EASTER
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through 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.
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, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward 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. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
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WHEN EASTER COMES
During our preparation in this season of Lent for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, it seems good to me for us to look at Easter time from a perspective which I trust will be helpful. Together, let’s consider our topic in three different ways: (1) Calendar consideration; (2) Biblical insights; (3) Our own experience. ( in each, I suspect we might find something worthwhile)
I. Calendar:In technical ecclesiastical terms, Easter is a ‘moveable feast”. That is, it is not on a particular calendar date; like say Christmas (which we always celebrate on 12/25, year in - year out. To make preparation for this season, the church, news media, advertisers, and merchants have to plan ahead, consulting calendars.
It is easier to plan for Christmas. But we have more difficulty knowing when Easter comes. In fact dates for Easter can vary as much as 35 days, always being on a Sunday, it can occur as early as March 22nd or as late as April 25th.
You don’t need a calendar if you know how Easter relates to the first full moon after the vernal equinox. So, in a way the date for the celebration of Easter becomes somewhat of a problem.
One that many have tried to correct over the years: Chambers of Commerce (national & international) have passed resolutions asking such as the Pope, and the League of Nations (the predecessor of the U. N.) to come up with a solution for a set date. Again,in 1928 the British Parliament passed what was called the Easter Act, part of which would set Easter on the 1st Sunday after the 2nd Saturday in April. But that act depended on universal acceptance, which never followed. Another feature of the action of the British in their calendar tinkering, was to assign each day of the year, its own day of the week. For instance, your birthday, whatever its date, would always be on say - Monday. But none of this ever came about. Probably thankfully. Providentially we have to deal with and accustom ourselves to a change each year in the date of Easter, which also affects the beginning of Lent, as well as the church year to follow.
Even when this has been done and you know for planning, that Easter comes this year on April 8, there is still the fact that the Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter a week later, on the 15th.
Easter, we must admit, as we celebrate it is only an arbitrary date, because Easter really means the assurance of the living presence of Jesus Christ in one’s life. And that has a way of coming at unexpected times and places. Could this be a reminder that we cannot program the feeling of the presence of Jesus Christ and be sure that it will happen then and there. Easter is not something we can limit to a day, and know that we have done it.
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II Consider some Biblical Insights relating to our topic: Even though his disciples had heard Jesus speak of his mission: rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection, past the experience of Calvary, and even the account by certain women that they had visited the tomb early on the first day of the week, and found it empty, and that an angel had spoken to them: "He is not here, he is risen.” We find them in disarray. That very day on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus (seven miles away) late in the afternoon. They seemed disheartened as a stranger joined them in their walk. He asked them what they had been talking about, they began to explain what had happened the last few days, and that their hopes had apparently died with Jesus.
The scripture tells that something kept them from knowing that their companion and conversant, was the risen Jesus himself (were they so absorbed in what had happened, or what might happen, that they almost missed what was happening). In spite of their closeness to the events and the man, it was not Easter for them, until a bit later when they recognized him in the breaking of bread, and my how their outlook changed.
Ill. Our Own Experience. Their trouble and inability to recognize him is so representative of ours. So glued to the past, caught up in their own reactions to it, that they couldn’t see the present activity of God in their lives.
They had come to the conclusion of how God ought to act in Jesus Christ to meet their needs. They had written the script of their own disappointment: "We had hoped he would be the one to set Israel free.” (Luke 24:2 1) they said in Jesus’ hearing. Unexpected times unexpected places caught them as well as the women who came early to the tomb to embalm a body.
And we are so like them... We are more interested in knowing that we are in the right place, doing the right things, with the right people. Unexpected times, unexpected places, these never catch us. We are always in control, rarely giving ourselves to God’s control. Depending on another would he wasteful, such would show us lazy.
The truth is, you and I never know when suddenly it might be Easter for us. It might happen in October or in July. It might come on an early Saturday morning, or a late Tuesday evening. It might happen in a church, or at a school desk. Whenever, and wherever the person finally and surely knows that its Easter for them. Easter is what we have seen, and what we have experienced, and what is our assurance. This realization may come to us in sorrow, or in such a simple thing as a meal shared with friends. When ever we acknowledge that the Lord and Savior of our life is in our midst. In fact for the church, every Sunday, we celebrate as a little Easter. Does the world notice, as we are here or as we leave strengthen and challenged to be Christ’s in and to the wor1d God loves so much? "
Sermon by Dr. John C. Livingston. He has served as Minister of churches in Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. He is Honorably Retired from the Trinity Presbytery and resides with his wife in Greenwood, SC.