Resurrection People
Pastor David Hansen
6th Sunday after Epiphany (February 11), 2007
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
This church season, known as Epiphany, is when we talk about those times that Jesus revealed himself to be the only Son of God, the Messiah. And what greater Epiphany – what greater revelation of Christ’s glory – is there than the resurrection? And so, with Saint Paul’s words to the Christians in Corinth, we consider the resurrection.
Death is no friend of ours. Psychologists talk about how almost all of obsess about death in unhealthy ways. We worry about our own deaths and we are afraid of the death of our loved ones. Death casts its dark shadow over everything we do, for as much as we fear it, it is the one inevitability of life. How the phrase go – there’s nothing certain in life but death and taxes.
For as much as we fear death, it is the one invariable in life. It is the one thing we can plan on and know that our plans won’t change. And so we buy life insurance for the day when death comes to us, we buy expensive coffins in which to lay our lifeless bodies, and we buy ornate tombstones to mark the place where we lay that coffin.
As much as we fear death, we know that we can count on it.
In that way, we are no different from every other generation that has come before us.
The women who went to the tomb on Easter morning expected to find a slowly rotting corpse. They knew about the certainty of death, and so they planned accordingly. They brought linens, spices, and perfumes – all those things that you used when dealing with the dead in the ancient world.
Have you every noticed that there was no receiving line for Jesus on Easter morning? There were no banners that read “Welcome Back Jesus,” none of his disciples and friends were there waiting for him. They also planned on death.
It would be an understatement to say that the resurrection came as a surprise to the disciples. Even though Jesus had given them all the information they would have needed to anticipate his resurrection, they were overpowered by the idea of the inevitability of death.
But Saint Paul will have none of this. There is no reason, says Paul, to plan on death. There is no reason to be surprised by the power of the resurrection. He lays it out like a chain:
If you and I are not raised from the dead …
Then Christ has not been raised.
If Christ has not been raised …
Then our preaching was a lie.
And if our preaching is a lie …
Then your faith is a lie.
The primary issue for Paul is not about Jesus’ resurrection. Everyone agrees that Jesus was raised. The issue is OUR Resurrection. Some in Corinth were teaching that WE will not be raised, and that was what got Paul all worked up. Our resurrection, says Paul, is a direct result of Jesus’ resurrection. So if we are not to be raised, then Christ wasn’t raised, and we should all just pack up and go home.
Paul points out that you and I live in the time known as “soon but not yet.” Christ has been raised, and we will be raised. When? Soon … but not yet. It is not an easy place to live, this place known as the soon but not yet.
Yes, we know and believe that Christ has been raised from the dead. That is not a matter of debate for us. But raise your hand if you have seen anyone else raised from the dead …
And now raise your hand if someone you know and love has died.
We are still surrounded by death, and we still live in a world that tells us that death is the one inevitable part of life. As Christians, we don’t disagree. Death is inevitable.
But death is not the end of the story.
Martin Luther said it this way: “You say: ‘The fact remains that I must die.’ I say, So what! Go ahead and die in God’s name. You are still assured of eternal life; it will surely be yours. To die, to be buried, to have people tread on your grave, to be consumed by worms – all this will not matter to you. It is certain that Christ will raise you up again.” (Some liberties taken with LW 23, 131).
So you die, we have the promise that soon we will be raised again, just not quite yet.
So how do we live in this in between time, how do we live in the time of “soon … but not yet”?
I have had the opportunity to travel a great deal in my life, and I have found airports to be one of the best places to “people watch.” If you ever want to get a sense of what people are really like, and how they react to the world around them, go and find a seat in an airport and just watch.
One thing you will notice is the difference between people who have confirmed tickets, and those who are flying stand-by.
But then there’s the people on stand-by. Either because they are trying to fly cheaper or because they have been bumped off another flight, these people don’t have confirmed seats.
You can always tell the stand-by passengers. They are the ones that pace up and down the terminal, or hover around the information counters. They are the ones that sit at attention every time an announcement comes over the PA.
But them there are those with confirmed tickets. People who have confirmed tickets chat with their friends, take a nap, or read a book. They often use the time between flights as a time of relaxation. Even if their flight isn’t leaving yet, they know that they will have a seat soon.
They are all in the same situation – sitting and waiting. But those with confirmed tickets have the assurance that things will change, and they know that the waiting isn’t important, because soon they will have a seat – even if they don’t have one just yet.
Because we are Resurrection People – people who live in the time of soon but not yet – we look at the world differently, we live differently. In today’s gospel, Jesus talks to his disciples about how it looks different to live in the light of the Resurrection.
This world, which sees death as the end, values wealth and material possessions. But our Lord lays out Resurrection values for his resurrection people, saying Blessed are the poor – and Woe to the rich. In this time of soon but not yet, we know that the value of material wealth pales in comparison to the glory of the promise of resurrection.
This world, which sees death as the end, fears death and does all that it can to avoid death. But Resurrection values say “Blessed are you who mourn, and woe to you who laugh.” In this time of soon but not yet, we know that the mourning of death is followed by the celebration of the resurrection.
If you and I are not raised from the dead …
Then Christ has not been raised.
If Christ has not been raised …
Then our preaching was a lie.
And if our preaching is a lie …
Then your faith is a lie.
Dear friends, Christ HAS been raised, and you are a Resurrection people.
Surrounded by the death of this world, trust in the promise that soon you too will be raised.
Live a life that is not obsessed with death,
But that is filled with the hope, the promise, and the light of the resurrection.
