | 25:09 | |
| (man coughs) | 25:17 | |
| - | Whether you're here now, | 25:19 |
| the first reading of the scripture, | 25:19 | |
| it is found in the Book of Acts. | 25:21 | |
| Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, | 25:25 | |
| and those among you that fear God, | 25:29 | |
| to us has been sent the message of the salvation. | 25:32 | |
| For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, | 25:37 | |
| because they did not recognize Him | 25:40 | |
| nor understand the utterances of the prophets, | 25:43 | |
| which are read every Sabbath, | 25:46 | |
| fulfill these by condemning him. | 25:49 | |
| Though they could charge Him with nothing deserving death, | 25:52 | |
| yet they asked Pilate to have Him killed. | 25:56 | |
| And when they had fulfilled all it was written of Him, | 26:01 | |
| they took him down from the tree | 26:04 | |
| and laid him in a tomb. | 26:07 | |
| But God raised him from the dead. | 26:09 | |
| And for many days, | 26:12 | |
| He appeared to those who came up with Him | 26:13 | |
| from Galilee to Jerusalem, | 26:16 | |
| who are now his witnesses to the people. | 26:19 | |
| And we bring you the good news, | 26:22 | |
| that what God promised to the fathers, | 26:24 | |
| this, He has fulfilled to us, their children, | 26:27 | |
| by raising Jesus. | 26:30 | |
| As also it is written in the 2 Psalm: | 26:32 | |
| "Thou art my Son, | 26:36 | |
| "today I have begotten thee." | 26:38 | |
| Well, the congregation now rise | 26:41 | |
| for the reading of the gospel. | 26:43 | |
| Now, when Jesus came, | 26:50 | |
| He found that Lazarus | 26:52 | |
| had already been in the tomb, four days. | 26:53 | |
| Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off. | 26:57 | |
| And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary | 27:01 | |
| to console them concerning their brother. | 27:04 | |
| When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, | 27:07 | |
| she went and met Him while Mary sat in the house. | 27:10 | |
| Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, | 27:14 | |
| "my brother would not have died. | 27:18 | |
| "And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, | 27:20 | |
| "God will give you." | 27:24 | |
| Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." | 27:26 | |
| Martha said to Him, | 27:32 | |
| "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection | 27:33 | |
| "at the last day." | 27:36 | |
| Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. | 27:38 | |
| "He who believes in me, | 27:43 | |
| "though he die, yet shall he live. | 27:45 | |
| "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. | 27:50 | |
| "Do you believe this?" | 27:53 | |
| She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, | 27:56 | |
| "I believe that you are the Christ, | 27:58 | |
| "the Son of God, | 28:00 | |
| "He who is coming into the world." | 28:02 | |
| Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. | 28:06 | |
| It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. | 28:09 | |
| Jesus said, "Take away the stone." | 28:13 | |
| Martha, the sister of the dead man said to Him, | 28:16 | |
| "Lord, by this time there will be an odor | 28:20 | |
| "for he has been dead four days." | 28:22 | |
| Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you | 28:25 | |
| "that if you would believe, | 28:28 | |
| "you would see the glory of God." | 28:29 | |
| So they took away the stone. | 28:32 | |
| And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, | 28:34 | |
| "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. | 28:37 | |
| "I know that thou hearest me always. | 28:40 | |
| "But I have said this on account of the people standing by | 28:43 | |
| "that they may believe that thou did send me." | 28:47 | |
| When He had said this, | 28:51 | |
| He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." | 28:52 | |
| The dead man came out; | 28:57 | |
| hands and feet bound with bandages, | 29:00 | |
| and his face wrapped with a cloth. | 29:02 | |
| Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go." | 29:05 | |
| (symphonic music) | 29:13 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 29:14 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 29:23 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 29:28 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 29:33 | |
| - | Let us with one voice, | 29:52 |
| affirm our fate in one of the ancient creeds | 29:53 | |
| of the church: | 29:57 | |
| I believe in God, the Father Almighty, | 30:00 | |
| creator of heaven and earth. | 30:03 | |
| And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, | 30:06 | |
| who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. | 30:10 | |
| Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, | 30:13 | |
| was crucified, died, and was buried. | 30:18 | |
| He descended into hell. | 30:22 | |
| The third day, He rose again from the dead. | 30:24 | |
| He ascended into heaven, | 30:28 | |
| and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. | 30:30 | |
| Thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. | 30:34 | |
| I believe in the holy spirit, | 30:38 | |
| the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, | 30:41 | |
| the forgiveness of sins, | 30:46 | |
| the resurrection of the body, | 30:49 | |
| and life everlasting. | 30:51 | |
| Amen, amen, amen. | 30:54 | |
| The Lord be with you. | 30:58 | |
| - | And with your spirit. | 31:01 |
| - | Let us pray. | 31:02 |
| Oh, holy God, oh, loving God, | 31:13 | |
| oh, suffering God, God of mercy and justice, | 31:18 | |
| we rejoice that you came to us in human form, | 31:24 | |
| that you know our temptations, our pain, | 31:30 | |
| our suffering, our joys, our hopes. | 31:32 | |
| We give you thanks for Jesus who lived | 31:37 | |
| and died as one of us. | 31:39 | |
| We give thanks for the assurance we celebrated Easter, | 31:42 | |
| that nothing can separate us from your law. | 31:45 | |
| Not despair, not defeat, not pain, | 31:49 | |
| not rejection, not failure. | 31:54 | |
| But our memories are short, oh, God, | 31:58 | |
| and we need to be reminded daily, weekly. | 32:02 | |
| We give thanks for this day when we celebrate | 32:07 | |
| that death did not destroy | 32:11 | |
| or conquer Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer. | 32:14 | |
| But in our joy and exhortation, | 32:19 | |
| we are surprised that there is a sadness, a darkness. | 32:23 | |
| For we are still struggling, | 32:29 | |
| we can separate ourselves from each other and from You. | 32:33 | |
| So we leave before you, | 32:40 | |
| those who are separated from those they love | 32:44 | |
| by conflict or anger | 32:48 | |
| or illness or death, | 32:52 | |
| and those who are separated from your law. | 32:56 | |
| We leave before you, | 33:03 | |
| those families whose lives have been shattered | 33:04 | |
| by terrible tragedies, oh, God. | 33:07 | |
| Those persons whose great courage | 33:13 | |
| and being obedient to your will | 33:15 | |
| has brought to them times of hardship and persecution. | 33:18 | |
| We pray for your holy church, the body of Christ, | 33:26 | |
| which is fractured and broken daily. | 33:30 | |
| I know God, we especially pray for those persons | 33:34 | |
| who cannot worship in a community on this Easter; | 33:38 | |
| those who through no choice of their own have | 33:43 | |
| to remain at home or in a hospital, | 33:46 | |
| sick in mind or body. | 33:49 | |
| And we remember those who are caring for them; | 33:53 | |
| send your healing and comforting grace | 33:58 | |
| so that in their apartness, | 34:02 | |
| they may feel united | 34:06 | |
| with all who worship you on this day. | 34:07 | |
| Hear us as we bring to You, our personal chaos. | 34:13 | |
| Some of us are facing limits and disappointments | 34:19 | |
| in our relationships, in our jobs, in our studying. | 34:23 | |
| Help us to accept our human limitations | 34:30 | |
| of our own finitude, integrity, and commitment, | 34:34 | |
| in ways that are redemptive | 34:38 | |
| for us and for all. | 34:40 | |
| But, oh, God, give us courage to break | 34:43 | |
| through those limitations of exploitation, | 34:47 | |
| destructive power, and sensitivity, | 34:52 | |
| which we or others impose on us and others. | 34:56 | |
| Some of us, oh, God, are facing temptations | 35:02 | |
| in our personal relationships, | 35:04 | |
| in our jobs, in our studying. | 35:07 | |
| We are tempted to betray ourselves and You | 35:10 | |
| as we seek easy success or quick pleasure. | 35:16 | |
| Give us vision, wisdom, strength, and patience. | 35:22 | |
| Send your holy spirit to us; | 35:29 | |
| your spirit who brings us life, | 35:32 | |
| your spirit who helps us love, | 35:36 | |
| your spirit who makes all we do, | 35:41 | |
| not easy, but full of meaning. | 35:45 | |
| Hear us now as we pray the prayer | 35:50 | |
| that Jesus taught us, his disciples, to pray: | 35:55 | |
| our father who art in heaven, | 36:01 | |
| hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, | 36:04 | |
| thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 36:09 | |
| Give us this day, our daily bread. | 36:14 | |
| - | And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 36:18 |
| who trespass against us, | 36:22 | |
| and lead us not into temptation, | 36:25 | |
| but deliver us from evil. | 36:28 | |
| For thine is the kingdom, | 36:30 | |
| the power and the glory (indistinct). | 36:32 | |
| - | I'm sure you joined with all of us | 36:40 |
| to give thanks for the new robes | 36:42 | |
| which the choir is wearing today. | 36:44 | |
| They add to the glory in the beauty of this Easter worship. | 36:46 | |
| And it is appropriate on this Easter | 36:51 | |
| when we celebrate the possibility of life, | 36:53 | |
| that there are some people, concerned Christians, | 36:57 | |
| who will be standing outside of the chapel, | 37:00 | |
| asking that we affirm | 37:02 | |
| that human values must outweigh military claims | 37:06 | |
| as our government determines its priorities. | 37:12 | |
| This is the glorious Easter Day. | 37:16 | |
| We give thanks for the beauty of the music, | 37:20 | |
| for the beauty of the world, | 37:23 | |
| the glory of the singing. | 37:25 | |
| Let us continue our celebration of Jesus' resurrection | 37:27 | |
| that we all might have life. | 37:33 | |
| - | In the name of God, who creates us, | 37:52 |
| redeems us, and sustains us, amen. | 37:55 | |
| Our birth and death are easy hours like sleep | 38:02 | |
| and food, and drink. | 38:08 | |
| The struggle staggers us for bread, | 38:12 | |
| for pride, for simple dignity. | 38:15 | |
| And this is more than fighting to exist, | 38:18 | |
| more than revolt and war, and human odds. | 38:21 | |
| There is a journey from the me to you, | 38:25 | |
| there is a journey from the you to me. | 38:28 | |
| A union of these two strange worlds must be. | 38:31 | |
| Our life and death are easy hours. | 38:38 | |
| There is a journey from the me to you, | 38:40 | |
| there is a journey from the you to the me. | 38:43 | |
| Easter, April 18th, 1976, | 38:47 | |
| Easter, the day of resurrection, | 38:51 | |
| our words acclaim it, our songs sing of it, | 38:54 | |
| our prayers speak to it, | 38:57 | |
| our creeds affirm it, | 39:00 | |
| our hearts and minds want to feel and know it. | 39:01 | |
| But Easter, what is it? | 39:05 | |
| What is the day of resurrection? | 39:09 | |
| What is Easter? | 39:12 | |
| Anyhow, Easter is a name. | 39:14 | |
| A name given to a certain 24-hour period | 39:17 | |
| that we remember and recall, | 39:19 | |
| named after the Goddess of Spring. | 39:21 | |
| Only a name. | 39:24 | |
| What's in a name? | 39:26 | |
| Easter is a day; a day to which we look forward, | 39:29 | |
| a day of beauty. | 39:33 | |
| And how much more glorious could Easter Day be than today? | 39:34 | |
| A day which reveals the best | 39:38 | |
| and the deepest of our faith to us, | 39:40 | |
| a day which gives meaning to our lives. | 39:42 | |
| What kind of meaning? | 39:46 | |
| Easter is an occasion; | 39:49 | |
| an occasion of gladness and goodness, and joy. | 39:52 | |
| An occasion when we wear our finest and look our best. | 39:56 | |
| An occasion commemorated for over 1900 years now. | 40:00 | |
| What is it we remember? | 40:04 | |
| Easter is an event, a recurring event, | 40:08 | |
| an event that has been described in detail | 40:11 | |
| and debated decisively for centuries. | 40:14 | |
| An event that draws us and captivates us. | 40:17 | |
| What is there that draws us? | 40:22 | |
| Easter is a celebration; | 40:25 | |
| a celebration where we exchange rejoicing for mourning, | 40:27 | |
| light for darkness, | 40:32 | |
| quiet on the alter for the purple of penitence, | 40:35 | |
| life for death celebration. | 40:38 | |
| Easter is a continuing presence; | 40:43 | |
| the presence of the ever-living, ever-loving, | 40:46 | |
| ever-real Son of God and Son of Mary, | 40:49 | |
| the presence of Jesus, who is the Christ, the Messiah, | 40:52 | |
| our Christ, our Messiah. | 40:57 | |
| And so we come today, to this glorious Easter. | 41:02 | |
| Phillips Brooks, great preacher of another generation, | 41:07 | |
| begins when he calls simply, | 41:12 | |
| an Easter sermon with the words, | 41:13 | |
| "There is only one subject for today. | 41:15 | |
| "Upon this morning, | 41:19 | |
| "when the grave was broken and Jesus Christ arose, | 41:20 | |
| "Jesus' resurrection with all that it means for us, | 41:23 | |
| "must claim our thoughts. | 41:26 | |
| "Instinctively, the minds of us all turned that way. | 41:30 | |
| "Many feel a certain sense of exaltation, | 41:35 | |
| "the leaping of some unknown spiritual possibility | 41:38 | |
| "when Easter morning bursts upon earth; Easter." | 41:41 | |
| How very much has happened in three days. | 41:49 | |
| It's been an incredibly long time since Friday, remember? | 41:53 | |
| Remember Friday, in the darkness just before dawn, | 41:57 | |
| the soldiers came to the garden? | 42:01 | |
| Judas showed them Jesus with a kiss? | 42:04 | |
| "I never knew the man," he said. | 42:09 | |
| And in the background, the cock crowed a third time. | 42:11 | |
| "Are you the king of the Jews?" the man asked. | 42:16 | |
| He replied simply, "You have said it." | 42:19 | |
| "Which one shall I release to you? | 42:24 | |
| "Barabbas or Jesus?" | 42:26 | |
| "Barabbas." | 42:30 | |
| "What then shall I do with Jesus?" | 42:32 | |
| "Crucify him, crucify him." | 42:34 | |
| It's been a long time since Friday. | 42:40 | |
| And they're on a place called Golgotha. | 42:45 | |
| They crucified Him. | 42:49 | |
| "Father, forgive them. | 42:52 | |
| "Today, you should be with me in paradise. | 42:58 | |
| "Woman, behold your son. | 43:03 | |
| "My God, why have you forsaken me? | 43:09 | |
| "I thirst. | 43:14 | |
| "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit." | 43:17 | |
| It is finished. | 43:24 | |
| It's been a long time since Friday. | 43:30 | |
| Have you ever noticed how long time can seem | 43:35 | |
| during some very crucial, life-changing moments? | 43:38 | |
| Sure. | 43:42 | |
| You take an exam that you're not prepared for. | 43:43 | |
| And I hope none of those are coming up. | 43:46 | |
| But you take an exam that you're not prepared for | 43:48 | |
| and that hour lasts forever. | 43:51 | |
| The few seconds between the birth of a baby | 43:56 | |
| and that baby's first cry seem endless. | 43:58 | |
| You expect a call from someone you love | 44:05 | |
| and it doesn't come at the agreed upon time. | 44:07 | |
| And the wait, | 44:09 | |
| even though it's just a few moments, is interminable. | 44:10 | |
| You wait near the sick room of a loved one | 44:15 | |
| who is near death. | 44:17 | |
| You wait on the word from the doctor, | 44:20 | |
| and that clock on the wall just seems to stop. | 44:22 | |
| Yes, it's been a long time since Friday. | 44:28 | |
| It had been a long time, a sorrow, real sorrow, | 44:34 | |
| sorrow, even unto despair, | 44:37 | |
| as one of them said to Jesus, not knowing who He was, | 44:38 | |
| "We had hoped that this man was the one." | 44:42 | |
| Sorrow, even to despair. | 44:46 | |
| The same kind of sorrow | 44:49 | |
| that Mary and Martha had known earlier in Jesus' ministry. | 44:51 | |
| In the gospel lesson for today, | 44:54 | |
| Mary and Martha had been sorrowing for four days, | 44:56 | |
| for their brother, Lazarus, | 45:00 | |
| had been dead and had been buried in the tomb | 45:01 | |
| for four days. | 45:04 | |
| And Martha says to Jesus | 45:05 | |
| who has just come to Bethany from Jerusalem, | 45:06 | |
| only two miles away, "Lord, if you had been here, | 45:09 | |
| "my brother would not have died." | 45:12 | |
| Oh, what a burden to put on somebody. | 45:14 | |
| "My friend, if you had not been here, | 45:17 | |
| "my brother would not have died." | 45:19 | |
| But then what faith to show in Jesus. | 45:26 | |
| She followed that immediately by saying, | 45:28 | |
| "But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, | 45:30 | |
| "God will give you." | 45:34 | |
| "Oh, I know that." | 45:36 | |
| Strange saying, "This total trust, | 45:37 | |
| "this full faith without any hesitation, | 45:40 | |
| "no equivocation, no doubt, no question, | 45:43 | |
| "even now I know." | 45:46 | |
| What a beautiful tribute. | 45:48 | |
| To leave our dead ones confidently | 45:53 | |
| and totally in Christ keeping, | 45:55 | |
| this is the faith, my friends, | 45:58 | |
| of those who know Christ. | 46:00 | |
| We leave them with Jesus without fear or without worrying. | 46:03 | |
| Now, wait a minute though. | 46:06 | |
| Surely, we leave our loved ones who die | 46:07 | |
| with a sense of hurt, a sense of loss, | 46:10 | |
| a sense of pain or sadness or sorrow, | 46:13 | |
| but with no fear for Jesus, the Christ, is there. | 46:16 | |
| Then Jesus says to her, "Your brother will rise again." | 46:25 | |
| Well, for most of us, | 46:30 | |
| that word would be enough, wouldn't it? | 46:31 | |
| The clear, full assurance | 46:34 | |
| that those we love will indeed rise from the dead. | 46:36 | |
| We would say, "Oh, that's okay. | 46:39 | |
| "that's enough, that will do. | 46:41 | |
| "Thank you, Lord, that's all I need." | 46:43 | |
| And that was enough for Martha. | 46:46 | |
| I know she said | 46:50 | |
| that he will rise again in the general resurrection | 46:51 | |
| at the last day. | 46:54 | |
| I think I could relax with that kind of word, couldn't you? | 46:57 | |
| But there's more, much more. | 47:02 | |
| More from Jesus, | 47:04 | |
| who then says, "I am the resurrection and the life. | 47:06 | |
| "He who believes in me, though he were dead, | 47:10 | |
| "yet shall he live, | 47:13 | |
| "and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." | 47:15 | |
| How much more was being said? | 47:20 | |
| Martha probably didn't even know | 47:22 | |
| nor do we even know today. | 47:25 | |
| For those of us of the Judeo-Christian tradition, | 47:29 | |
| I think there are probably a few signal verses in scripture | 47:34 | |
| that lead us to the mountain top of spiritual ecstasy | 47:37 | |
| or to the very depths of spiritual reality. | 47:41 | |
| Such verses as "In the beginning, God created." | 47:45 | |
| Such verses as "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." | 47:50 | |
| Such verses as "For God so loved the world | 47:56 | |
| "that He gave His only Son, | 47:59 | |
| "that whoever believes in Him should not perish, | 48:00 | |
| "but have life everlasting." | 48:04 | |
| And then Paul's word: "Now, abide faith, | 48:07 | |
| "hope, love, these three, | 48:10 | |
| "but the greatest of these is love." | 48:12 | |
| And then there are those "I am" sayings of Jesus | 48:14 | |
| in the gospel of John. | 48:17 | |
| But the greatest of all of these is, "I am the resurrection | 48:18 | |
| "and the life." | 48:22 | |
| Power. | 48:27 | |
| Oh, this morning, some of us could feel some of that power | 48:30 | |
| and some of that depth of meaning. | 48:34 | |
| For resurrection in life are what we desperately need today. | 48:38 | |
| We know about crucifixions. | 48:43 | |
| Oh, how we know about crucifixions. | 48:45 | |
| We read about them every day in the paper. | 48:48 | |
| What a horrible experience, | 48:50 | |
| a member of our beloved member of this community suffered | 48:52 | |
| with his daughter and her family, just this week. | 48:56 | |
| We know about crucifixions, | 48:59 | |
| unjust killings, merciless slings, | 49:02 | |
| thoughtless crimes which we commit one against the other. | 49:05 | |
| Sure we know about crucifixions, | 49:10 | |
| but what we need is a word about resurrection and life. | 49:12 | |
| "There is only one subject for today," Phillips Brook says, | 49:18 | |
| and that is resurrection in life for you and me, | 49:22 | |
| my dear sister and my brother. | 49:25 | |
| What we need is a clear straight forward affirmation | 49:30 | |
| of the resurrection, | 49:34 | |
| which will counter the pain and confusion, | 49:35 | |
| and despair of a hurting world. | 49:38 | |
| What we need should not be tentative | 49:41 | |
| or secondhand or halting | 49:43 | |
| for we are vulnerable people. | 49:45 | |
| What we need is healing. | 49:47 | |
| What we need is no faltering or stammering, | 49:50 | |
| no half-hearted answers to ultimate and eternal questions, | 49:53 | |
| but solid, sure, clear assertions from experience; | 49:57 | |
| the kind of experience that could have Paul to say, | 50:02 | |
| "I know and am persuaded." | 50:04 | |
| God raised Jesus on the third day. | 50:07 | |
| Now, in fact, Christ has been raised. | 50:10 | |
| We know enough about crucifixions. | 50:19 | |
| What we need are words of resurrection in life. | 50:23 | |
| George Buttrick says that we, Christians, | 50:29 | |
| have wondered and worried too much and too long | 50:31 | |
| over the resurrection, | 50:35 | |
| and we have made it conditional if Christ has been raised. | 50:36 | |
| He said, "It is time for us | 50:40 | |
| "to change from our mood of probability | 50:42 | |
| "and return to Paul's mood of positive affirmation." | 50:45 | |
| Now, is Christ raised? | 50:48 | |
| Easter Day is no time for questions | 50:54 | |
| or even for teaching or familiarizing | 50:57 | |
| or for even investigating; | 51:00 | |
| it as a time for proclamation. | 51:01 | |
| The Lord is risen. | 51:04 | |
| The Lord is risen indeed. | 51:06 | |
| Buttrick tells about a student who while as student | 51:12 | |
| at Union Theological Seminary in New York, | 51:16 | |
| went to hear what he thought was some | 51:18 | |
| of the greatest preachers | 51:19 | |
| and probably was some of the greatest preaching of his day. | 51:20 | |
| And more times than not, | 51:23 | |
| as he would leave the church on hearing some | 51:24 | |
| of this great preaching, | 51:26 | |
| he would come away saying, "I know that is not true, | 51:27 | |
| "but, oh, how I wish that it were." | 51:32 | |
| Easter; to hear Jesus say, "I am the resurrection | 51:38 | |
| "and the life," makes the day seem different. | 51:44 | |
| It makes belief seem reasonable, hope realizable, | 51:50 | |
| dreams touchable, aspirations attainable. | 51:56 | |
| Easter begins with the darkness of dawn | 52:02 | |
| and ends with a burst of sunshine. | 52:06 | |
| Easter begins with questions and ends with answers. | 52:10 | |
| Easter begins with doubts and ends with affirmations. | 52:16 | |
| Easter begins with skepticism | 52:21 | |
| and ends with a burst of faith. | 52:25 | |
| Easter begins with cynicism | 52:28 | |
| and ends with a hush of (indistinct). | 52:30 | |
| Easter begins with the pain of defeat, | 52:36 | |
| but it ends with the glow of victory. | 52:41 | |
| I want to say a very personal word now, about resurrection, | 52:47 | |
| and assert a simple, but clear statement of my own faith. | 52:56 | |
| And that is that at this very moment, | 53:01 | |
| I believe in the resurrection more now, | 53:03 | |
| than at any other moment in my life. | 53:07 | |
| There's some reasons for this. | 53:12 | |
| One is that I am growing older. | 53:16 | |
| Now, I'm not that old, thank you. | 53:19 | |
| But perhaps as one grows older, | 53:23 | |
| one has more need to believe that there is more. | 53:25 | |
| None of us has any way of knowing | 53:30 | |
| how much more there is to this life. | 53:31 | |
| But when you are very young, | 53:34 | |
| one really does not think too often | 53:36 | |
| of a need for another life | 53:38 | |
| because one thinks that there is surely much, much more. | 53:40 | |
| But I'm not really getting that old. | 53:46 | |
| After all, only one year has lapsed since last Easter. | 53:48 | |
| So there must be other reasons. | 53:51 | |
| The second is that I have read | 53:55 | |
| and re-read the gospel accounts of Jesus' life | 53:57 | |
| and death, and resurrection, | 53:59 | |
| and the more convinced than ever before | 54:02 | |
| of the authenticity of the experiences they describe. | 54:04 | |
| After all, my friends, on Friday, | 54:09 | |
| this was a criminal who was crucified along | 54:11 | |
| with two other criminals. | 54:15 | |
| Surely, only the Son of God, Jesus, the Christ, | 54:17 | |
| could assert that I am the resurrection and the life, | 54:21 | |
| and then live to make it come true. | 54:23 | |
| Only Jesus could, on Friday, be the thief | 54:28 | |
| or criminal or victim, | 54:32 | |
| and then in three days, be acclaimed as Lord. | 54:34 | |
| Surely, as a centurion cried aloud, | 54:38 | |
| "Surely, this man was the Son of God." | 54:41 | |
| Preposterous, big joke, ridiculous. | 54:45 | |
| Allegiance to a criminal? | 54:49 | |
| That's it, that's the scandalous, | 54:51 | |
| that's the scandal, the stumbling block to Jews, | 54:54 | |
| the folly to the Greeks, | 54:57 | |
| unless it is true. | 55:00 | |
| I believe Jesus was raised from the dead. | 55:09 | |
| I believe it is true. | 55:14 | |
| The third reason and perhaps the most... | 55:19 | |
| The one which has had the most effect on me | 55:25 | |
| is during the past 12 months, | 55:30 | |
| I've had some very deep faith renewing experiences | 55:32 | |
| with the deaths of friends or loved ones. | 55:37 | |
| And these deaths have convinced me | 55:43 | |
| that Jesus, indeed, has gone to prepare a place for us, | 55:47 | |
| and will come again and will take us to Himself, | 55:53 | |
| that where He is, | 55:55 | |
| there, we may be also. | 55:57 | |
| A 51-year-old mother of three, faithful Christian, | 56:02 | |
| good wife, caring neighbor, | 56:06 | |
| died in March after a seven months struggle with leukemia. | 56:12 | |
| 25-year-old, (indistinct), | 56:18 | |
| healthy, athletic assistant basketball coach at VPI, | 56:20 | |
| whose mother and father, both are alumni of Duke University. | 56:26 | |
| The future all glorious to this young man, | 56:31 | |
| dead last June after eight months struggle with leukemia. | 56:34 | |
| Our own Sherry (indistinct); | 56:42 | |
| graduated from here last May. | 56:45 | |
| About six weeks ago, brutally murdered at age 23. | 56:49 | |
| A 35-year-old woman, mother of three, | 56:55 | |
| devout Christian, active in her church, | 56:57 | |
| two weeks ago in Hendersonville, | 57:01 | |
| her estranged husband broke into their home, | 57:02 | |
| killed her and himself. | 57:04 | |
| And there are others. | 57:09 | |
| Some close, some friends, some family. | 57:11 | |
| Lives cut short, friendships broken. | 57:14 | |
| But I believe that friendship triumphs over the grave. | 57:22 | |
| I believe that love is too strong, even for death. | 57:28 | |
| Jesus said, "Your brother, Martha, will rise again. | 57:37 | |
| "I am the resurrection and the life. | 57:46 | |
| "The one who lives and was dead has come. | 57:52 | |
| "And as for you and me, | 57:57 | |
| "the keys over death, hell, and the grave." | 58:02 | |
| I now take it full-face value, the words of Jesus, | 58:10 | |
| when he says, "I am the resurrection and the life. | 58:14 | |
| "He who believes in me, | 58:19 | |
| "though he die, yet shall he live." | 58:20 | |
| I believe that. | 58:22 | |
| That's in the 11th chapter of John. | 58:26 | |
| In the 14th chapter of John, | 58:28 | |
| Jesus says, "I go to prepare a place for you. | 58:32 | |
| "And if I go to prepare a place for you, | 58:37 | |
| "I will come again and will take you to myself." | 58:38 | |
| That means, my friends, that Jesus is waiting. | 58:43 | |
| And I'll tell you | 58:49 | |
| how that has come to mean something very special to me; | 58:50 | |
| to have somebody waiting. | 58:55 | |
| Henri Nouwen has written a powerful little book, | 58:58 | |
| entitled, "The Wounded Healer." | 59:01 | |
| In it, he says, "A person can stay alive | 59:05 | |
| "as long as there is at least one person | 59:12 | |
| "who is waiting for him or her. | 59:19 | |
| "Let us not diminish the power of waiting | 59:27 | |
| "by saying that a life-saving relationship cannot develop | 59:30 | |
| "in an hour. | 59:35 | |
| "One eye movement or one handshake can replace | 59:38 | |
| "years of friendship when a man is in agony. | 59:42 | |
| "Love not only lasts forever, | 59:48 | |
| "it needs only a second to come about. | 59:54 | |
| "I am the resurrection and the life, | 1:00:03 | |
| "the look, the word, the weight of Christ." | 1:00:12 | |
| The Lord is risen. | 1:00:23 | |
| The Lord is risen indeed. | 1:00:27 | |
| Hallelujah, hallelujah. | 1:00:31 | |
| (gentle piano music) | 1:00:41 | |
| (choir sings) | 1:01:14 | |
| (gentle piano music) | 1:03:32 | |
| (choir sings) | 1:05:00 | |
| (gentle piano music) | 1:11:16 | |
| (congregation sings) | 1:11:40 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:14 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:20 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:12:27 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:12:37 | |
| - | Oh, holy God, our response to your love for us | 1:12:50 |
| is to fall on our knees | 1:12:56 | |
| and offer you our lives. | 1:12:58 | |
| Bless these monies, symbols of our lives. | 1:13:02 | |
| And so bless us that wherever we walk, | 1:13:07 | |
| the poor will be clothed, | 1:13:13 | |
| the hungry fed, the oppressed liberated, | 1:13:15 | |
| and the sorrowful comforted. | 1:13:21 | |
| We pray all this in the spirit of the risen Christ, amen. | 1:13:24 | |
| (symphonic music) | 1:13:31 | |
| (choir sings) | 1:14:28 | |
| (symphonic music) | 1:16:24 | |
| And now, the blessing of God, | 1:18:05 | |
| who is able to do a measurably more | 1:18:07 | |
| than we can ask or conceive. | 1:18:10 | |
| Through the power of the risen Christ, | 1:18:14 | |
| which is at work among us, | 1:18:16 | |
| be with us this day and forever more. | 1:18:19 | |
| Go in the assurance of God's love and grace, amen. | 1:18:24 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:18:33 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:18:40 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:18:47 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:19:01 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:19:11 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:19:23 | |
| (bell dongs) | 1:19:39 |
