HOLD FIRMLY TO THE MESSAGE!

“Hold firmly to the message I declared to you…”  (1 Corinthians 15:2)

I have often wondered why so few attend worship on Good Friday, and so many attend worship on Easter Sunday?  Good Friday and Easter are as inseparable as heads and tails of the same coin.  You cannot have one without having the other.  They are melded together.
 
I cannot appreciate the true joy of this Resurrection Day until I walk again through the tormenting agony of Good Friday. 

I cannot appreciate the power of this Resurrection Day until I immerse myself again in the terrible truth it is my sin that nailed him to the cross and brought him to his death; it is my sin that estranges me from God; it is my sins of commission and omission  that cause pain in this world: to God, to others and to myself. 
 
I cannot appreciate the grace and forgiveness of the risen Lord until, in the midst of his agony I hear his incredible prayer, to God his Father, to not hold our sins against us.  It’s on Good Friday that we see God give the very best that God can give, in the face of the worst of humanity’s deeds. 

Perhaps one reason so many pass Good Friday bye is because, on the one hand, Good Friday is the same old story isn’t it; a painful reminder of how things are in the world most of the time. On Good Friday the world was up to its same old dirty tricks just like every other day.   

IT’S FRIDAY when we quote Murphy's Law as if it's the ultimate truth.
IT'S FRIDAY when bad things happen to good people.
IT'S FRIDAY when the lonely feel they have no one who cares about them.
IT'S FRIDAY when the depressed think it will never get better.
IT'S FRIDAY when dreaded diseases don't disappear.
IT'S FRIDAY when death-beds keep their victims, and we grieve the loss of our greatest loves.
IT'S FRIDAY when good and evil conflict inside of us and we feel torn apart.
IT'S FRIDAY when we are overwhelmed with powers and passions that divide us from others.
IT'S FRIDAY when despair causes us to imagine that we are ultimately alone in this universe, and
     nothing more than oblivion waits for us all.
IT'S FRIDAY when life just keeps coming at us and continues to beat us up even when we are
     already down and out for the count.

But on the other hand, Good Friday is not the same old story; for the truth of Good Friday is that “God so loved the world” that God did not withhold himself from the world, but in Jesus Christ God fully enters the world and takes into his soul the pain, injustice and sin of the world; and even takes death into his own sweet flesh.  The Good Friday message is that God leaves no stone unturned in God’s frantic effort to seek us out, and restore the relationship with himself that we have broken.

But when we left here Friday evening, Jesus was as dead as anyone has ever been.  He was laid in a tomb, and it was sealed shut. The disciples had scattered into hiding or had gone back to their homes dragging their heavy hearts.  Their hopes, dreams and expectations of what might have been had turned to ashes. 

It’s hard to escape the harsh realities of Friday is it not?   Friday’s death grip holds firmly to us.  For so many Friday is the end of the story.  When a “Friday Event” occurs, we are vulnerable to fall prey to its relentless grip and become overwhelmed.

Even though it was Sunday when Mary came to the tomb, it may as well have been Friday. She came to do nothing but pay her respects; to grieve at death's door; to remember better and happier days.  It's no wonder that even when Jesus was standing right in front of her she didn't recognize him, mistaking him for the gardener!   She was still caught up in Friday's pain and grief!  Friday still ruled her life; still set the agenda. She was looking at things through the darkened lenses and the salty tears of Friday.  She expected nothing new, so she saw nothing new!  It wasn’t until the risen Lord spoke her name, “Mary,” that she considered the possibility of a new day!

God knows that we are going to have our ample share of Fridays. The Christian Faith is not about by-passing Friday and the events of Friday that intrude into life.  We cannot avoid them. Friday is all too real.  But today we are presented with a new reality; the possibility of a new day; a new hope; a new center around which to orient our lives.

At first, His resurrection had the disciples running in circles – confused - because, you see, they thought Friday set the agenda! They thought the story had ended on Friday! They didn't know the story continued on!  They thought Friday had the final word! They didn't even know there was such a thing as a new possibility called Resurrection Day! They had no idea that this morning was not just another rerun of Friday.

Up until then, death had always worked, and worked really well!  But this time it didn’t work!  Death is supposed to be permanent.  Death is supposed to WRITE the last depressing chapter... SING the last despairing verse... SPEAK the last discouraging word!

But, in the face of all of Friday's harsh realities -- comes this new day -- and what this new day makes possible and  dares us to do, is to CHANGE OUR THINKING and CHANGE OUR LIVING!  In First Corinthians Paul says, “hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you.”  What he means is in the face of all the Fridays that come our way, we still can hold firmly to Sunday – to Resurrection Day!

It made all the difference for those broken, defeated, and despairing disciples.  In my mind, the only thing that can explain the radical change that came over the lives of those first disciples, and the explosive growth of the early Christian community, was their encounter with the living, risen Lord Jesus Christ – nothing else explains it!  .  They went from being defeated to daring; grieving to gregarious; floundering to being filled with a new purpose and new commitment to which they were willing to give their lives. 

The first thing this day dares us to do is to trust that death has been DEMOTED from permanent to temporary... and that life has been PROMOTED from tentative to certainty!  

But there's one more thing:   Can the living come alive?  Can any of us who are still holding firmly to and trapped in Friday’s death-dealing agenda really come alive?  Can any of us whose spirits may have died or be dying in one of a million ways, have new life, new hope, new joy, and new love rekindled within us?  Can we really live again before we die? Can we, who are most of the time only half-alive, become fully alive?

You see, the Easter promise is not only for when we die. The Easter Promise is also for now – for today! You can leave here today knowing and trusting that God can raise you to new life right now. You can really begin to live right now, until you die, and then live again!  You can leave trusting that the risen Christ is alive and is stirring and working within you.

 You can know that you really can let go of those bitter thoughts, those harsh feelings towards another that have been lingering inside of you; those petty and stubborn attitudes that insist on getting their own way and ruling your consciousness - because Christ is risen and Friday doesn't have the last word anymore!

You can know the possibility exists to forgive, to see things and people in a new way, to accept the imperfections in the people around you - because you have been forgiven – and Christ is alive!

Even facing your own death, this new Resurrection Day means you can face it with courage and hope, because Christ is Risen.

To live your life with a Resurrection Day faith means you don't let the things of your worst Fridays write your story. It may feel like Friday all week long, but, you see, God knows of Sunday and there's a wink in the eye of God!  In our Fridays of being alone, discouraged, misunderstood, disappointed, exhausted, broken, grieving -- there is this first blush of new life! God can bring new life, new hope, new purpose, renewed love because Christ is alive. 

In Christ, God has gutted the absolute power of Friday's death-dealing agenda.

With the apostle Paul I say, “Hold firmly to the message” of this Resurrection Day; hold firmly to it; don’t ever let it go;   even and especially when Friday tries to rule.

Jesus lives! He's the first!  By faith, we can follow!  It's a promise; a holy surprise!

HE IS RISEN!   

 HE IS RISEN INDEED!