Sermon - 2013-04-07

What will it take for you to realize that this is what you have done and this is what has been done for you?  For Thomas, he would not believe the other disciples until he witnessed and could touch.  Then he would believe. Thomas wanted the evidence.  He wanted the facts and until then he was more concerned about his own life than the life that God wanted for him.  It is a natural reaction.  We want to survive.  However, whether or not you believe in it, it is still the truth.  Even though it is not right now in front of you, it is still true.  No matter how far you want to run away, how many doors you want to lock yourself behind, and how many other people you surround yourself with who agree with you. Still Christ will enter into your life, break down those barriers, and you will be confronted with the truth. Christ reminds us of our beliefs, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Yet as Thomas learned, when Christ stands before you and then you believe, well that is too late. For many within the world mock Christians for their belief in God.  Some of these Christians are called names.  They are ridiculed.  Some are removed from the community, and some are killed. However, with their belief, they find a new life in Jesus Christ and are set free for they know that death is not the end.

Sitting in the glory, blessings and gifts that others have given to us is a great feeling.  However, once a person is there, we should never forget the struggle that it took for us to get there and we should never take for granted the gifts that we have received. It is one of the hardest things to teach because more often than not, we want to skip ahead and hear that everything will be “happily ever after”.  Yet that journey becomes our journey so that we know it, live it and ultimately can receive the rich blessings that have been given to us.  We live out this church cycle every year.  Every year we come for Easter, every year we come for Christmas to know the story, to hear it is true but also to believe.  

Within our own modern times, we are creating more and more Thomases.  We believe that Thomas Edison created the light bulb because we still use them.  Along with that it is in our history books at school.  We talk about how Henry Ford brought forth the use of the assembly line to give us all the automobiles that we drive.  We teach our children how is that the grass is green.  Yet something we have seemed to skip over is the reason: WHY?!  Why did Thomas Edison want to create the light bulb?  Why did Henry Ford use the assembly line to create automobiles?  Why is the grass green?  Ok, that last kind of goes hand in hand with the how but still it fits with my Why question so I included it.

Yet there is so much here that we need to wrestle with. For the same questions that Thomas faced, we should also know. How did Jesus die on the cross, died and come back to life three days later but more importantly why did he do it?  Today that is precisely what we are going to talk about.  When Jesus came and lived among us, God broke into our lives.  Much like the very birth of children.  We did not know when, we did not know how but we are so glad that they did. We know that Jesus was born in a manger to Mary and Joseph, yet Mary was a virgin. Christ comes and dwells among us and teaches us the lessons and understandings that we would need within this world.  We are taught from God, the one who was there from the very beginning.  

Yet that is not why he came.  Only during Holy Week do we understand the true purpose of WHY Christ came into the world. For it is within this week that we realize that God does not come in the ways or for the reasons that we expected.  No, Christ comes to do something new within the world.  Christ comes to do the work for us.  To take on all that we have done wrong and fully forgives us for them. This is known as the Atonement Theory of Satisfaction.  For it was through the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross, the suffering, words and death that we bear witness to the full payment and substitution. For Jesus takes on the sins of the whole world, yours, mine, and anyone else that you can think of. The sins of all were forgiven on the cross. It was not the sins of Jesus, for Jesus was without sin. However, Jesus takes on our Original Sin and all the sins within our life. Yes, ALL of them. The payment for your sins is paid in full, not from anything that you have done but completely through the work that Jesus has done.  This work was done so that we could not screw up the work, we could not claim it as our own, or that we would not hold on to this world.  For this world will pass away. Yet the word of God that created it all shall continue and you are brought into that word, into that truth and into that love of God. That word that created you, sustains you and will bring you back into the presence of God is LOVE.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.”  

So then, what is there for you to do within the world? Now you know fully of what God has done for you. You have heard witnesses share their accounts of the events. Now that you are aware, no longer are you a servant in the world but you are equal to the Son. For now you know the work that God is doing, has done and will do within world.  You are to go and do the work that you are a part of. You are to help those around you in need. You are to share the Good News of the work of the cross. For truly when Christ comes back among the living, he comes to announce that the gift has been given and the victory has been won. So we give thanks to God that we are members of the family, that we have received the gift he brought us, but that we can share in the Kingdom of God even here and now within this world.   AMEN!