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Glorious Resurrection Sunday!!!


AsburySkinsFan

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Resurrection

Jesus is standing in front of the temple in Jerusalem

the massive gleaming brick and stone and gold house of God

and he says destroy this temple

and I’ll rebuild it in three days

the people listening to him said how are you going to do that?

it took 46 years to build this temple!

but he wasn’t talking about that temple

he’s talking about himself

he essentially says, listen

I’m going to be killed

that’s where this is headed

because you don’t confront corrupt systems of power

without paying for it

sometimes with your own blood

and so he’s headed to his execution

if you had witnessed this divine life extinguished on a cross

how would you not be overwhelmed with despair?

is the world ultimately a cold, hard, dead place?

does death have the last word?

is it truly, honestly, actually dark

and so whatever light we do see

whatever good we do stumble upon

are those just blips on the radar?

momentary interruptions in an otherwise meaningless existence?

because if that’s the case then despair is the

only reasonable response

it’s easy to be cynical

but Jesus says destroy this temple and I’ll rebuild it

he insists that his execution would not be the end

he’s talking about something new and unexpected

happening after his death

he’s talking about resurrection

resurrection announces that God has not given up on the world

because this world matters

this world that we call home

dirt and blood and sweat and skin and light and water

this world that God is redeeming and restoring and renewing

greed and violence and abuse they are not right

and they cannot last

they belong to death and death does not belong

resurrection says that what we do with our lives matters

in this body

the one that we inhabit right now

every act of compassion matters

every work of art that celebrates the good and the true matters

every fair and honest act of business and trade

every kind word

they all belong and they will all go on in God’s good world

nothing will be forgotten

nothing will be wasted

it all has it’s place

everybody believes something

everybody believes somebody

Jesus invites us to trust resurrection

that every glimmer of good

every hint of hope

every impulse that elevates the soul

is a sign, a taste, a glimpse

of how things actually are

and how things will ultimately be

resurrection affirms this life and the next

as a seamless reality

embraced

graced

and saved by God

there is an unexpected mysterious presence

who meets each of us in our lowest moments

when we have no strength when we have nothing left

and we can’t go on we hear the voice that speaks those

words

destroy this temple and I’ll rebuild it

do you believe this?

that’s the question Jesus asked then

and that’s the question he asks now

Jesus’ friends arrive at his tomb and they’re told

he isn’t here

you didn’t see that coming, did you?

he’s isn’t here

there is nothing to fear

and nothing can ever be the same again

we are living in a world in the midst of rescue

with endless unexpected possibilities

they will take my life and I will die Jesus says

but that will not be the end

and when you find yourself assuming that it’s over

when it’s lost, gone, broken and it could never be

put back together again,

when it’s been destroyed and you swear that it could never

be rebuilt

hold on a minute

because in that moment

things will in fact have just begun

_Rob Bell

https://www.robbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Resurrection.mp3

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My favorite Easter Sermon ever:

The Easter Sermon of John Chrysostom

Pastor of Constantinople (~400 AD)

Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?

Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?

Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?

Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour,

let them receive their due reward;

If any have come after the third hour,

let him with gratitude join in the Feast!

And he that arrived after the sixth hour,

let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.

And if any delayed until the ninth hour,

let him not hesitate; but let him come too.

And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,

let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.

He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,

as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.

He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.

The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;

rich and poor, rejoice together!

Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,

rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.

Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.

Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,

for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;

for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.

He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.

He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,

"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.

It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.

It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.

It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.

It took earth, and encountered Heaven.

It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?

O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!

Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;

for Christ having risen from the dead,

is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

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