Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: John 20,11-18. Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 21, 2019

John 20,11-18. Easter Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

John 20,11-18 2619

Ostersonntag 034 weiß

Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop ✠ 1109.

21. April 2019

1. O Everlasting God, who by Your Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, has opened unto us the portals of eternal life, sealed unto us the bond of reconciliation, and, by His joyful resurrection, has granted hope and salvation unto the whole world, we beseech You, awaken in us a desire unto that beauteous eternity, and grant us the gift of perfect liberty, so that we, being released from the power of sin and death, may ever serve Your honor in newness of life. Amen. (Löhe 476)

2. »But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, seated where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They asked to her: „Why are you weeping?“ She said to them: „They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put Him.“ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her: „Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?“ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him: „If you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.“ Jesus said to her: „Mary.“ She turned and said to Him in Aramaic: „Rabboni!“ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her: „Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them: ‘I am ascending to My Father and Your Father, to My God and Your God.’“ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples: „I have seen the Lord“—and that He had said these things to her.«

3. Saint Paul tells us: »For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.« Paul says death is merely a sleep; when you sleep you wake up again. So too in Christ, all who fall asleep in death will be woken up by Christ. He had descended into Hades to search for those who had fallen asleep before Him. Christ visited those dwelling in darkness and in the shadow of Death. He went to free from sorrow those captive in Hades, bringing forth first Adam and Eve, He who is both the Second Adam and the Son of Eve. He took them by the hand and raised them up, saying: „Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, for I, the Christ, give you light« [Isaiah 60,1-3] (Bishop Melito ¶ 2) .Yes, the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, announcing there the gospel of His advent and of the forgiveness of sins conferred upon those who believe in Him (Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book 5, Chapter 31, ¶ 2).

4. When you have a moment, take a look at our Resurrection stained glass window. On the right is Jonah and the great fish. Jesus said, just as Jonah was three days in the belly of a fish and spat out onto dry land, so too will I be in the belly of the earth for three days but then I will rise from my grave. On the left is Sampson who once tore asunder the city gate of Gaza and carried it away, thus opening the Philistine city to those who would go in or out. Likewise Christ has torn open the gates of Hades. The concept of Hades is a detailed topic, but in a simple definition: Hades was where the faithful went after they died to await the the arrival of the Messiah. So Christ went there to tell them He has arrived, and none who were consigned there need remain anymore. Christ has lead the faithful out. That’s how the Early Church theologians spoke about the resurrection of Christ.

5. Christ has torn asunder the gates of Hades. Mary Magdalene recognized this, for the only way to return from the dead was to get past the gates of Hades. Since Jesus had returned, He has gotten past the locked gates. The Gospel according to Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary took hold of His feet and worshipped Jesus as they left the garden (Matthew 28,1.9). The Gospel according to John tells us that Jesus told Mary: »Do not cling to Me.« Her clinging was part of her worship of Jesus whom she had addressed as Rabboni; John tells us that it means Teacher. Rabboni also means my lord, given Mary’s act of devotion and worship her use of Rabboni certainly carries the connotation of confessing Jesus as the Lord, the one who has conquered death and escaped Hades.

6. Magdalena starts off Easter the right way, and we follow her example 2000 years later each Easter. We gather to confess Jesus to be the Lord and to worship Him. We do so because He has conquered Death and Hades. The Devil is the biggest loser this day. He had used Death and Hades as a bludgeon to harass and demoralize men and women. Our two great fears are dying and being separated from God; the Devil took great delight in holding those two threats over our heads, but on Easter Jesus removed the Devil’s two most powerful fear tactics. Jesus rose from the dead and He ripped the gates of Hades off their hinges. He gives us Eternal Life and a dwelling place in Heaven.

7. Jesus gave Mary Magdalene the most important task ever given to a human being: Go and tell My apostles that I have risen and that you have seen Me. That message literally changed the world, and Mary got to be the first person to tell it. The Church is built upon the confession of Mary: I have seen the Lord.

8. God works good from tragedies. When Notre Dame in Paris caught fire during Holy Week it seemed so bleak and devastating. But Parisians, not known for their public confession of the faith, went out to sing and pray. A cathedral damaged lead to a spark that ignited a moldering faith in people. All is not lost in the Western Church; Christ and His faithful still gather and worship. So too does Mary’s confession which is our confession: Jesus is Lord. It’s to be sung, prayed and shared. So we do once again today, but it should not be reserved only for Sunday. We meet people every day who are hurting, struggling or questioning. Where is God? What does He think of me? God puts such people in our path of life so we can tell them, even in a simple way, that God is here; God loves you. See, Jesus died to forgive you and rose to give you life. That is the confession that sustained the French Christians last week and it is the confession that sustains us this day and every day.

9. The Apostle Paul tells us: »If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says: Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame« [Isaiah 28,16] (Romans 10, 9-11).

10. The Easter Gospel is to be proclaimed. The angels proclaimed it; Mary Magdalene proclaimed it; the apostles and the disciples proclaimed it. We have heard the proclamation and now it is our turn to proclaim: Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!! Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Christ, who was dead, and behold is alive forevermore; You have the keys of Death and Hades, so we no longer need fear the Devil for you have redeemed us. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, April 21, 2019

John 20,11-18. Easter Sunday

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