From the Pastor |
Easter Sunday has once again come and gone, but Easter is not over. The season of Easter lasts for 50 days, from Easter until Pentecost. In fact, every Sunday throughout the year is considered a celebration of the Resurrection… a “mini” Easter. Easter is THAT important!
And without a doubt, the resurrection of Jesus was the greatest event in history. It is THE event that our faith… the Christian faith is based upon. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we are offered the gift of salvation… The cross of death and the crown of resurrection are intertwined… both are necessary. The crown… the glory that comes from Christ’s Resurrection would not be possible without the cross. The cross… Christ’s death… was the sacrifice necessary for salvation! You see, there cannot be one without the other. Without Christ’s death… the resurrection would not have occurred. And without the resurrection… the death of Christ would serve no purpose. This is the strength and power behind the gift of salvation… a gift that is freely offered to all people by the Grace of God. However, this gift requires a response from us. Now, that might sound like a contradiction; to say a gift is freely offered and then to add that there is something we must do for that gift. Dr. Lawrence Lacour was meeting with a group of preachers regarding how best to bring the message of scripture to the people in a way they could grasp. He said most preacher spoke in generalities that left the people saying “That is wonderful” but not really understanding. As an example, he asked the group if someone could give an illustration of grace. One older preacher stood up. He was the preacher for a small rural church and he knew his congregation wouldn’t put up with anything obscure or hard to understand. He walked forward to a man he did not know… reached into his pocket and took out a quarter. He simply held it out and offered it to the other man. The other man, was confused and only stared at the quarter. After a moment, the old preacher tossed the quarter in the air… caught it and put it back into his pocket. He then turned to the group and said “See, I gave that man a quarter, but he doesn’t have it because he DIDN’T reach out and take it. Grace is just like that! And it is! The grace that is freely offered to us requires a response from us. We need to reach out and take it. At the end of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, he finished by saying “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” This one sentence was an amazing declaration because the word we translate as “Lord” is the same word used to refer to God. Peter identified Jesus as having the same status… the same rank if you will… as God. Messiah means anointed one… this showed Jesus as being God’s agent of salvation. The people were stunned… intrigued… they felt his words cut deep into their hearts and they cried out “Brothers, what shall we do?” That is the question isn’t it? Salvation has been offered… “What shall we do?” Peter puts it very plainly… Repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit! Repent… change your mind and actions. In other words, reach out and take this gift… accept what is freely offered and let the gift change you. Enter into the community of believers… be baptized into the faith… not just with water as John the Baptist had done, but be baptized in the name of Christ and receive the Holy Spirit as well. Symbolically wash away all those things that separate you from God and allow Jesus to become a very real and present source of strength and power in your life. If a person is going to reach out and accept the gift of Salvation that God is freely offering… if we take the gift and treasure it… keep it with us… this will bring change to our hearts, our minds and our lives! We become set apart… different. We are filled with confidence in God. We no longer need to live in fear because God is always with us through the calm seas and the storms of life. We are restored into a good and right relationship with God. This change shows in our words and action. We are called to live our lives obedient to the truth… lives of honesty, and integrity that is demonstrated daily. We are called to love and care for one another with all our hearts. To show kindness and mercy… to fight for justice… EVEN with those we might not like very much… you know… those people we disagree with. We need to practice our faith… I say practice because… come on… none of us have it perfect! We are called to be honorable in a dishonorable world. To be loving in the face of an unloving world. This is NOT easy. We need help. That is why God has offered us the Holy Spirit. To guide us and help us through our journey as Disciples of Christ. When Peter wrote his letter, many Christians were in exile. They were hiding out trying to avoid persecution and yet they had to focus living lives that set them apart… not conforming to the culture around them. They had to trust in God. They had been redeemed… not by gold or silver or anything from this world… not by any perishable thing from this world. They were offered salvation through the precious blood of Christ… the Lamb of God… whose blood was poured out as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of all. Therefore they were called to live following the commandments of God, loving one another… as their lives were transformed; as they lived in community with one another; as a true family of faith. Even today, if we are going to respond appropriately to the new life being offered to us… we have to abandon our old lives. Throughout our lifetime, our society has basically rejected Christian values. Sexual immorality, violence, theft, murder… envy, deceit and greed… these are the norms. But there is an upside to this … It has become very easy to see that there is a clear choice between following Christ or following the dictates and values of our society. They are NOT the same. The choice between fitting-in OR being set apart and different is much clearer than it once was. Like those early Christians in exile… We must hold fast to God’s priorities and commands and let go of the values and beliefs of modern society. Like captives who have been set free because a ransom has been paid, Christians are freed from the shackles that bound them to their old futile lives… the chains that bound them to sin and death. We can now look to the future with hope and confidence. “My Chains are gone… I’ve been set free! My God my savior has ransomed me.” Peter’s pleads with us: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Have you reached out and accepted God’s freely offered gift of salvation? Have you held on to it… treasured it? Let it bring about the changes that God has desired for your lives? Or have you just looked at it… confused and unsure… have you failed to reach out and take it? Or… like many in our society… did you reach out and take God’s gift only to put it on a shelf or tuck it away in a drawer? Did you say “Thanks God that is great! I love it!” and then put it aside and ignore it? Acceptance requires response. Repent… turn away from what separates you from God… maybe it is selfishness, laziness or envy and greed. Maybe it is apathy and the desire to not get involved. Maybe it if fear or anger… whatever it might be… let it go and let God fill that space in your lives…in your hearts and souls. Let his spirit flow through you… guiding you… filling you with God’s love, grace and mercy… and let the Spirit of the Living God bring about the changes that will set you apart. Leading you to be obedient to the truth… helping you to love one another deeply, from the heart. “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” Salvation is offered… Reach out and take it! Hold this gift tightly to your heart and never let it go!
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Yeon Shin
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