Easter Sunday, April 19, 2015, Liturgical Year B. ST. BARTHOLOMEW S ANGLICAN CHURCH IN THE TOWN OF TONAWANDA The Rev. Fr. Arthur W. Ward, Jr.

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1 ST. BARTHOLOMEW S ANGLICAN CHURCH IN THE TOWN OF TONAWANDA The Rev. Fr. Arthur W. Ward, Jr. + Dean Scripture: Various Resurrection Power: There Is No Other! A BLESSED RESURRECTION DAY! A Blessed Resurrection Day to all! Or as is more commonly said, Happy Easter! There are differences of opinion as to the origins of the term Easter. The name undoubtedly is of pagan origin, most likely stemming from the Anglo-Saxon traditions of Northern Europe. The name of their goddess of Spring was Eastre (or Eostre). A festival was named in her honor. Her earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility. Eggs were also the symbol of new birth in many ancient cultures. And as far as the tradition of Easter bunnies and eggs becoming popular in America? Credit can go to German immigrants who came to America in the 1700 s and settled in Pennsylvania. Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship. As the peoples of Northern Europe became Christians, the Church took this pagan holiday and replaced it with the celebration of Christ s resurrection, which had already been going on centuries beforehand. And that s what we celebrate today. We remember and proclaim the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead not just His spirit but His physical body. Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, raised in the region of Galilee, He lived among real people family friends, neighbors, strangers, and He associated with the high class and the low class; the rich and the poor; the religious and nonreligious. He was both loved and hated, respected and ridiculed, believed and doubted. He taught and spoke like no one ever had or has. And He was betrayed, arrested, tortured, nailed to a cross and killed. His body was taken down from the cross wrapped in burial linen cloths and put in a tomb to be there as long as planet earth exists. End of story. THE EMPTY TOMB That is what some would have you believe. The Romans thought it was the end. The Jews thought it was the end. The disciples thought it was the end, but it wasn t the end. For this same Jesus who was crucified, rose from the dead and came out of the tomb. And when His disciples came, the first being women, they found no body! His body was gone. They were expecting to find a body. They were expecting to find a dead Jesus. But there was nobody there. Oh, but maybe someone stole the body and hid it? But why would they do that? To prove Jesus is Lord when He really isn t? To propagate a myth that would result in persecution from the Romans or the Jews? We know that they certainly didn t steal the body. The Roman and Jewish leadership had assigned Roman soldiers to guard the tomb to prevent the very thing they said happened. And the Romans and Jews never denied the existence of Jesus as a real person in history. But no one was ever able to locate His body. Find the body and you take care of any hope of 1

2 Christianity going on. Find the body and it means Jesus was just another holy man who died and founded another religion. But the evidence suggests, indeed the truth is, that Jesus came out of the tomb. As we heard in Mark s Gospel, the angel told the three women who went to the tomb, Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here (Mk. 16:6). But Jesus did not just rise from the dead never to be seen; He appeared to many folks and hundreds of witnesses. The disciples saw, understood, and were transformed from followers who were afraid and uncertain, into witnesses who were bold and courageous: men and women not only given a mission to spread the good news of Jesus, His life, His death, His resurrection and ascension, as well as all that He taught to the ends of the earth. They were given power to do it. The power of the Holy Spirit was given to them. The same power that was and is in the Lord Jesus Christ! And listen, there is no greater power than God s power. In fact, scientists will tell you that the amount of intelligence and power to create, order and maintain the universe is beyond human comprehension. For example, an animal can only do a certain set of acts and behaviors. They are governed by instinct. In comparison to a human being who is made in the image of God, they can t even come close. Yet, in the animal world there are different levels of intelligence. A dog is smarter than a cow, and a chimp is smarter than a dog; but they don t even get close to the level of a human being. No animals can conceive ideas outside of themselves and create and build things that go beyond their instinctual behaviors. We can. And even among human beings, not all have the intelligence of an Albert Einstein. Well, God is way beyond our intelligence and obviously infinitesimally more powerful. So it should not surprise us that during Jesus time on earth, He displayed power unlike any person or religious figure the world has ever known. Unlike the pagan religions of the ancient world with their myths about gods and goddesses flying around the universe in competition with one another and each tribe and nation having their own set of deities that they named, Jesus came to earth in fulfillment of what God had already promised thousands of years earlier. Jesus did not start a new religion. He simply fulfilled the original The God known by Adam and Eve, Noah and his family, Abraham and his family, and undoubtedly many others whom we simply do not know about because the witness of their lives was never preserved, had promised to send a special person to usher in the Kingdom of God forever. And this would mean to demonstrate the power of that kingdom. And so if Jesus is the Son of God, and in fact God in the flesh, then this incredible power would be demonstrated in His life. And we find exactly that. That s why a recent movie on Jesus life called Killing Jesus is such a farce. While I can appreciate Bill O Reilly s take on things at times and even his book by the same name, Killing Jesus, that looks at the historical background surrounding Jesus life and death, to authorize a movie that does not include any of the miracles or the supernatural events surrounding His life is a total hijacking of the witness of the Gospels. You remove the miracles and you taint the message. You taint the message, and you discredit the messenger. You discredit the messenger and you must ask how then is Jesus any different than any of the countless prophets and revolutionaries that peppered world history? 2

3 The truth is Jesus demonstrated supernatural power in so many ways that to ignore them would be to turn your back on the evidence. POWER OVER SIN So what and who did Jesus demonstrate power over? First, He demonstrated power over sin. We are told in Hebrews 4:5 that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. Don t think that just because He was God he was not tempted. He was tempted to disobey His Father by taking the shortcut and not suffering for our sin. He was tempted to satisfy the cravings of the flesh that we all have He was tempted to wipe evil people out. He was tempted to give up. I mean, think about it. He is an innocent man condemned to death illegally by the Romans and the Jews. The Roman Governor Pontus Pilate said in response to the calls to crucify Jesus, Why? What crime has He done? I find no fault in this man. Jesus not only experienced temptation but he experienced the effects of sin in many ways: falsely accused an innocent suffering; being betrayed by those closest to him family and friends; being physically injured and abused; being separated from His Father while the sin of the world bore down on him. He experienced psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual pain, all the result of sin and yet He did not fall into sin Himself, but took it upon Himself without sinning! He demonstrated power over sin by maintaining His faithfulness and innocence. Thereby, He could be a just payment for our sin because He did not have to pay for his own. We live in a world of good and evil, and as human beings we want justice. If it were not so, why do we have laws and courts and attorneys? Why is there an uproar about handling of the Germanwings pilot s psychological history after the crash of their jetliner two weeks ago? Someone has to pay if justice is to be done. And someone has to pay because a wrong has committed. That is what sin is wrongdoing flowing from not trusting God. Jesus did not sin, and He took our sin upon Himself, remaining faithful to His Father to the bitter end. He demonstrated that our wrongdoing can only be paid for by ourselves or by God. He paved the way for God to pay for our sin but we have a choice. We can pay it ourselves or let God pay it. And that only makes sense only God can truly pay for our sin and it is why salvation is a gift, not something earned. But Jesus did not only demonstrate power over sin, He demonstrated power over physical sickness. POWER OVER SICKNESS If sin is spiritual sickness, Jesus also demonstrated power over physical sickness. What did Jesus do as He taught and proclaimed the Kingdom of God? He healed all their diseases. He healed the lepers, He opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, He healed the paralytic, the dumb, Malchus severed ear, blind Bartimaeus, those with epilepsy, and many others with various diseases and ailments. Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; 3

4 and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. (Mt. 4:23-25) But He didn t heal just to heal. He healed to point us to the reality that He came to restore broken relationships, the first being to heal our relationship with God, and so that we know that Jesus is from God and God is the one who has power over disease. POWER OVER NATURE But Christ did not just demonstrate power over sin and sickness; He demonstrated power over nature itself. He walked on the water and ascended into heaven defying the laws of gravity. He took loaves and fish and multiplied their numbers to feed thousands of people at one time. He turned water into wine. He rebuked the storm, thereby calming the wind and the waves. He told the disciples where to let down their nets to get the best catch of fish. And He told Peter, after the tax collectors were looking to collect the two drachma tax, that Peter would find a shekel to pay his taxes but not just his but Peter s too in the first fish he caught on the seashore! (Mt. 17:24-27). Why did Jesus do these things? To show off? No. They were done to demonstrate that Jesus as Lord of the universe has power over the very natural laws He instituted. This simply flows from how Jesus came to earth. He was born of a Virgin which defies the laws of biology. Some people can t believe such a thing. They say, oh no that is impossible. But if you can t believe in the Virgin birth then forget about everything else. When Mary stated the obvious that she was a virgin, the Angel Gabriel said, For nothing will be impossible with God. (Lk. 1:37) POWER OVER SATAN Fourth, Jesus demonstrated power over spiritual supernatural evil. He demonstrated power over Satan. Recall how He withstood the devil s attacks after He fasted 40 days in the Wilderness and how He cast out demons and rebuked evil spirits, and too, how after his disciples came back telling him, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name. He said, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ( Lk. 10:17-18) Jesus demonstrated power over Satan time and time again. POWER OVER DEATH Finally, Jesus demonstrated power over death itself. Recall how He raised up Jairus daughter, the widow s son, and then finally Lazarus who had been dead three days in the tomb. It was Lazarus death that proved the final straw for the Jewish religious leaders, for they said among themselves after this miracle, if this continues the whole world will be following Him. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. (Jn. 11:48) 4

5 But it was Christ s coming out of the tomb which demonstrated His ultimate authority and power over death. He didn t come back as some spirit; He came back in the very same body that was beaten, whipped and crucified. It was the same Jesus in the same body but now one that was totally renewed and changed. It is why Jesus showed Thomas His hands and His feet and why Thomas exclaimed, My Lord and My God! (Jn. 20:28 upon touching them. Only God in the flesh could demonstrate such power. Only if Jesus is Lord could such things be true. WE CAN HAVE THAT SAME POWER! But here is the amazing thing: Jesus promised access to the same power for all those who put their faith in Him. That s right. Jesus said, Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (Jn. 14:11-15) Jesus said, Greater works than these will you do in my name. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit, comes upon you and be my witnesses to the entire world. (Acts 1:8) In essence, Jesus was saying that I am going to give you now power over sin, over sickness, over nature, over Satan, and yes even over death itself. You ask how so? Let me show you. First, sin. How do you know whether or not something is sin right or wrong? God. He gives us the standard. He does this by first giving us a conscience. But our consciences are still tainted because we are governed by selfishness. We need to see the opposite firsthand. God does this two ways: first, giving us the Law so that we know right from wrong, And second, giving us His Son so we see right and wrong in action, and so that we can be forgiven and have the power to do what is right always. And this happens when we know the Savior and trust in Him to do the right thing and to keep trying as we grow closer to Himself. How else can you account for so many people s lives from every nation, every walk of life, from notorious sinners who have changed? Who have seen their lives transformed for good and who are no longer gripped by sin but are living for Jesus? How can that happen? It can only come from a relationship with Jesus and not with a religion or set of rules or some philosophy of life. Sin can t be atoned for by good works, and it can t be conquered by special knowledge. It only can be dealt with through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Second, sickness. God is the one who created our bodies and He has designed them in such a way that they automatically go about healing our cells once they are damaged. Whether it be white blood cells that fight against infection or the natural healing process of our cells when we are cut, the inherent nature of life is to heal the sickness. But we know that some things can t be healed. Well, God can heal anything and He has healed. There are countless examples of people who have been miraculously healed of their diseases. It is why God s 5

6 Word tells us to lay hands on the sick for healing in the name of Jesus. Now it is not always God s will that we be healed instantly. Most people aren t. Jesus did not heal everyone that came to him. And there are many reasons why we don t see healings instantly. One reason is that God is not some genie in the bottle or vending machine. He is not our servant boy. Everything must be done according to His timetable and plan. But the truth is, by His Holy Spirit, the power to heal the sick is there. Third, how about nature? Whenever people talk to me about how it would be nice for a change in the weather, they ask me if I can do anything prayer-wise. And I always tell them that is above my pay grade. While that is true in the sense that we are not to expect to see weather change just for our comfort and convenience, I do believe God gives us power to ask Him to intervene when the weather is life -threatening. We see this in the history of our nation during times of drought when our governing officials and church leaders would call on people to pray for rain. There have also been accounts of believers who have seen tornados change course and have seen storms subside due to their prayers. Some may say that is just chance but I believe the same God who created and controls the laws of nature can intervene at any time. It is why James 5:17-18 tells us that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. And fourth, Satan? We all have heard of people getting involved in the occult and witchcraft and black magic; and many who have been involved in such things have said the power of the dark side is real. Satanic evil is real. It is why there still is demonic possession. And yet, what did Jesus say after He said He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven? He said, Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. (Lk. 10:19) It is why Jesus confronted this reality and said in Mt. 16:18, Upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We have the same power. It is why the Roman Catholic Church has exorcists for each of its dioceses. And it is why many have come out of the occult and have been set free from its bondage. The truth is, if we stand firm in Christ, Satan cannot overtake us or even harm us. 1 Peter 5:7 resist the devil and he will flee from you. Finally, death. Death is called by the Bible the last enemy. Indeed it is the great enemy of man. When we get a death sentence, there is no hope. Death conveys to us the reality that there nothing that can be done. And there is nothing worse in the human experience than to have no hope. If you have no hope, you want to die. And if you are going to die and that s it, then there is no hope. But Jesus came out of the grave to show that we all have hope because He is the God of the living, not of the dead. What did Jesus say while He was on earth? I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. (Jn. 10:10) He came so that whoever believes in him should have eternal life. He came to give 6

7 us victory over death so that we can say like St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:55-57: O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is why literally millions of believers over the ages have had near death experiences and have returned with a sense of assurance and peace unlike any they ever had before. It is why many have also had disturbing experiences with a sense of great suffering pain and isolation. They got a glimpse of what life is like without God. But the truth is these experiences, as powerful as they are, cannot compare to the actual power that we will be embraced by when our entire being spirit, soul and body - is transformed at the end of the age and the return of Jesus. It is this power, resurrection power, that we will experience firsthand. Right now we only have had a glimpse, but then we will see face to face. Right now we only have had a taste, but then we will be fully satisfied. Right now we have only heard about it, but then it will be all around us. And yet this same power that will accomplish all of this is in us right now through the Holy Spirit. And to the degree that we are in Christ, this will be to the degree that we experience it. In many ways it is in our hands. You may remember last fall when we talked about how to experience the power of God. And we saw there are two main ways if the Holy Spirit is to manifest His power in us. 1) You have to remain under God s authority in your everyday life and 2) You have to be in community with other believers worshipping, fellowshipping, praying, and serving together. To the degree that you are under God s authority in your life and in community with His Body, the Church, will be the degree that you experience power over sin, sickness, nature, Satan and death. It is why in this life and in the life to come, there is no power greater than the Resurrection Power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! And it is why Jesus said to Mary when she told him that her brother had died, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25, 26 So I ask you on this Resurrection Sunday, Do you believe this? And if you do, what are you going to do about it? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN! 7