Passion Resolved!
An Easter Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Abington Presbyterian Church
April 16, 2006

I Corinthians 1-11
    Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, ²through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
    3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.*

“Nothing’s certain except death and taxes.” I have always wondered who first uttered those words. He must have been a great guy to be around: the proverbial life of the party. But sayings and clichés don’t endure unless there is a measure of truth in them. There are not a lot of things in life that are sure. Last week, my sermon highlighted this reality and I compared life to the dominant or unfinished chord in music. The Easter message resolves that chord! It declares that all the things in life that cause grief, worry, pain and suffering, even death itself, has been swallowed up in the victory of the resurrection of Jesus. The unfinished business of life is finished. The loose ends are tied. The dissonant chord is resolved. The end of life is life! Today, I want to take a few minutes to focus on the importance of this day and then I would like to explore how this day impacts our lives.

I

The importance of this day? I think that most of us have some inkling of belief that Easter is important. The parking lots and pews are filled in churches throughout the country. I don’t think that you are here to model the latest spring fashion, the newest styles in shoes, or the fanciest bonnet. We are here today because there is something primal, some hunger, some need, something that we want to hear, but perhaps more importantly, it is something that we want to believe. There are a hundred good reasons to stay home. The weather is finally warm. Fishing season opened yesterday. Baseball season is underway. Most of us have a long weekend, from Friday until Monday, and this service occurs right in the middle of it. And you are here! The importance of this day is underscored by your presence in worship.

As I mentioned, I believe that there is a deep hunger and yearning in our society. Like most hungers, we can’t put our finger on what will satisfy it. I get the munchies at times and feel hungry for something, but often I am not sure what will satisfy that hunger, something savory? Sweet? Such is the hunger that characterizes our culture. We can’t put our finger on what will satisfy these primal pangs. We believe that there is something missing, but we are not sure what it is. Life seems to anticipate something more, but what? We go to a lot of trouble to fill in that “something more.” There is a chasm of meaning and hope in our lives; an emptiness that longs to be filled.

Our response to this hunger is to either distract ourselves from it, or to fill it with something else. During the great depression there was such a shortage of wheat in Germany so they added sawdust to the flour to extend it. Sawdust in bread may give you some filling, but it will not give you any nourishment. What are the things that we use to try and fill this spiritual hunger? Are we using sawdust to fill our spiritual hunger? I know how I tried to fill it. I thought that I could keep going to school, learning, studying more and more and that if I did, I would feel fulfilled. In someway it is not unlike Dr. Faustus who studied all manner of subjects from philosophy to chemistry to theology, and discovered from his studies only that his life was still empty. What do you use to fill that void for meaning, that void that wants to discover purpose? We often use work. Work is what gives us meaning and hope. When it doesn’t, we work harder. And when that doesn’t, we work harder. This is the definition of a workaholic. We might use play, parties and recreation and “fun”, but the party ends and we are alone with our emptiness. Then, of course there are the toys. We collect our toys throughout life, hoping that they will give more than moments of amusement. We proudly wear the T-shirt that proclaims: “The one with the most toys in the end wins!” Wins what? A storage bin?

We might try and distract ourselves from this emptiness. The great American distraction is sports. (I love sports) but we should recognize it for what it is: a distraction. The great cultures built temples to their gods and beliefs, from the shrines of Greece and Rome to the cathedrals of Europe. We build stadiums and tax the citizens with indulgences to put them up. We have our other distractions. Drugs and alcohol provide a numbing distraction from the pain of emptiness. Food and overeating are another response to this emptiness. What do you use to distract you? Is it working? Probably not.

This day is important, and we should freely admit that it is important. It is more than eggs and chocolate bunnies. It is the souls hunger for life. In the words of St. Augustine: “Our soul is restless… until it finds its rest in God.”

II

But what does Easter have to do with all of this? What is the message that we are hoping to hear? What we hope to hear is hope itself! We want a break from the grip of cynicism and despair. We want to know that there is some type of happy ending, and if not happy, at least meaningful. We want some assurance of justice. We want to know that there is hope when we deal with pain and illness. We hope to hear about hope.

Most of us know the story. We know about the cross and the grave. We know about the stone being rolled away and the discovery of the women that morning. We know about the angel who told Mary and the others, do not be afraid. We know the story, that Christ is risen and we want to believe that it is true; that it will make a difference; that it will feed this bottomless spiritual hunger. We want some guarantee. We want to know that the pain and passion of life resolve into something good.

For the women that first Easter morning, and for the disciples a few hours later, the passion of the cross resolved into hope. Their sobs of despair became shouts of joy, “He is risen. He is risen indeed.” Their story reverberates throughout history. People witnessed to this hope in the most dreadful of experiences. Last week, I said that Good Friday service is a real downer, because it puts us in touch with the injustice, pain and death of the world. But it is an unfinished service. It concludes today and it is an upper! You see, the story of Easter is not merely about Jesus’ resurrection. It is story of Mary Magdalene, the disciples, the others who were there. It is the story of those, who in the midst of their despair, discovered hope. It is the story of people through the ages who discovered in Jesus resurrection not only hope, but the courage to live fully in the midst of the world, knowing and assured that the end is not death, but life. It is a story of life, no matter how poorly lived, transformed and renewed and given hope. It is a story that can only end with the word: Hallelujah!

One of the interesting nuances of Paul’s account of the resurrection is that he placed himself within the story. Paul was not there when the stone was rolled away. Paul was not there when the disciples heard the news. Paul was not there when the disciples encountered Jesus on the way to Emmaus. Paul was not there when Thomas touched Christ’s wound, and yet as he tells the story, he was there. The spiritual asks the question: “Were you there?” We might change that question to the present: “Are you there?” “Are you there living in the hope of Christ’s resurrection?” The message of Easter is an old story told and retold. But it is a new a contemporary story, experienced today. It is a new story that includes you. It is a story that promises you hope and most of all: life. Hallelujah! Amen.

*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org