Sunday's Message: Good News for a Change - The Resurrection Can Change Our Message

We live in a world where there seems to be a lot of bad news. In fact, there are times when it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all those things that seem to tap our strength and drain our spirits. But as we move through Easter and remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there’s good news. And if we allow it, this good news can change us in some very profound ways.

For six weeks, we’ll focus on these changes during our worship service. In other words, we’ll talk about how the resurrection can change us in six ways. We’ll follow the following schedule:

• April 24 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Faith
• May 1 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Expectations 
• May 8 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Values 
• May 15 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Relationships 
• May 22 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Response 
• May 29 – The Resurrection Can Change Our Message 

During the sixth message, we considered how the resurrection of Jesus Christ can change our message. A copy and recording of this message is below:

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This morning we’re finishing a series we started on the Sunday right after Easter entitled Good News for a Change: How the Resurrection Can Change Us. And during the last five weeks, we’ve looked at how the resurrection of Christ can change our faith by reminding us that the one we trust has authority and love, and how it can change our expectations by challenging some, confirming others and clarifying them all. And then we talked about how the resurrection can change our values by encouraging us to work a little more humility, compassion and simplicity into our lives, and how it can also change our relationships by leading us to ignore less and to listen more, to assume less and to understand more, and of course, to exclude less and to engage more. And then last week, we talked about how the resurrection can change our response by moving us to make our response to the call of Christ tangible and unconditional and immediate. Now that’s what we’ve talked about over the last five weeks. And if you’re interested in hearing any of them again, you can go to our YouTube channel or our Facebook page or our blog. And you can find all the addresses in our bulletin, page 5. Now that’s where we’ve been.

And today we’re going to finish it up with how the resurrection can change our message, and I’m talking about the Christian message we share to the world either through the words we use or the work we do. And I’ll tell you, I think it’s really interesting that we’re looking at this on the day before Memorial Day, because, in my opinion, the way we celebrate this very special day is actually a lot like how we share the gospel, but unfortunately, not in a good way. Let me show you what I’m talking about. I mean, why do we celebrate Memorial Day? Well, it goes back to just after the Civil War and has everything to do with remembering those who have died in military service. In other words, it’s a solemn day, when we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, that’s its purpose. And so how do we generally celebrate it? Well, I think I’m pretty safe in saying it’s often not very solemn, now is it? I mean, for most Americans, it’s the unofficial beginning of summer and so if you’ve got a pool, you open it, if you’ve got a grill, you ignite it, and if you’ve got an unmaxed credit card, you use it. And I haven’t even mentioned baseball, brats and beer. But you know, even if you go to a Memorial Day service, it may have a whole lot more to do with celebrating our country and honoring our vets than in remembering those who served and died. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that celebrating and honoring isn’t appropriate, but isn’t that why we have Independence Day in about a month and Veterans Day on November 11? No, it seems as though Memorial Day has sort of gotten pulled in a lot of different directions, making the day itself unnecessarily confused and complicated and often downright contradictory. At least, that’s my opinion.

And I’ll tell you, I think the same thing can happen to our Christian message, and I’m talking about what we as believers communicate to the world around us. For example, I believe our message can become really confused as churches and denominations compete with one like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s compete for customers, and often we do it by tingling the ears and reinforcing prejudices rather than in challenging assumptions and uplifting the spirit. But more than that, I think it can also become really complicated, as we strain at gnats in order to justify us being us and them being them. And Lord have mercy, I believe what we share can often seem to be contradictory, at least to those who aren’t on the inside. And if you don’t believe me, just think about how often Christians use the word “but” when sharing their faith: Jesus came to save the world, but... Grace is free, but... God loves you, but... Do you see what I mean by contradictory? That one little 3-letter word undercuts the whole message. And sadly, this is the message we often take out into the world, one that may make us feel comfortable but that I believe is really unappealing to those who’ve never been on the inside. And frankly, maybe that explains why, when Americans between 18 and 29 are asked about their religious affiliation, about 40% say “none.”

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, I’m really glad to be finishing this series by looking at how the resurrection can change our message, not only making it easier for everybody to understand but also bringing it back inline with what it says in the Bible. You see, when we claim the resurrection as a guide, I believe our Christian message can change in three really important ways.

For example, first, I think it can make what we share more focused, and I’m talking about focusing on what’s most important or at least what should be most important. And let me tell you, it’s not the amount of water used in baptism or the kind of hymns sung during a service or the number of prayers prayed from a book. Those things just don’t matter, not when we trust in that clear and concise message those women heard when they entered the tomb. Remember, according to the Evangelist Luke, 

Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from death. Remember that while he was still in Galilee, he told you, ‘The Son of Man will be handed over to sinners who will nail him to a cross. But three days later he will rise to life.’” Then they remembered what Jesus had said. [Luke 24:4b-8, CEV]

Now that’s what those women heard, a message that was focused on the one who wasn’t there, that was focused on the one who had been raised and that was focused on the one who’d already told them exactly what would happen. And I’ll tell you, it worked, because when those women left that tomb, Jesus was their focus. And I’ll tell you something else, that remained the focus of the early church. As a matter of fact, right after the Spirit came on him at Pentecost, something we’ll talk about next week, just listen to what Peter told the crowd:

Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. [Acts 2:22-24, CEV]

I’m telling you, Peter was focused.

And you know what, so can we. I mean, we can decide to put aside all the stuff that’s just plain confusing, at least to those who’ve never been an insider, and we can focus like a laser beam on Jesus Christ, you know, on who he was and what he taught and how he challenged us to live. Of course, sometimes when we do that, it’s going to challenge some of the assumptions that folks have. It might even shake up some of the stuff they’ve gotten comfortable believing. That just might happen. But I’ll tell you, whatever discomfort they might feel will be more than made up for by a truth that’s clear and concise. You see, the resurrection can focus our message. And that’s the first thing it can do.

And second, when we claim it as a guide, our Christian message can become more simple. In other words, it won’t be crammed with a whole bunch of details and loop-holes and fine print. Instead, it can be plain and basic and simple, in fact as plain as an rolled away stone and as basic as an empty tomb and as simple as what that angel said to those three frightened women, this time according to the Evangelist Matthew, 

“Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. Now hurry! Tell his disciples he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. This is what I came to tell you.” [Matthew 28:5b-7, CEV]

You see, the good news of Jesus Christ, the message we’re called to share and to live, is really simple. And I’ll tell you, I think the Apostle Paul sort of captured this radical simplicity when he wrote this to the Ephesians:

But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. [Ephesians 2:4-9, CEV]

You know, it’s just that simple.

And in my opinion, this is what we need to be sharing. My goodness, Christianity has become really complicated by every group telling us what we have to do in order to get or to be. And given the fact that a lot of our world either doesn’t care or is just tire of hearing all the different answers, maybe we need to push the complexity to the side and make the decision that we’re going to give the world a big kiss, because we’re going “keep it simple, stupid.” You see, even though we’d love it to be about us, what we need to say, what we need to do, what we need to promise, it just isn’t. It isn’t about you, and it isn’t about me. It’s about a God who’s merciful. And it’s about a grace that’s undeserved. And it’s about trusting the one who treats us better than we deserve. You know, it’s really about what that minister told me when I was much younger than I am now and was literally drowning in a faith that had become way too complicated. He simply said to me, “Ed, you’re going to have to accept the fact that God loves you. Now, what are you going to do about it?” You see, the resurrection can simplify our message. And that’s the second thing it can do.

And third, I am absolutely convinced that it can also make our message a whole lot more positive. And you know, I think that’s really connected to the stuff we’ve already said about focus and simplicity. I mean, remember how, according to what we read from Matthew, the angel told those women not to be afraid and to tell the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. Just listen to what happened:

The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.” [Matthew 28:8-10. CEV]

Now think about what happened: not only did they leave the tomb happy, but just imagine the joy they must have felt when they met Jesus as they were doing exactly what they’d been told to do, and he said to them the same thing the angel had said: “Don’t be afraid.” I’m telling you, the message we’ve been given is just about as positive as it can be. And you know, I think we can hear this positivity in what Paul wrote to the Romans:

In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:37-39, CEV]

Now this is the message we have to share.

And we can do it without all those contradictions that seem to undermine the power of the message. Remember, a little while ago, we talked about how we tend to qualify and distort the good news by sticking a “but” at the end of the promise. You know, “God loves us, but...” Well, we just read a passage about God’s love. Where’s the “but” at the end? Now I hope this doesn’t offend anybody, but maybe it’s time to get the “but” out of our faith, so we can share the Good News, that “nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord": period, close the book, Elvis has left the building. I’m telling you, the resurrection can make our message unbelievably positive. And that’s the third thing it can do.

Now, we won’t be celebrating Easter again until April 9, 2023; therefore, we’re probably not going to focus much time on the resurrection for about ten months. And that’s only if we can avoid the monkeypox. But just because it won’t be our primary focus, doesn’t mean that we should push it to the back burner, because, when you get right down to it, the resurrection can change our faith and our expectations and our values. It can change our relationships and our response and as we talked about this morning, our message. And I’ll tell you, that’s why, when we consider the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it really is Good News for a change.