"A LIVING HOPE" Second Sunday of Easter April 19, 2020 Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3, 4 (ESV)
No matter how much you and I may want to avoid admitting it, we can't help but to feel at least a little let down by our worship service on the Sunday after Easter. Last week at this time we proclaimed the most glorious, the most powerful, and the most comforting message that we have as Christians. What could possibly be said today that would be a fitting encore to the glorious news that Jesus Christ, who was put to death for our sins, has been raised from the dead? Our thoughts this morning are almost like the ones you might have waking up on the morning after your graduation or the day after your wedding--occasions when you are tempted to ask: "Now what?" Great events for which we wait so long seem to be over so quickly. We can think back on the glory of those events just as we can think back to last Sunday. Despite our current difficulties, we remember the message of resurrection and New Life, and the joyous refrain: "Christ is risen! Alleluia! Risen our victorious Head!" But how can we recapture that joy--that power--that enthusiasm? Easter is over just like any other holiday, and everything is back to normal--or at least what "normal" used to be.
But what is normal for a Christian who has experienced the joy of salvation, accomplished in the death of Christ and proclaimed in His resurrection from the dead? How can things ever be the same as they were before? Sure the holiday of Easter is over, just as it is over every spring. But the joy and power of Easter are never over, at least not for those of us who have been "born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." For us the resurrection of our Savior is much more than just an annual holiday. It is an ongoing celebration of life and of hope. And that life and hope give meaning to the suffering and death of Jesus and also to our own suffering and death. The effect of what Jesus did for us on the cross did not end after that first Easter Day was over. It goes on forever, giving you and me the courage in which we live and the hope in which we die. It gives us the new birth to "a living hope" that endures forever. Let's examine this new birth and this living hope this morning, paying special attention to its evidence and its inheritance. Just what does it mean to be "born again"? How can you know for sure whether or not you have been "born again"? "Born again" is an expression that has been greatly overused and misunderstood in recent years. First of all we have to understand that there is no distinction between a "born again" Christian and a "regular" Christian. The question of whether or not you are "born again" is really the question of whether or not you are a Christian. If you trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you have been "born again," because you can’t have that kind of trust unless you are "born again." Faith in Christ, given by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, is a gift of God no less than life itself is a gift of God. It's no accident that Scripture speaks of our faith in Christ as a new birth, because it is something that we can't in any way earn or even choose; it is instead a free gift of God's grace and mercy, made possible through His redemptive act in Jesus Christ and given to us in the Gospel as that Gospel comes to us in Word and Sacrament.
But how can you tell if a person has been "born again"? It's really quite simple. You can tell whether or not a person is "born again" in the same way you tell whether or not a person is alive: You look for evidence of life. A person who has been seriously injured or has suddenly become very ill--in other words, a person whose condition is uncertain--is immediately checked for signs of life: Is he breathing? Is his heart beating? What about blood pressure? There are signs and evidences of spiritual life, too. A person who has been "born again" and is therefore alive in Christ is going to confess his or her faith in word and deed. Such a person will display the signs or evidences of faith in Christ. When you look at how a person acts or listen to how he or she talks, you can see and/or hear the love of Jesus Christ that lives in that person's heart. When you look at the priorities that the Christian sets in his or her life, you can observe that person’s response to Christ’s gifts of forgiveness and salvation. A person who is alive in Christ acts alive in Christ.
But there is much more to life than just birth. People who are born don't just stop there. Life has purpose. It leads somewhere. It has a goal. This is especially true of spiritual life. The goal and purpose of our new birth in Christ is our receiving of its inheritance--the inheritance which, our text tells us, is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading"--the inheritance that has been readied for us and awaits our claim "in heaven." This is the inheritance that Jesus Christ lived and died to prepare for us. This is the inheritance that has become ours because we are “born again." This inheritance is the "living hope" into which we have been born in our Baptism. It is the meaning and purpose of our life in Jesus Christ.
And what is this inheritance? It is the fulfillment of all our hopes in Christ--the completion of all that He has promised to us. The inheritance that we await as the people of God is the glory of being in the presence of our Lord forever and having all of our needs and concerns taken care of by Him. In the book of Revelation, the beloved disciple describes the inheritance of God's people in this way: "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 7:14-17). This is the Christian's dream and goal. This is the beam of hope that guides the Christian through life despite any and all difficulties.
Is Easter over? Yes and no. The holiday is over. Perhaps the subdued celebration this year has been a blessing in disguise. We have been forced not to focus on the trappings of the holiday: the flowers, the large gatherings. Thank God that the true joy of Easter is not over and never will be. Our God has become One of us to rescue us from sin and death by His own perfect life and innocent death on the cross. We know that this is so because He has risen from the dead. The joy and power of this glorious message will last forever for us who know it--who rejoice always in the knowledge that we have been "born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Amen. May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting covenant equip you thoroughly for the doing of His will. May He work in you everything which is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen. ~