St John's - The Word

March 23, 2008
Pastor David Kuhnle

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
An orthodox priest in Europe was hurrying to his 8 AM Easter Mass when his car broke down. In desperation he rushed to a pay phone and dialed the operator for help. Filled with the joy of Easter and not really thinking, he greeted the operator with the Easter greeting: "Christ is risen!" After a stunned silence, the operator, in a flat and sarcastic tone, responded, "Oh, really?"
Maybe you feel that way this morning. Oh, I'm not suggesting that you don't believe that Christ rose. But when you look at the pain, the misery, the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of life, in your heart you might be inclined to think: Christ is risen. So what? So what difference does it make to me? What does it matter to my life that Christ is risen? My child is still dead; I'm still divorced; I'm still unemployed; I still fight everyday with my spouse. Christ is risen! So what?
If that's you or if you sometimes wonder what is the big deal, listen to Paul's words to the Colossians (3:1): "Since you have been raised with Christ seek the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
First, he says you have been raised with Christ. Easter is very personal. It is your Easter we celebrate. As Christ came out of the grave on Easter, so you too have been raised from the dead. If you have been raised, then you must have been dead. That is how we are described in Ephesians 2:1: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins." You were dead; you had no spiritual life in you. You could not come to God or have the relationship with God any more than a corpse in the cemetery can dance a jig. You were dead in your sins. All we could do was sin. We lived for the cravings of the flesh under Satan's rule. Left in that state, we have no hope.
But Easter means that you have been raised with Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 tell us, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."
This is baptism talk. Even though Paul doesn't mention baptism in Ephesians chapter 2 or here in Colossians chapter 3, as we study scripture we can see that in our baptism we are intimately tied to Christ's resurrection. Col. 2:12 says, "having been buried with him in baptism, wherein you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." Notice he says "we are buried with him in baptism." Christ's death was your death. Our sin required our death. His burial was your burial. The Father regards Jesus' death on the cross as your death and his justice is satisfied. The Old Adam is buried in the grave.
This means you are forgiven all your sins. The Greek word we translate as forgiveness means to carry away and get rid of. Jesus has carried away your sins; he took them to the grave and left them there. They are dead and buried. And if that were all, that would be more than we could imagine; but Easter means even more than that. Easter means new freedom. Lives that were incapable of pleasing God are now capable to will and do what is pleasing to God.
We have a new freedom in Christ - free from oppression of the devil and of sin; free to be the people of God. Along with this new freedom, Easter means we have a higher calling. Paul says, "Since you have been raised with Christ set your affections on the things from above." Verse 2 adds, "and not on earthly things." The message paraphrase reads like this: So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
Baron von Welz understood this. Although he was born into royalty and great wealth, he renounced his title and fortune and went as a missionary to Dutch Guiana. When he gave up his title, he told his parents and all his subjects, "What to me is the title 'well-born' when I am born again in Christ? What to me is the title 'lord' when I desire to be a servant of Christ? What is it to me to be called 'Your Grace' when I have need of God's grace, help, and comfort? All these vanities I will do away with, and all else I will lay at the feet of Jesus, my dearest Lord, that I may have no hindrance in serving Him aright." As God's children, intent on serving the Lord, we too are called to remove our hearts from the world, its honor and glories, and their own selfish satisfactions and set them on things above.
Paul says again: "Since you have been raised with Christ set your affections on the things from above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father." The right hand of the Father is the seat of power. It means that the risen Lord Jesus rules with absolute authority and power over the universe. Because he sits at the right hand of the Father, he says to us, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." [Rev. 1:17-18] We may have confidence in all things because our savior is King. Paul says through baptism our lives are hidden in him, literally tucked away for safekeeping. No one can touch you.
In Romans 8 Paul says it like this: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We take all our cares to him who loves us and has overcome. He will return and we will be with him. This speaks of the resurrection to come. When Jesus appears again on Judgment Day, we will appear with him. We will experience our own Easter. Jesus will call us from the grave. This is a certainty. What glory will be ours when that final Easter dawns! When Christ comes, we will look at all the troubles we have had in life and say, "So what! Jesus lives and so do I."

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said!" Matthew 28:5 Christ is risen! So what? March 23, 2008 Pastor David Kuhnle Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! An orthodox priest in Europe was hurrying to his 8 AM Easter Mass when his car broke down. In desperation he rushed to a pay phone and dialed the operator for help. Filled with the joy of Easter and not really thinking, he greeted the operator with the Easter greeting: "Christ is risen!" After a stunned silence, the operator, in a flat and sarcastic tone, responded, "Oh, really?" Maybe you feel that way this morning. Oh, I'm not suggesting that you don't believe that Christ rose. But when you look at the pain, the misery, the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of life, in your heart you might be inclined to think: Christ is risen. So what? So what difference does it make to me? What does it matter to my life that Christ is risen? My child is still dead; I'm still divorced; I'm still unemployed; I still fight everyday with my spouse. Christ is risen! So what? If that's you or if you sometimes wonder what is the big deal, listen to Paul's words to the Colossians (3:1): "Since you have been raised with Christ seek the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." First, he says you have been raised with Christ. Easter is very personal. It is your Easter we celebrate. As Christ came out of the grave on Easter, so you too have been raised from the dead. If you have been raised, then you must have been dead. That is how we are described in Ephesians 2:1: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins." You were dead; you had no spiritual life in you. You could not come to God or have the relationship with God any more than a corpse in the cemetery can dance a jig. You were dead in your sins. All we could do was sin. We lived for the cravings of the flesh under Satan's rule. Left in that state, we have no hope. But Easter means that you have been raised with Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 tell us, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." This is baptism talk. Even though Paul doesn't mention baptism in Ephesians chapter 2 or here in Colossians chapter 3, as we study scripture we can see that in our baptism we are intimately tied to Christ's resurrection. Col. 2:12 says, "having been buried with him in baptism, wherein you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." Notice he says "we are buried with him in baptism." Christ's death was your death. Our sin required our death. His burial was your burial. The Father regards Jesus' death on the cross as your death and his justice is satisfied. The Old Adam is buried in the grave. This means you are forgiven all your sins. The Greek word we translate as forgiveness means to carry away and get rid of. Jesus has carried away your sins; he took them to the grave and left them there. They are dead and buried. And if that were all, that would be more than we could imagine; but Easter means even more than that. Easter means new freedom. Lives that were incapable of pleasing God are now capable to will and do what is pleasing to God. We have a new freedom in Christ - free from oppression of the devil and of sin; free to be the people of God. Along with this new freedom, Easter means we have a higher calling. Paul says, "Since you have been raised with Christ set your affections on the things from above." Verse 2 adds, "and not on earthly things." The message paraphrase reads like this: So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Baron von Welz understood this. Although he was born into royalty and great wealth, he renounced his title and fortune and went as a missionary to Dutch Guiana. When he gave up his title, he told his parents and all his subjects, "What to me is the title 'well-born' when I am born again in Christ? What to me is the title 'lord' when I desire to be a servant of Christ? What is it to me to be called 'Your Grace' when I have need of God's grace, help, and comfort? All these vanities I will do away with, and all else I will lay at the feet of Jesus, my dearest Lord, that I may have no hindrance in serving Him aright." As God's children, intent on serving the Lord, we too are called to remove our hearts from the world, its honor and glories, and their own selfish satisfactions and set them on things above. Paul says again: "Since you have been raised with Christ set your affections on the things from above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father." The right hand of the Father is the seat of power. It means that the risen Lord Jesus rules with absolute authority and power over the universe. Because he sits at the right hand of the Father, he says to us, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." [Rev. 1:17-18] We may have confidence in all things because our savior is King. Paul says through baptism our lives are hidden in him, literally tucked away for safekeeping. No one can touch you. In Romans 8 Paul says it like this: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." We take all our cares to him who loves us and has overcome. He will return and we will be with him. This speaks of the resurrection to come. When Jesus appears again on Judgment Day, we will appear with him. We will experience our own Easter. Jesus will call us from the grave. This is a certainty. What glory will be ours when that final Easter dawns! When Christ comes, we will look at all the troubles we have had in life and say, "So what! Jesus lives and so do I."
Copyright © 2000-2006 St John's Lutheran Church Honey Creek, Iowa