"Is God Hiding from You?" The Resurrection of Our Lord Easter Day Johann Walter, Kantor April 24, 2011 Colossians 3:1-4
So Jesus rose from the grave. Matthew said it in our Gospel reading. The other Gospel accounts, Mark, Luke, and John, say it also. Paul and the other New Testament writers have their share where they say the same thing. So these guys said it, fine. But what does that prove? To be honest, nothing. As Christians we look at what the Bible says of itself—that it is the Word of God, not just the word of men. But that doesn’t prove it is, let alone that Jesus rose from the dead. Easter time always brings out the skeptics. There are many people out there trying to disprove the Bible and Christianity and the resurrection of Christ. Even faithful Christians can have their doubts, however. If you’ve come here today ready to be a skeptic, may I be so bold to say that you’ve come to the right place. And if you’ve come here and you firmly believe, but you also have doubts or questions, you also have come to right place. In a way we are all like those women who came to the tomb of Jesus on Sunday morning. We are looking for Him but according to our own expectations. Atheists and people of other religions will say, I’m not looking for Jesus. That’s fine. Whether you choose to deal with Him by saying, I have no need of Him, or, I just don’t know what to believe, you are still looking for Him. All religions are a trust in something; even atheism is. Not everything can be explained so there has to be a certain amount of trust in things we do not understand. As Christians, we see from the Bible that what it is everyone is seeking is the true God, whether they know it or not. But we want God clearly shown to us. We want to be able to see Him unmistakably. When the women got to the tomb they didn’t find the body of Jesus. An angel greeted them instead. Wouldn’t it have been better for us if Jesus had waited until they got there to rise from the grave? That way there would have been witnesses. We’d have our proof, rather than having to go on the words of the New Testament writers. But God knew that this wouldn’t have solved our real problem. Our real problem is that we want God on our own terms. We don’t listen to His Word and believe it. The women went to the tomb expecting to see the dead body of Jesus. That’s because they didn’t believe Jesus when He had said that He would rise on the third day. The disciples were the same, they didn’t believe it either. No one saw Jesus rise from the grave. We must take it on the Word of God. He does reveal to us Himself. But He doesn’t do it in the way we would like Him to. Thank God He doesn’t. If He did, what would we have? A religion we can wrap our minds around. That would ultimately leave us wanting more. Deep down we know it. Mystery, something beyond us, something greater than us—these are the things we know we really need. Not something we can get a handle on. Think in terms of your relationships with those you love the most. If you could reduce those relationships to a rational explanation would you? Wouldn’t you rather they be the way they are? Dynamic, mysterious, not able to be boxed into a logical explanation. Sure, the relationships most important to you at times cause you the most aggravation. They are at times the most difficult to understand. They sometimes cause you to question if they’re worth it. But you don’t doubt their reality. Their very complexity proves their existence. And also their value. And also why they’re so important to you and why you’re so grateful you have them. Relationships with those you love that are not dynamic and difficult at times and easy to get a handle on would quickly become sterile. There’s another thing we learn from our relationships. Those we love the most we grow in our love for them. Everything you know about them and love about them is not what you know right away when you’re just getting to know them. As you grow in your time and experience with them you also grow in your understanding of them. In a similar way God reveals Himself to us in a way that is not readily apparent. As we grow in our relationship with Him we grow in our love of Him and our trust in Him and our understanding of Him. Paul says in the Epistle reading, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This is what Paul is getting at: seek God in the way He has revealed Himself to you, not in the way you expect Him to be known. When the Bible tells us to seek the things above it doesn’t mean that we should go around with our head in the clouds. Christians shouldn’t be wide-eyed dreamers, oblivious to the pain and suffering in life and of the physical reality of the world we live in. If that were the case why would God have become a man and live in this physical, temporal world? He created this world and we live in it, we value it, we make use of it, and we are stewards of it. What he means is what the angel meant when he said to the women: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” He is saying that we are to seek God in the way He makes Himself known. They were looking for a dead Jesus. But Jesus reveals Himself as the God who is alive. He died, of course. But all along He had said that He would rise. Yes, that takes faith. But if you choose not to go according to the Word of God then what you are doing is simply putting your trust in something else. You can try your hand at that and it might seem to get you far. But it will not get you past the grave. That’s what the angel was talking about. That’s what Paul is talking about. Seek the things that are above. Christ deals with things as they are, not the way we would like them to be. We would like to not have to suffer, Christ deals with it. We would like everything to be explained, Christ simply gives us Himself. God doesn’t so much give explanations as He simply gives us Himself. Would you rather your loved one explain to you their love or simply love you? God doesn’t get rid of suffering so much as He brings us through it. Ironically, the way He does it is by going through it Himself. In fact, that’s how He ultimately delivers us from eternal suffering. He went to the cross so that we may have life. That’s why Paul goes on to say, “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” It may seem that God is hiding from you in your life. If you’re a skeptic, or unsure, or simply have nagging doubts, it may seem to you that God is not making Himself known in a clear way. The skeptic will say that God is hiding. If He’s really God why doesn’t He makes Himself known more clearly? The Christian may just wonder if God is hiding out somewhere. Where is He when my life is in turmoil and everything I do is in shambles? But God is not hiding from you. He is not playing cat and mouse with you but He is revealing Himself to you in ways you would never think to look for on your own. When you consider that it’s in simple water that you have died and in your new life you are now hidden with Christ in God then you begin to see how you seek the things that are above. It’s not where you’d expect Him, but He reveals Himself in things like the water of Baptism. It’s in things like the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. God is not hiding from you. But you are hidden in Him. Far from hiding from you, He comes to you in your need. Whether you’re here because you’re not sure what to make of all of this, or you’re here because you’re not sure what to do about those nagging doubts that keep creeping in, or you simply see that what you need is here, you’re in the right place. In your Baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, in the proclaimed Gospel, all of these things are God revealing Himself to you, making Himself known to you, giving you Himself in His Son Jesus Christ. Your life is hidden with Him in God. He’s not hiding from you, He’s just not where you’d normally think to look. But where He has promised He would be He is very much with you and for you. You’re life is hidden with Christ in God. And there is the key, Christ. That’s how you know God, in Christ. In Him coming in the flesh. Living, suffering, dying, rising. Coming to you in Baptism and His Holy Supper. Coming to you, as the angel said, just as He said. That’s how you seek the things above, you look at Christ. If God seems hidden it’s because you’re looking for Him, or whatever it is you’re looking for, in someone or something other than Christ. In Christ God makes Himself known and all His eternal blessings. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] ___________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected] Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected] Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
