“Why Many Are Caught by Surprise”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – April 21, 2019

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 31:9-16; Luke 24:1-12

EASTER

    I have chosen Luke's Gospel for our Easter lesson because among all of the discussions of Jesus resurrection, Luke's disclosures appear to be the most compelling.  Regardless of what the various Gospel accounts tell us, no one was prepared to find Jesus alive.  Like all the new discoveries that surface as we push against all known horizons, we are always surprised by finding what was once considered impossible.

    If Jesus told his disciples that he would come back to visit them after dying on the cross, why were they shocked, dismayed, and filled with denial when he did.  The experience would be like our telling someone, "Yes, I am dying. Get over it! We all do this. I will come back to reassure you that I am perfectly fine."  We might say, "Okay.  You do that."  Most people would go on doubting until it happened. 

    The women at the tomb did not remember Jesus telling them anything about his possible resurrection.  They had to be reminded by two angelic beings of what Jesus allegedly said to them.  When the women ran to tell the disciples what they encountered, the disciples thought that the ladies had taken leave of their senses and chose not to believe them.   This is our human nature at its best. 

    Every time someone has told me of an event that they experienced with a deceased loved one, they were fearful that I might not believe them.  It was not until I told them the numerous stories others confided that they became more relaxed in disclosing what they encountered. What is even more interesting is that they immediately questioned the reality of their experience.  They wanted to know if their experience was real or was it a product of their imagination.

    We really want to believe but a reality from another dimension is so off the charts of our normal experiences that we question whether or not it was real.  It is fascinating that Peter, James, and John were among those who doubted the women.  Earlier, they had experienced Elijah and Moses being alive on the Mount of Transfiguration centuries after their deaths.  (Matthew 17:1-8) This experience was recorded in all three Gospels.

    Throughout my ministry I have come into contact with countless people who refuse to believe that they will survive death. One of these was a female pastor with whom I had a very close relationship.  She said,

Dick, this belief is insane.  I do not want to survive my death.  I want eternal sleep.  One life is enough for me. Why would anyone want to survive?  For what reason?  What would we do with ourselves if we lived forever?  You can believe what you want, but I simply cannot teach it or even reference it in my messages. Fear drives people to want to survive this life. I refuse to engage in wishful thinking even during Easter. 

    I never regretted listening to her thoughts about ignoring the possibility of her life continuing. It is interesting what eventually happened to her when she died.  The last time I spoke to her, she had completely lost her eye sight and she was living with her daughter in Florida.  I held her funeral at St. Matthew's and it was the longest funeral service in my experience.  Our sanctuary that holds over 380 people was standing room only.  Countless people wanted to speak during the event.  She had been an icon in the Unity Denomination.

    One of her pastimes was to play Scrabble with a group of friends.  After her death, a concert organist in the Washington Area called me. He was also the director of the Congressional Choir, a group of singers made up of staffers of both Houses in Congress. He had to talk to me right away even though I was mowing the lawn at the time.  Lois said, "Michael Patterson is on the phone. He needs to talk to you immediately!"

    When I got on the phone, Michael said:

Dick, you won't believe what just happened.  I was playing Scrabble with friends. I began choosing my seven tiles from among those scattered all over the card table.  I drew out A M A L I E F. (The pastors name was Amalie Frank.)  Do you believe it?  That draw was impossible unless Amalie had a hand in it.

    Days after that call, I received a call from Michigan from another one of Amalie's close friends.  He said:

Amalie came to me.  Words appeared in my head that were not mine.  She said, 'I just want you to know that I am not old anymore.  Further, I have regained my sight.'  She made it, Dick! She made it!  Even though she did not believe in afterlife, she made it!

    The surprise and excitement in his voice was so liberating to him.  It has been so much fun for me to find people so excited by the reality that our lives do not end when we leave their bodies.  This is why I wish that all of us could die and be successfully resuscitated.  Having that experience would change how we order our lives.  Whatever it takes for us to become aware that our lives continue would help us to rearrange our priorities for living now. 

    Moses experienced a voice coming from a burning bush that was not consumed.  A number of the prophets had paranormal experiences. Jesus had a voice at his baptism that radically changed the direction of his life.  Saul of Tarsus had a vision that actually blinded him for a number of days.  It changed his life from heathen hunting to becoming the Apostle Paul who became highly energized to travel on three missionary journeys to spread the word. 

    Some people do have the advantage of having a unique revelation.  Having one would make it easier to fulfill one of Jesus' teachings to Nicodemus, "Unless you have a complete reorientation of your thinking, you will never experience the Kingdom of God."  (John 3:3) Paul said nearly the same thing:  "Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind." (Romans 12:2)  

    Most people have to content themselves by what the author of Hebrews wrote, "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for and to be certain of the things that we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)

    Why do some of us receive a glimpse of what follows this life while others of us do not?  I honestly have no answer for why this is so.  Jesus once taught, "Do you not know that you are gods, you are all God's children.  But you will die like all mortals.  Your life will end like that of any prince."  In John 10:34, Jesus was quoting a part of Psalm 82:6. This was a very revealing statement by Jesus.

    If we ventured into the Pantheon of the ancient Greek gods, we would find Zeus as the supreme deity who lived on Mt. Olympus.  Can you imagine Zeus contemplating suicide, suffering from low self-esteem, reacting violently during an episode of road rage, needing Opioids to live from day to day, or suffering from alcohol dependence?  Believe it or not, this is exactly what many people settle for during their lives.  They have no idea that they have the same qualities as ascribed to the Father that Jesus frequently referenced.  (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

    Who would believe such thinking?  Very few!  This information is nonsense because there is no evidence to support such a reality.  In fact, the words sound like those that are coming from someone's vivid imagination.  Because of how ridiculous this idea sounds; the actual experience remains hidden until our deaths. 

     However, for those who awaken and partially remember who they are, they become one-of-a-kind creators.  Our authentic world is inside each of us but who looks within themselves?  Most people form their identities by taking cues from the external world that is always changing. This is why Jesus chose to enter the world of limitation by incarnating through his mother, Mary.  The Apostle Paul wrote about a process that literally happens to all of us:

Jesus always had the nature of God, but he did not think that he should stay with his divine identity.  Instead, of his own free will, he gave up all that he had and took on the nature of a servant.  He became a human being.  (Philippians 2:6-7)

    Jesus awakened after his baptism and wanted to teach people who they are. (John 18:37) However, many people choose to evolve still clinging to their animal spirits.  They devote their lives to the things of this world where their experiences, no matter how delightful or how jaded and violent, have no lasting substance or value.

    A greater truth always surprises people at their deaths.  Why?  Belief is not necessary in order for the normal process of creation to unfold exactly as it was designed to do. For some people, life becomes one glorious adventure after another until their energy flickers and goes out.  They depart.  Others live a dreary existence wanting the world to give to them what is impossible for the world to deliver. 

    What can this world really give to people?  Think about this question. What is the dream of a good number of people that highly motivates them during their lives e.g., having power, influence, wealth, beauty, popularity, and fame?  Yes, the world can give these things to some people who really focus their energy on pursuing their dreams. 

    Many people appear blessed by having all of it, but as they age, such things lose their meaning and their associated pleasures.  They arrive at a point where their lives are filled with lingering memories of the aspects of their lives that are fading.  After their deaths, did they bring with them life-skills and attitudes that will work in a world where nothing material exists?  (I Corinthians 13:1-8) 

    This morning we celebrate what remains a myth for many people.  They can go on enjoying whatever it is that they have made of their lives.  We will celebrate what we have found.  We will close our service today by singing about what many of us have found – He Lives He Lives; Christ Jesus lives today.

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

O God, how often we enter the experience of life with resurrection-faith as our hope, but have the doubts of Thomas in our hearts. Help us this Easter morning to walk away from the tombs that so easily imprison us.  We know the demons of skepticism, doubt, and fear while living in a world that never stops changing.  Jesus left his tomb and bid us to follow him.  Help us to re-enter our world with faith and trust that the life we create goes on and on.   Amen.

                                                                                                                       

PASTORAL PRAYER

Loving and eternally faithful God, we thank you for your inexhaustible patience with our world.  We are grateful that your love for us is so all-encompassing that you have provided us with insight through the resurrection of Jesus, that life is eternal for all of us. There is no greater lesson that provides us with the staying power to persevere even when life appears to be at its worst. 

Inspire us to recognize that the world is what it is and that all of us are angels in the flesh that are only passing through during a brief phase of its history.  Help us never to grow weary of sowing our seeds that demonstrate how better to extend our love to each other. Cause us to remember how fortunate we are to be able to use our lives as vehicles through which your love comes into a world that desperately needs diverse people to embrace collectively what it means to live in community.  Help the scales, caused by living in a material world, to fall from our eyes so that we are able to live in eternity right now.

So many people are suffering this Easter morning in many countries.  Sometimes the words, “He has risen” appear empty and hollow when people are being oppressed, when tornadoes have destroyed churches, schools and homes, when the 12th century Notre Dame Cathedral burns, and when there is absolutely nothing people look forward to in their imprisoned culture where there are no individual freedoms. Inspire all of us to keep the world’s people in our thoughts and prayers.  We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught his disciples to say when they prayed . . .