Easter Sunday! It is sort of like the Super Bowl of the people of God. It is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As C. S. Lewis points out, “To preach Christianity meant (to the Apostles) primarily to preach the Resurrection… The Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Acts. The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the ‘gospel’ or good news which the Christians brought.” (C. S. Lewis, Miracles) In other words, if there is no resurrection, Jesus is just another religious guru.
I use the word enchantment in the title of this week’s sermon because a lot of people are still trying to come to grips with something that is unique to our day, and even people who don’t believe are a little perturbed about it. If there is no God, then we live in a closed universe and nothing really means anything. In other words, if there is no God, the world has been dis-enchanted. We are truly alone, with no meaning or purpose other than what we can impose on the world.
There is much sadness about this because, if this is true, nature is not really saying anything to us. People are just other autonomous beings who might delight or infuriate us, but love is an artificial construct that we might give credence to but even that won’t last.
Then we come face to face with a startling claim that death is not the final answer. God actually entered the world and, when he was raised from the dead, promised that in his leaving we would actually have more of him in the gift of the Holy Spirit. There are profound implications for us as we walk among the ruins of our day. It is quite exciting, and we will talk about it Sunday.
Remember, for Easter we’ll have two worship services, beginning at 9:00 and 11:00, so there is no Sunday School. So beloved, let’s prepare our hearts to celebrate in worship together around Jesus’ table, and also as we throw feasts at our scattered tables afterwards and share the bounty with our family and friends.