“Resurrection Life Now” (Acts 2:42-47)

The Risen Christ in Everyday Life

This morning we sang “Easter People, Raise Your Voices” at the top of our lungs. Once again we proclaimed that Christ is risen and lives within us today. The question is, “What does it look like? What is it like to live the resurrection here and now?”

Every time we receive communion we affirm our faith in this way:

 

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection

you gave birth to your church,

delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made with us a new covenant

by water and the Spirit.

 

The church was born through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church is a resurrection community. The Early Church Christians lived the resurrection in everyday life. If we read carefully today’s passage about the birth of the church, we find at least three qualities standing out.

 

Day by Day

The first quality is persistence. “Day by day” they worshiped together at the temple. “Day by day” they met in homes for the Lord’s Supper and shared their meals together. “Day by day” the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. The Early Church was a “day-by-day” community.

In the video we watched earlier, the man repeated the same daily routine – feeding the street dog, giving money to a beggar mother and daughter, helping an elderly street vendor, sharing food with his neighbor, and so forth. For a while, perhaps for months, nothing seemed to change. People around him were skeptical, but he did good anyway – day by day. And “day by day” becomes “one day.” One day he saw the daughter of the beggar mother wear a school uniform and come home.

Day by day the Early Church Christians worshiped together, prayed together, shared meals together, helped the poor together. The next day they repeated the same daily routine. For a while, nothing seemed to change. But day by day became one day. The day did come. One day Peter and John were doing their same daily routine. They were on their way into the temple for prayer meeting. There was a man crippled from birth. He was begging at the temple gate. He saw Peter and John about to enter the temple and asked for some money. Peter said to him, “Siver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. Immediately his feet and ankles were healed. He walked and jumped and entered the temple for the first time, praising God. He was healed and saved. The Early Church was faithful in the ordinary. They were persistent.

24/7

The Early Church’s second quality is congruence. We find no chasm between the Lord’s Supper and breaking bread at home, no disconnection between their public life and their family life. Pastor Eugene Peterson rightly said, “The Christian life is the lifelong practice of attending to the details of congruence – congruence between ends and means, congruence between what we do and the way we do it, congruence between what is written out in Scripture and our living out what is written, congruence between a ship and its prow, congruence between preaching and living, congruence between the sermon and what is lived in both preacher and congregation, the congruence of the Word made flesh in Jesus with what is lived in our flesh.”

Congruence is not something we can master. It’s a gift. It’s a fruit. The more we stay close to the risen Christ, the more congruent we become. Living the resurrection in everyday life means living a congruent life by staying close to Christ. Missionary Frank Laubach desired to be with Christ 24/7, working and resting with Jesus, eating and sleeping with Jesus. For the first few weeks, nothing seemed to change. But later, he said, “The results of this practice grew rich after six months, and glorious after ten years.” Mr. Laubach exhorts us to bring Jesus to mind at least once each minute. He calls this experiment, “the game with the minutes.” He encourages us to fix our eyes on Jesus by practicing spiritual disciplines[1]:

1.         Pray.

2.         Recall God.

3.         Sing or hum a devotional hymn.

4.         Talk or write about God.

5.         Seek to relieve suffering of any kind in a prayerful spirit.

6.         Work with the consciousness of God’s presence.

7.         Whisper to God.

8.         Feel yourself encompassed by God.

9.         Look at a picture or a symbol of Christ.

10.     Read a scripture verse or poem about God.

11.     Give somebody a helpful hand for the Lord’s sake.

12.     Breathe a prayer for the people you meet.

13.     Follow the leading of the Inner Voice.

14.     Plan or work for the Kingdom of God.

15.     Testify to others about God, the church, or this game.

16.     Share suffering or sorrow with another.

17.     Hear God and see Him in flowers, trees, water, hills, sky.

The living Christ walks with me and talks with me. The question is, “Do I actually walk with him and talk with him minute-by-minute?”

 

Living in Community

The third quality we find from the Early Church is life-together community. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, the last words to his disciples were, “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them” (Matt 28:19-20). So the first thing the disciples did when people responded to the Word was to baptize them. “So those who welcomed [Peter’s] message were baptized…” (Acts 2:41a).

What happens when we are baptized? Baptism requires two actions from our part – repent and follow. Repent is the no and follow is the yes. When we are baptized, we are asked:

Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?

I do.

 

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?

I do.

When we are baptized, we are set free from our former master called “sin” and are adopted into God’s family, that is the Church. Living the resurrection means living in Christ’s community. The church is a community. The church is united. The church is together. In the Early Church there was no such a spiritual elite or professional. They learned together, had fellowship together, served together. They were one people, life-together community.

 

The Best Is Yet to Come

So it is possible and available to live the resurrection life here and now. But even greater thing is yet to come.

Some of you may have heard a story about an old missionary couple who had been working in Africa for years, and they were returning to New York City to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were old now and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other officials were there, and everyone made much over him, but no one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side. That night, the missionary’s spirit broke. He poured out his heart to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I can’t take this. You are not treating us fairly. The President received this tremendous homecoming, but no one met us as we returned home.” But when he finished it, God simply said, “My son, you’re not home yet!”[2]

Are you weary and tired? Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit proclaimed by the Apostle Paul, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9, NIV) Brothers and sisters in Christ, be encouraged. Let us be faithful and persistent. Let us stay close to Christ 24/7. Let us remember our baptism and always live in community. And remember the best is yet to come.

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[1] Frank Laubach, Letters by a Modern Mystic (p. 114). Purposeful Design Publications. Kindle Edition.

[2] Ray Stedman, Talking To My Father (Barbour & Co. 1997).

“Eclipse of God” (Jonah 1:17-2:10)

Eclipse Journey  

It’s Eclipse Eve. We are all expecting tomorrow to witness one of the greatest sights in the universe – a total solar eclipse. The other day I read an article saying that this eclipse experience can draw us closer to God and to each other. Indeed, the Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps 19:1, NIV). We are drawn to God the Creator when we see the wonders of nature. We are also drawn to one another as we share this memorable experience together as a community. We will remember April 8, 2024, and say, “I too was there.”

Somehow eclipse also reminds us of our own spiritual journey – from darkness to light, from death to life. We’re all in different places in our lives. Let us pause, ponder, and ask ourselves, “Where am I?” Let me ask you, “Where are you on your journey?” Perhaps some of us are in a place where we feel distant from God.

 

Dark Night of the Soul

If so, you are not the only one who feels that way. In fact, it’s a part of the journey. Our spiritual ancestors in the Bible and in the church have gone through this same journey, what’s called, the “dark night of the soul.”

What is the dark night of the soul? The dark night of the soul is when we are going through a dark season of life. Whether we are struggling with our faith, lost a loved one, or are going through a health issue, all these things can lead to a dark night of the soul. Sometimes it comes upon us so suddenly without any particular reason.

When we are in the dark season, we feel like we are going backward emotionally and spiritually. Our spiritual disciplines that were once life-giving (ex. Prayer, Bible reading) are now dull, boring, wearisome, and dry. We feel like we’re not bearing fruit. We feel like God has abandoned us. We feel like God isn’t real. We feel like this will last forever. But deep in our hearts desire for God runs deep. We hunger for God and his presence.

What’s actually happening in this dark season is “progression” instead of “regression.” God is freeing us from all attachments and idols while we are going through this painful dark night of the soul. Psychiatrist and theologian Gerald May rightly said in this way:

Each of us has countless attachments. We are attached to our daily routines, our environments, our relationships, and of course our possessions… In a spiritual sense, the objects of our attachments and addictions become idols. We give them our time, energy, and attention whether we want to or not, even – and often especially – when we are struggling to rid ourselves of them. We want to be free, compassionate, and happy, but in the face of our attachments we are clinging, grasping, and fearfully self-absorbed. This is the root of our trouble.^[1]

Through the dark night of the soul God is stripping us of our attachments to set us free and to give us a humble desire for God, saying, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). The dark night is a time of refining.

 

Jonah

One of many examples who have gone through the dark night is Jonah. He was God’s prophet – a man of faith. He enjoyed a close relationship with God, listening and talking to God. Life was good. But one day God gave Jonah a mission that made no sense to him – preaching the message of repentance to his enemy, the people of Nineveh. So Jonah ran away from God’s presence. We know the rest of the story. He ended up being in the belly of the big fish. Depth. Darkness. Death. Silence. Solitude. That’s where Jonah is now. He is right in the middle of the dark night. 

What should we do during a dark night? How can we cope with it? We can learn at least two things from Jonah’s example.

 

Flying by the Instruments

Jonah prays to God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice” (v. 2). Even though Jonah is now in the place of death, he has learned to trust God because of God’s past dealings with him. Through his personal experiences, he knew God is faithful, he knew God is merciful, he knew God is just. So in the darkest valley he is patiently waiting, praying, trusting.

Aircraft pilots must learn to fly by the instruments. What does it mean by that? When a pilot flies into a dark cloud or at night, it becomes dangerous for them to trust their physical perceptions. They might feel like they’re flying straight, when they are actually descending toward the ground. So they must learn to trust what the plane’s instruments are telling them, not what their feelings are telling them.

There are times when we just can’t see; reality is hidden. We feel uncertain of direction. We feel like it’s a waste of time, no clear timeline. We feel like God is absent. But feelings and emotions are not always an accurate barometer of reality. The reality is God is never absent. God is always near, even when we don’t feel a thing. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). So in the dark night we need to patiently wait, pray, and walk by faith – faith in God’s character – not by sight. We need to fly by the instruments. That’s the first thing we can learn from Jonah.

 

Gratitude

The second is gratitude. Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish written in chapter 2 is often called a prayer of thanksgiving. It’s still dark, still depressing, still uncertain. He’s still in the belly of the fish. But Jonah concludes his prayer with thanksgiving in this way: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!” (v. 9)

This past week was particularly challenging for the Hans. Holy Week, Easter, then Eclipse Weekend was coming. In between, starting with Hannah, Esther, Grace, Abe, and I got sick. In one particular morning it was challenging to even get out of bed – no strength, no desire, no motivation. I felt overwhelmed. Then I decided to practice gratitude for the little things. If I get out of bed, it’s a win. If I get down the stairs and have breakfast, it’s a win. If one of the sick children feels better, it’s a win. If I pray for my father’s surgery, it’s a win. In the dark night, we can slow down, savor the little things, and practice gratitude, instead of trying to skip or rush through it.

 

Take My Hand, Lord!

Thomas was born into a pastor’s family. He had a gift for music. In his late teens he became famous. Then he compromised in his lifestyle and turned away from God. He was weary and restless. One of his relatives urged him to return to God. At the age of twenty-one, he did. He encountered God personally. Since then, he used his gift for God-honoring music. He worked with some of the greatest singers in the history of gospel music. Thomas was enjoying God’s blessing to the full: happy marriage, growing ministry, first child on the way. Life was good.

But then the dark night came upon him. One night he got a telegram. It read simply: “Your wife just died.” She had passed away in childbirth. He ran to the hospital, and the following day his newborn son also died. He avoided people and grew angry at God. He said, “I don’t want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs.” He isolated himself, nursing his anger and sorrow. One day one of his friends took Thomas to a neighborhood music school. That evening as the sun was setting, Thomas sat down at a piano and began to play… and pray. He poured out his heart to God:

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand,

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light:

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

In the dark night Jonah didn’t know how long it would last. But God did – it was for three days. In the belly of the fish Jonah felt like a waste of time, no purpose, no direction. But God had a plan – the fish was directly heading toward Nineveh.

If you are going through the dark night of the soul, be encouraged. It’s a season. It will not last forever. By God’s sheer grace a breakthrough will come. Let our prayer change from, “God, take me out of this,” to, “God, take my hand, take me through.” There is a light, there is a purpose, there are answers.

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[1] John Mark Comer, “Step Sheet,” https://practicingthewayarchives.org/naming-your-stage-of-apprenticeship/step-sheet#:~:text=Slow%20down%20and%20enjoy%20the,actually%20be%20a%20joyful%20season

Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. Saint Rémy, June 1889

“I Have Seen the Lord” (John 20:11-18)

Four-Minute Mile 

Have you heard of “4 Minute Mile”? In athletics, the four-minute mile means running a mile in less than four minutes. For years it was believed that the human body was incapable of a 4-minute mile. Since 1864, for almost a century, numerous athletes had tried to run 1 mile in 4 minutes, but no one could make it. So, people believed that human beings can't run 1 mile within 4 minutes. But, in 1945 one physician published a paper showing that the human body is capable of running 1 mile in 4 minutes. A few years later, on May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier. Then several more runners made it. Now, it’s almost routine. Even strong high-schoolers today run 4-minute miles. Our Lord Jesus Christ broke the barrier – the wall that had separated us from God. The Bible says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1Co 15:20). Jesus Christ our Lord has conquered death, has broken down every wall, and opened the door to eternal life so that we might go in!

The Women at Jesus’ Tomb
In today’s gospel lesson we meet Mary Magdalene and the other women. Those are faithful ones. When Jesus was on the cross, they didn’t abandon him but were standing by the cross of Jesus (John 19:25). After Jesus was placed in a tomb, they patiently waited until the Sabbath was over. Early next morning they came to the tomb with spices while it was still dark, hoping they might anoint him. That was the way of honoring their teacher. That was all they could do. They loved Jesus very much, but now he was gone. They must have felt hopeless and powerless. They didn’t know what to do next. Although they were going to the tomb early in the morning, they didn’t even know what to say to the tomb guards. They didn’t have the strength to roll the tombstone away for themselves. On the way they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away for us?” (Mark 16:4)

They were filled with all kinds of worry and fear. But to their surprise, when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the huge stone had “already” been rolled away! Jesus already did it for them. It was Jesus who conquered death. It was Jesus who rolled the stone away. It was Jesus who first came to see these women. In fact, all the problems and concerns that the women had already had been solved. They didn’t need to roll the stone away. They didn’t need to find and anoint Jesus’ body. Jesus already did everything for them. That is why Jesus was able to say on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). “It’s done… complete!” (MSG). Do you have any burden of life – guilt, shame, wound, pain – something in your heart like a large stone that you just cannot roll away for yourself? We have good news! Jesus has already rolled away that stone. For you. For me.

The Resurrection at Cookham
That’s why we are here today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Some of us in this room may still wonder why resurrection matters. It matters because it tells us that this life is not everything It tells us that there will be a resurrection of all the dead, including you and me. We too will be resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:23 says, “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” That means there will be more fruits to follow. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says that when our Lord Jesus Christ returns with the trumpet call, the dead in Christ will rise first and then we will also be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever!” By his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus did open the gate to eternal life. So now everyone who believes in him has eternal life. In Christ you and I have eternal life!

So far I have either officiated or helped 72 funerals for our saints – 15 funerals for Hodgdon saints and 57 for Houlton) over the past 10 years. Imagine the Day of the Lord! Imagine that your loved ones are raised from the Evergreen Cemetery or Hodgdon Cemetery. How would you feel? In fact, Artist Stanley Spencer had this experience of revelation. He lived in the small English village of Cookham and attended a small Methodist church. There was a small cemetery in his churchyard. He passed through it numerous times, perhaps several times a week. One day as he was passing through this churchyard, Spencer had a sudden awakening experience. He perceived the great resurrection of the dead in his humble churchyard. He wrote his experience in this way: “Quite suddenly I became aware that everything was full of special meaning, and this made everything holy. The instinct of Moses to take his shoes off when he saw the burning bush was very similar to my feelings. I saw many burning bushes in Cookham. I observed the sacred quality in the most unexpected quarters.”[1]

In his painting, The Resurrection at Cookham, we see not only the Son Jesus and the Father in the center, but also his loved ones – his family and friends, and Spencer himself. When we believe in the resurrection of Jesus and all the dead, our local churchyard, this very place becomes a new Garden of Eden. The ground we are standing on becomes “a holy suburb of heaven.” The resurrection of Jesus tells us that on the Day of the Lord we will be resurrected. As Bonhoeffer says, in Jesus Christ all of us will be eternally united with him, and with one another, and with our loved ones.

He Lives!
But there is more! Not only does the resurrection of Jesus give us hope for tomorrow, but also it gives us the power to live our new life today. The Risen Christ promised, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Resurrection is a core Christian belief. The Risen Christ lives in us today!

John Wesley cried out on his deathbed, “The best of all is, God (the Risen Christ) is with us!” Today we are not merely here to honor a good teacher Jesus, who taught the truth and died two thousand years ago. We are here to worship and celebrate a risen King and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives in the world and in us today! There are many evidences of Jesus’ resurrection, but perhaps the most convincing evidence of all is the transformation of the disciples of Jesus. All of them were transformed from cowards to martyrs because of the resurrection. Saul was transformed from a passionate persecutor of the Christian to the world’s greatest missionary for Christ. He was sold out for Christ. How is this possible? Only the resurrection. Saul met the Risen Christ. Not only in Jesus’ time, but still today we know it is true by our own experience. For me personally, there was a time in my college years, I found no meaning or purpose of life. But after I met the Risen Christ, my life changed. Everything became new and meaningful. Even in small things – whether I ate a meal, took a nap, or took a walk, I could find a sense of purpose and feel joy, contentment, and peace! The risen Christ gives us the power to live a new life in him and makes us more like him.

Perhaps one of the most beloved Easter hymns is “He Lives” written by Alfred Ackley. There is a story behind this hymn. In fact, two events gave Pastor Ackley fresh insight to write this hymn. One day he was holding an evangelistic meeting. A young sincere Jewish student asked the question, “Why should I worship a dead Jew?” Ackley answered, ““He Lives! I tell you; He is not dead, but lives here and now! Jesus Christ is more alive today than ever before. I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the testimony of countless thousands.” The young Jewish student eventually accepted the living Christ as his own personal Savior. A few days later, Easter Sunday came. On that Easter Day morning Ackley turned on his radio. He was then shocked to hear a preacher say something like this, “You know, it really doesn’t matter to me if Christ be risen or not. His body could have turned to dust long ago in some Palestinian tomb. But what’s important is that His truth goes marching on!” Ackley was so upset. That Sunday he preached with great fervency on the resurrection of Jesus based on the Scripture: “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.” But later that night, he still could not shake the question of that young Jewish student and the words of that preacher. Then, his wife said, “Why don’t you write a song about it?. Then you will have something that will go on telling the story.” That very night Ackley wrote out the words, and then composed the melody: 

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;

I know that He is living, whatever men may say;

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

He lives, he lives Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

 Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

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[1] Terry Glaspey, 75 Master Pieces Every Christian Should Know (Grand Rapids: Michigan, 2015), 214-15.

*The Cookham Resurrection by English artist Stanley Spencer