A young college student walked into the pastor’s office and confessed that she did not believe in God anymore. Her dad was a Lutheran pastor, and she had been spoon-fed the gospel all her life. But now, in college, she was smarter than all that; now she trusted science, now she believed in bright professors, and thick textbooks, and knowledge, and reason; faith insulted her intellect. When she got up to leave, the pastor said the only thing he should have said when she first sat down: “Jenny, God loves you even when you do not believe that He exists.” Tears filled her eyes, and said, “I know he does.”
Faith, it seems, comes in all sorts of shapes and degrees. You may have doubts about the Resurrection you have come to hear the story once again. You are not certain that it is true; like Jenny, you struggle to wrap your brain around it. But you are up early on Easter Sunday morning. You probably had a hard time waking up early, and may have regretted it. But I thank God you are here.
Several years ago, a young man who worked at the local shipyards located in the roughest section of town was attacked by a gang. They viciously and unmercifully beat him up with their clubs, and repeatedly kicked him in the face with their heavy boots, and finally, robbed him, and left him for dead. When the police found him lying in the road, they assumed he was dead, and called for the morgue wagon.
However, on the way to the morgue, a police officer heard the badly mangled man gasp for air, and immediately, they rushed him to the ER in a hospital. As he was wheeled in on a gurney, a nurse remarked in horror that the young man no longer had a face! His skull, legs and arms were smashed; his jaw was broken.
Although the medical team was able to save his life, his injuries were so severe, he had to stay in the hospital for another year. When he finally left the hospital after a year, his face was horrendously disfigured. And when he tried to find work, he was turned down by everyone because of the way he looked.
One day he passed by a church, and went in to pray for help, until he became so filled with despair that he began to cry. The priest heard him sobbing, and in compassion, talked to him. The priest was so touched with the young man’s story, and referred him to his best friend who happened to be the best plastic surgeon in Australia. When the doctor met the young man and heard his story, he, too, was moved with compassion, and agreed to perform the surgery at no cost to the young man!
The surgery was a miraculous success, turning the young man’s life around, who went on to become everything he promised God he would be. He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife and many children. In addition, he became a big success in an industry that was the farthest career path from his mind.
Now, he publicly credits it all to the goodness of God, and the sacrificial love of people who genuinely cared for him.
By the way, that young man’s name is one you will recognize: the actor Mel Gibson. His life was the inspiration for his production of the 1993 movie, The Man Without a Face.
Some say this story is an urban legend, or that this is not a true story. Nevertheless, this story reminds me of the Resurrection story. Both show us how sacrificial love can bring us out of the tombs that imprison us, and give us a new face, a new spirit, a new chance, a new beginning, and a new life.
The difference is that I believe that the Resurrection story is true. Of course, it needs faith to believe it. It tells us that God has the power to resurrect you and me. Christ came out of the tomb, and He has the power to bring us out of the tombs that imprison us as well.
On the morning of the resurrection of Jesus, Mark tells us that three women came to the tomb in sadness, in defeat, in grief, in disillusionment. But when they came to the tomb, they found out first-hand about God’s power to redeem.
There at the empty tomb on Easter morning, they found out dramatically that He can turn defeats into victories, despair into hope, and death into life. God has the power to redeem. God can turn the heartache of Good Friday into the Hallelujah Chorus of Easter morning.
That is the good news of our faith. It means that no defeat needs to be final – no heartache has to last forever – Good Fridays will come into our lives, but if we hang in and trust God, God has an Easter morning waiting for us on the other side.
Through the miracle of God’s grace, we can bounce back; we can change; we can start over; we can have a new beginning, a new life. When you stop to think about it, God’s redemptive power is absolutely amazing.
First of all in this story, God has the power to bring us out of the tomb of despair. That is precisely what he did for the disciples on the day of Jesus resurrection. Think about it. The disciples had sunk into deep despair. Just a few days before, they had come to Jerusalem so excited, so fired-up with such high hopes that Jesus will start his new kingdom. But then, they could not believe their eyes when Jesus was arrested and crucified. They were devastated, disillusioned, broken-hearted — the picture of gloom and sadness and despair.
To the disciples who felt that all was lost, then came Resurrection Sunday, and when they encountered the Risen Christ, the disciples got resurrected, too. Their sorrow was turned to joy. Their agony was turned to ecstasy.
Perhaps for whatever reason you are in darkness right now: family concerns, problems at work, anxiety about your health and your future, worried about what is going on in this world, the loss of someone you love, the betrayal of a friend.
Easter promises us more than the stars in our darkness. Easter promises us that in the midst of our deepest darkness, the Son of God rises to overwhelm that darkness.
Also in this story, we come to know that God has the power to bring us out of the tomb of defeat. After Good Friday, the disciples felt utterly defeated, and ready to quit. They thought, “It’s all over!” … only to discover that they had only just begun. There is a beautiful story out of history that speaks to this.
Paderewski a most famous pianist of Poland and the Prime Minister scheduled a concert in a small out-of-the-way village in hopes of cultivating the arts in Poland.
A young mother bought tickets for her young son who was taking piano lessons at the time as a beginner. She brought him along to encourage him in his piano training. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall. The mother spotted a friend nearby, and began to chat. As she turned back to check on her son, she was stunned to see that her little boy was not in his seat! He had slipped out of sight.
Just then, the house lights came down, and the spotlight came up. The audience quieted — and only then did anyone notice the little 10-year-old boy seated at the concert piano on stage, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”.
His mother was ready to faint. The stagehands ran out to grab the boy, but suddenly, Paderewski appeared on stage, and waved them away. Paderewski quickly moved to the piano, and standing behind the little boy, he whispered into his ear. “Do not quit! Keep playing! Do not stop!”
Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand, and began filling in the bass part. Soon, his right arm reached around the other side of the boy, encircling the boy to add a running obligato.
Together, the old primary and the young novice mesmerized the crowd with great music in a magic moment.
This is the message of Easter. Through the miracle of Easter, God is saying to each one of us, “Do not stop! Do not be afraid! Do not give up! Do not get discouraged! Keep on playing! I am here, surrounding you with my love and strength.”
That is what God was saying to the disciples on that first Easter, and that is precisely what God is saying to you and me here and now.
For those who think that there is no way for us to take, or we’d think that our problems are too big for us to handle, the resurrection of Jesus reminds us to keep on trusting God, come what may, because the Holy One has the power to bring us out of the Tomb of Despair, and the Tomb of Defeat.
We may have some doubts about the resurrection, but they are only a pale reflection of what happened on that day of resurrection so long ago when the women came to the tomb to anoint a dead body. They were afraid. But then, when told that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, they believed that death was no more, trampled underfoot, gone forever.
When Jesus was resurrected, the old life was made new, broken relationships redeemed, grief turned into joy, sins forgiven, despair banished, depression turned into hope. Our old lives have been made anew on that Resurrection day.
May you feel that “morning has come” to your lives today.
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