"Knowledge Always Inspires Change" Sermon Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler – April 24, 2011 Centenary United Psalm
27:1-6; John 20:1-18
EASTER SUNDAY Easter is always a remarkable time during the church year
when pastors have the opportunity to discuss one of the greatest
truths humankind has.
Our lives continue after we shed
these cocoons
much like the experience of caterpillars as they transition from
creatures that crawl to ones that fly.
This morning I want to discuss the impact the Easter
experience can have on our lives.
Each of us deals differently with such
spiritual matters. Some years ago
a woman asked me, “What are you going to talk about on Easter
Sunday?” She asked this
knowing that I have had to prepare a new message for over 40 years
on a theme that is so well-known by Christians.
I responded, “Why don’t you come to church and find out?”
She said, “I can’t.
I’m coming to the 6:30 a.m. service, teaching Sunday school
and going home to get dinner started.” (The sunrise service was
always planned and conducted by my Associate Pastor.)
She rolled her eyes and said, “It is our turn to host the
family this year.” She went on to
tell me that her husband was not planning to attend either.
She said, “He does not like large crowds, particularly being
among those who have not attended church during the rest of the
year. He also doesn’t
like the challenge of trying to find a place to park the car.” She
smiled, shaking her head and said that he would return to church
once everyone else gets their
Christian fix
for the year and are gone.
“Besides,” he said, “I know the story:
Judas betrayed Jesus.
He was tried, convicted, tortured and crucified.
Three days later he rose from being dead and showed himself
to Mary Magdalene and the disciples.” Well, at least
he knew the story. We
all know the story.
Knowing the story, however, is not the same as living the message.
Personalizing the essence of the story
becomes transforming.
When we allow it, the Easter message provides an orientation
toward life and a vantage point that teaches us to perceive every
experience so that it helps us to sharpen the skills of spirit that
we came here to develop.
However, not everyone recognizes such a purpose for their
life. Throughout my
ministry I have listened to a host of stories from individuals who
have told me what happened during their near death experiences
during surgery. Some of
these people never darkened the door of a church during their lives.
Some of them did not believe in the existence of God. This latter
group would say, “We need evidence before we believe.”
However, when they died and were successfully resuscitated,
their experience of
the other side of the curtain changed their lives
forever. They began
experiencing every new event in life as
a special gift
designed just for them personally that was capable of sharpening
their skills of spirit. In John’s
Gospel, there is no evidence that Mary or the disciples had any
prior knowledge that Jesus would appear to them after his
crucifixion. When Mary
arrived at the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from
the entrance, she assumed that someone had removed Jesus' body. When she told
the disciples that Jesus’ tomb was empty, Peter and John ran to the
site to see for themselves.
They arrived and found the tomb exactly as Mary had described
it. Since there was no reason to assume anything else, they
concluded that someone or some group, for whatever reason, had
stolen his body. Our
lesson today says, “They went home.”
In Luke’s
Gospel an entire group of women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’
body and were greeted by two
spirit beings
who said, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is
alive. He is not here,
he has risen.” When the
women reported this to the disciples, the group collectively thought
that the women had taken leave of their senses. (Luke 24:11) The verse that sets the
stage for everything that would follow historically is the one that
comes immediately after the end of today’s lesson.
Verse 19 says, “It was late that Sunday evening, and the
disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they
were afraid of the Jewish authorities.
Jesus came and stood among them.”
When people
have that kind of an experience, there is no room for any more
doubts. They realize
that life has dimensions much larger than what had seemed so
obvious.
This and
subsequent experiences of Jesus are what gave the disciples their
boldness and fearless confidence as they took Christ’s message into
the world.
Something happens to us when we realize that we are beings
that cannot die. Such
an orientation toward life inspires changes to how we think. It was this
fearless, unshakable confidence displayed by the disciples that
caused Gamaliel, a highly respected member of the Sanhedrin, to say,
“Take no action against these men.
Leave them alone!
If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it
will disappear, but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat
them. You could find
yourselves fighting against God.”
The Sanhedrin understood his logic and followed his advice.
(Acts 5:39) Here is a question for us
this morning . . . If we knew with
complete and absolute certainty that we do not die when we
leave our solid forms, would our priorities change, would we order
our lives differently, would we be somewhat clearer on our purpose
for being here and would we have an unshakable confidence in the
power to live inspired, loving, kind and compassionate lives?
Or, are we like the husband who told is
wife, “I’m not going to church because I know the story.”
Again, it is one thing to know the story and
quite another to live the message. There is an
ancient legend that I want to share with you that describes an event
that took place before the world was created. In fact, I would not
be surprised if the first eighteen verses of John’s Gospel were
rooted in this understanding of the beginnings of human life – “In
the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The Word became a human being and, full of grace
and truth, lived among us.
But the world did not recognize him.”
This legend may explain why no one recognized him.
Eons ago,
countless spirit
beings went into the presence of the Creator of the
universe and made a request.
They said, “We would like to create like you do.
We have studied the intricacies of the created order and the
artistry with which you have fashioned each aspect of the physical
universe. We would like
to learn that skill.
Would you teach us?”
God responded,
“I have been
waiting for you to ask that question. Of course I will teach you.
This is what I will offer you if you are committed to creating as I
do. I will give you a
physical form that will house your spirits. Also, I will provide you
with talents and abilities that will surface from within you when
you need them to create.
Further, I will create a sensually attractive
paradise
that will provide everything you need to experience a universe of
varied realities where you can express your creative abilities.
The risk for
each of you, however, is that when you incarnate into these solid
forms, you will do so without any knowledge of life as you know it
now. You can create whatever you wish.
What you create will reveal the spirit in which you use
your power
over your environment. You will experience a wide range of
sensations, the likes of which you have never known.
These are called, ‘emotions.’
If you seek my
guidance, you may discover that it has surrounded you from the
beginning of your lives. However, you may not be able to recognize
guidance. This will be so because your experience will be about you
and what your mind wants to create.
I may not exist in your thoughts.
None of your experiences in the physical environment will be
real, but this truth will be hidden from you.
The only aspect of this
adventure that will matter to you is what you create.
When your
journey ends, you will return.
Even though you will greet your experiences with a wide range of
interpretations, you will always return. Some of you will do well.
Others of you will become aware that you still have much to
learn in mastering your creative potential.
As you enter this new world you will only know what your
physical senses reveal to you. You will not know what anything means
until you define it.
From your chosen definitions, you will create your values. Are you
ready for this adventure?”
Collectively,
the answer was yes. It
was then that each found themselves emerging from a mother’s womb as
an infant. The Creator
chose as hosts for these
spirit beings an already existing species of
animals.
Use your imaginations.
All of us
are now on earth in the same
biological
cocoon that was the temporary
home
of the spirit of Jesus.
How are we doing?
Is what we have created thus far something to which we would
gladly sign our names?
What do we think God’s response will be when we return
home? There is a
story of an English medic that may illustrate what God’s response
will be. He was
assigned to a battalion of British troops during the Second World
War. He had listened to
Churchill’s speech about how When the war
ended the young man finally headed back home to Thirsk near Theraby
in The last bus
stop was six miles from his parents’ farm.
He took his gear, slung it over his shoulder and began
walking. He knew every
step of that journey by heart having walked it countless times
during his youth. As he approached his home, which was still quite a
distance away, his big black Scottish shepherd dog began barking his
warning to passing strangers.
He was so pleased that Tobby’s hearing was still keen.
When he got closer to his home, he let out a whistle, a
whistle that only he and Tobby knew.
That whistle was their signal. Instantly, the barking
stopped. Suddenly, Tobby
let out a yelp of recognition.
Even though the darkness was only illuminated by stars
darting in and out from the clouds, he knew that the big black form
of his friend was hurtling towards him at breakneck speed. He wrote
these words, “Almost immediately he was in my arms, jumping up and
down and licking my face, squealing with the happiest delight I have
ever known in my life.
I knew then that I was really home.
My nightmare
of being at war was over and my healing had just begun.” This is what
Jesus’ message was and is.
This is the
Good News.
In spite of our
short-comings and our missed opportunities at being our best, we are
greeted by God with the same love that Jesus revealed in his
Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The father ran
to greet his son who had learned many lessons during his challenging
sojourn away from the
heaven his father’s farm had been.
The father’s love was so compassionate that he presented his
son with a ring, a robe, new sandals and a welcome home party.
Think of how
much greater God’s love is for each of us.
Even with people who have lived a very difficult and
challenging life, embracing all manner of values foreign to our own,
we must remember Jesus’ words to a criminal who hung on the cross
next to him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Think of the implications of those words. No matter what people think
or believe, God’s loving nature will march on and on until all of us
wake up to the reality that God’s love has always surrounded us and
will continue being there forever and ever.
God’s truth will prevail in spite of theological thinking that we believe is profound and accurate in defining God’s love. Christ lives and so will we when we leave our physical form. Absolutely nothing can prevent God’s will from being accomplished in each of our lives. For some of us, it may take awhile. How can we know this with certainty? The answer is that nothing else works if we want to love and create in the same spirit as our Creator. |