What do we mean when we proclaim, “Christ is risen!”
The Sermon
Christ is
risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
Let’s try
that again.
I will
say, “Christ is risen!”
and
you will say, “The Lord is risen indeed!”
Christ is
risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
Christ
is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
Now, if
you were here on Easter Sunday, you probably know what’s coming next.
I will
say, “Christos aneste!” and
you will say, “Alethos aneste!”
And in
good liturgical fashion, we will do this three times in a row.
Christos
aneste! Alethos aneste!
Christos aneste! Alethos aneste!
Christos
aneste! Alethos aneste!
Amen!
Okay, you
can be seated now. You earned it.
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Now I don’t know if you happen to notice, but our first
reading this morning did not come from the Old Testament, but from the Acts of
the Apostles. And so it will be for the entire Easter Season. Today’s reading
from Acts takes place on the fiftieth day following the Resurrection. Peter
stands up and addresses a large crowd of Jews who have traveled to Jerusalem,
from all around the Roman Empire, to celebrate the Jewish Feast of Weeks, also
known as, Pentecost. And in his speech, Peter proclaims the central truth of the Christian faith: God raised Jesus from the
dead. God raised Jesus from the dead.
It is no
exaggeration to say that, had Jesus not risen from the dead, there would
be no Christianity. In fact, without the Resurrection, I doubt that we would
even known the name of Jesus. For without the Resurrection, Jesus would have
been just one among the thousands of Jews who were put down by Rome and whose
names have been lost to history. Without the Resurrection, there would be no
gospels, because gospels aren’t written for false prophets, failed
revolutionaries, and messianic pretenders. Moreover, without the Resurrection,
there would be no forgiveness of sins, no defeat of death, no hope for the
future. For as Paul argues in 1 Corinthians,
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor 15:17–19).[1]
So again, Jesus’ resurrection is the central conviction of the Christian
faith, it is the foundation of the Christian claim to truth. It is worth asking,
then: What do we mean by resurrection? What do we mean when we say that God
raised Jesus from the dead? What are we saying when we proclaim, “Christ is
Risen! The Lord is risen indeed!”?
