Pastor Choi talks about the message of the risen Christ to His people.  His message to His disciples on the first Easter Day would be the same to us in the 21^st century in America.  He would speak to us: stop crying, for I am with you.  Shalom.  Receive the Holy Spirit.  Forgive.

The Easter Message of Christ

Following is a summary of the sermon:

The Easter Message of the Risen Christ                        John 20:1-23

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Introduction

If the risen Christ appeared to us again this morning, what words do you think He would say to us?  I believe He would give us the same message that He had given to His disciples 2000 years ago: one in the morning and one in the evening.  That’s what you are about to hear from me this morning: the message of the risen Christ to Easter people.

The message was (is, and will be the same): stop crying, for I am with you.  I give my peace to you.  Receive the Holy Spirit.  Forgive.   Let’s go over them one by one.

Why are you crying (v. 13, v. 15)?  When Mary Magdalene couldn’t find Jesus’ body in the tomb, she went back to Peter and John and reported that the tomb was empty.  The two men ran to the tomb to check it out, looked inside and didn’t see Jesus’ body, either.  Then, they went back to their home.  Thank God, Mary lingered a little longer.  When she peeked inside the empty tomb, two angels spoke to her saying, “Woman, why are you crying?”  After telling them that she was looking for Jesus’ missing body, Mary turned around saw Jesus standing right behind her.  At first, she didn’t recognize Him (perhaps it has something to do with Christ’s resurrection body).  She rather thought Him a gardener.  The risen Christ asked her the same question as the angels: “Woman, why are you crying?”  By the way, the term “woman” here is not a derogatory term for a female.  Rather, it was a dear and affectionate term to call a woman at the time: like we say today, “My dear lady, my dearest, honey, darling, sweetheart, and so on.”  Jesus said, “My dear lady, why are you crying?”

What do you see in the words of Jesus?   Here, I see Jesus’ deepest concerns for Mary.  I see Jesus the caring and compassionate who was right there for her when she was crying.   E.g.  Have you ever been with someone who was crying?  You don’t have to say many words to comfort them.  All you have to do is to be there.

Do you see what I see in the story?  Jesus saw the tears of Mary.   Likewise, the same risen Lord sees your tears today.  So does our Heavenly Father.  In other words, our Lord is not so detached from our daily struggles.  He is not a God who is aloof from us.  Rather, He knows everything about you and your life.   He is fully aware of what’s going on in your life right now and He knows what you are up against.   He sees your tears and feels your pain.  He knows you and calls you by name (v. 16.  See also John 10:4, 27, Isaiah 45:3-4).   He deeply cares about you.  So, when you are alone crying next time, please remember that Jesus sees your tears and He is with you.

One more thing about Mary quickly:  When Jesus opened Mary’s eyes so that she could recognize Him standing right next to her, instantly her sorrow turned into joy and ecstasy.  May the Lord open your eyes to see the risen Lord right there right beside you.  He will turn your sorrows into joy.

Peace be unto you (v. 19, v. 21).  It was Easter evening.  Several hours passed since Mary first encountered the risen Christ.  The rest of the disciples (except Thomas) were gathered in one place.  Gripped with fear of the Jewish authorities, they locked their doors and windows.   Then, the risen Christ, out of nowhere, appeared in their midst and said to them: “Shalom.”

I believe the risen Christ would bring the same greetings to us: Shalom!  Peace be unto you.  Of course, He is not talking about the world peace.  Rather, He means the peace in our hearts.  Notice in today’s text: Jesus said “Shalom” twice, because He wanted His disciples to have it in their hearts.  Is there anything you and I desire more than peace in our hearts?  The same Christ wants us to have such peace–the peace that overcomes our fears and anxieties.

Did you know that such peace is available to us?  Indeed Jesus promised that peace—the peace of Christ, and the peace that the world cannot give or take away from us.   Listen to Jesus in John 14:27:  ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  It is the same peace that we experience when we pray—the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Receive the Holy Spirit (v. 22).  Please note here in verse 22.  When Christ commands the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit, it was not an option or suggestion.  It was a command.  It’s a must.  The same command applies to us as well.  Every believer in Christ must receive the Holy Spirit.

Some of us wonder why we need the Holy Spirit: after all, isn’t God or Jesus enough for us?  Here’s why we need the Holy Spirit: first, without the Holy Spirit, we cannot confess that Jesus is our Savior and Lord.  It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to believe in the name of Jesus.  Next, the Holy Spirit is God’s pledge to us that He is with us until the Day of Judgment.  Every believer in Christ has that seal of salvation.  Finally, the Holy Spirit is not limited with time and space.  He can be everywhere, so, God is with billions of believers through His spirit.

The trouble is that many of us don’t think we need the Holy Spirit.  Or, some of us don’t know whether we have received the Holy Spirit or not.  Let me ask you a question.  Do you have the Holy Spirit?  If you are not sure, here’s a simple test: From the bottom of your heart, can you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?  I mean, you wouldn’t deny Him even if it means imprisonment or worse, the death?  If you confess in such a sincere manner that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you do have the Holy Spirit in you.   Never ever doubt that.  He dwells in your heart.

Who is the Holy Spirit?  He is the Spirit of God.  He is the third being of the triune God.  What does He do in us?  Dwelling in our heart, He is our resident counselor, comforter, and teacher.  He guides us to the truth.  He reminds us of Jesus’ teachings.  He convicts our sins and nudges us to repent our sins.  He even intercedes for us in unspeakable sighs when we don’t know what to say in prayer (Romans 8:27).

Forgive (v. 23): Consider this: out of so many things Jesus could have said to the disciples on that very first Easter evening, He included this one: forgive.  It is crucial for us to forgive.

You might just have discovered that Christ has given us the awesome authority and power to forgive others’ sins.  In reality, though, seldom have we the Protestants practiced this privilege in the name of Christ.  The only case I know this practiced on a regular basis is in the Catholic Church where priests remit the sins of the people who come to the confession.

Now, I want to say one thing to those who may focus on the second part of v. 23, “if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  I am sure most of us have one or two individuals in our lives whom we haven’t forgiven (or would not forgive)—those who trespassed against us big time.  E.g.  Once I heard a believer saying, “I would never forgive so and so.”

Perhaps you would never forgive the sins of your adversaries because you think they don’t deserve your forgiveness.   Think again.  What makes you think you deserve unlimited forgiveness from God when you don’t reciprocate the same grace for your fellow humans?  Despite the fact that none of us deserves God’s unconditional love and grace, God still forgives us.  The same thing God expects us to do for our fellow humans: forgive.   Furthermore, from a practical perspective, ask yourself: is it really good for me to keep their sins un-forgiven forever?  The answer is “No,” because it is eternally bad for the both parties; you and them if you haven’t.  Here’s why: because your own sins remain un-forgiven forever along with theirs, if you don’t forgive.   Don’t you understand?

I must remind you of Jesus’ own words: Unless you forgive their sins from your heart, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins, either (Matthew 18:35).  If their sins are not forgiven by you, then neither is yours by God.

Here’s another reminder.  Remember the Lord’s Prayer where we say “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”?  It is conditional.  Unless you forgive them, your sins will remain un-forgiven, too.

Recap: The risen Christ says to the Easter people: My dear one, stop crying.  I am with you.  Shalom to you.  Receive the Holy Spirit and forgive.    Let’s pray.

Today Pastor Choi exhorts God’s people to be a sensible steward of God’s creation.  Creation care begins with the restoration of broken relationships between God and us, between us and others, and between people and nature.  Creation care only succeeds when we are faithful to God, merciful to one another, and sensible stewards of God’s creation.

   Creation Care

The following is a summary of the sermon:

Creation Care     Genesis 1:28   (NASB)

God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Introduction

On April 22, in many parts of the world, people celebrate the Earth Day.

It’s a good thing that all nations work together with a common goal to build a clean, healthy, safe environment for future generations to enjoy and live in.

Earth Day addresses many environmental issues such as oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife.  It promotes clean air, clean water, and green energy.

There also has been a charge that environmentalists care more about birds than people.  So, now, some people want to put people back, especially the poor, at the center of the movement.   An article in the Christian Science Monitor reads, “This Earth Day, let’s focus on people.  Environmentalists go on about the loss of endangered species and degraded coral reefs. But we barely mention people – nature’s biggest beneficiaries. This Earth Day, let’s put human well-being at the center of things, and make explicit the value of nature to our everyday lives” (M. Sanjayan / April 20, 2012. the Christian Science Monitor).

I agree.  Let’s not forget people.  I dare to say, though, in this earth care movement we forget the most important partner: God.  Did you know God is the first environmentalist and the first whistle blower in the history of the earth care?  Almost three thousand years ago, He brought a charge against the polluters of the land (Isaiah 24:5, Hosea 4:1-3)—I will get to this later.  In today’s world, His name is barely mentioned, if ever,—God the Creator, the Sustainer, and the ever-gracious Benefactor.  If we want to succeed in the earth care, we need the whole picture.  In order to see the whole picture, we must consider every party involved (God, humans, and nature all together).  In fact, it’s the only way that will work.  Without God the Creator/Sustainer in the picture, no environmental movement would succeed.  God is the author of a holistic solution to the environmental issues today.

This is where my creation care idea differs from the secular version of “Save-the-Earth.”  My approach is: God – people – creation in that order.  The secular approach is: environment – people in that order with no God in it.  We may do some things in common like recycling and using energy efficient bulbs, yet the two approaches are fundamentally different.  My approach would say, “Let’s seek God’s wisdom, listen to Him, and do what God commands us to do.”  The secular earth care says, “Look, this earth is the only thing you’ve got.  You’d better take good care of it.”

Contents

So I begin with God.

In the beginning God created lights and creatures first that are non-human (sun, moon, stars, birds, plants, fish, and animals) for five days; at the end of each day of creation, God looked at His own work and said it was good (Genesis 1:3, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25).  On the sixth day, He created human-beings; when He looked at the humans, male and female, He said it was very good (Genesis 1:31).  At first, every creation of God worked and operated in perfect harmony and balance that pleased the Lord.  The ensuing creation story, however, doesn’t have a fairy tale ending: they didn’t live happily ever after.

“What did cause the imbalance and disharmony in God’s creation?” we may wonder.  The Bible says sin.  Sin caused it.  Sin has entered and permeated into the world: pride, selfishness, idolatry, hatred, murder, greed, and jealousy.  They entered in the history of the world and adversely affected the entire creation.  God, humans, and non-humans all suffered from it ever since.   Sin is the cause.  Pollution of the world is the effect.   The Bible says so. 

Listen to the Word of the LORD in Isaiah 24:5.  :  “The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.” 

Listen to God one more time in Hosea 4:1-3.   “Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land. ² There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. ³ Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear.”

Both times the Lord points out that all God’s creation (land, people, the beasts, the birds, and the fish) mourn and languish because of the inhabitants of the land and particularly their transgressions against God (swearing) and against each other (deception, murder, stealing, adultery, and violence).

Sin has broken the relationships among the three parties: God, humans, and non-humans.  Let’s take a closer look.

1. God and Humans.  In the beginning, God set the boundaries for humans (Genesis 2:16-17).   Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were consequently thrown out from Eden.

2. Humans and humans.  The first murder in human history took place in Adam’s family and innocent blood was shed on the ground (Genesis 4:8).  Since then, it was a downward spiral.  By the time of Noah, the sin in the world was so bad that the Lord grieved that he had made humankind (not the other creatures) on the earth.  His heart was filled with pain that He had to start anew (Genesis 6:6).

3. Humans and non-humans.  Humans kept abusing and misusing the God-given resources without providing proper care (we misinterpreted Genesis 1:28 and subdued the environment without mercy).  Creation eagerly awaits the day of redemption:  “²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Romans 8:22).  “The creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).

The real question is: how do we bring back the order, balance, and harmony among all three parties?  By fixing the broken relationships among the parties.  Once the broken relationships are restored, then the order, balance, and harmony will be naturally restored as well.  Please notice here the order of brokenness, because in the same order we will find the proper restoration: Be faithful to God.  Be merciful to each other.  Be a sensible steward.  Let me explain to you one by one.

a. Sin of breaking the Sabbath: there can be so many areas where we should restore our broken relationship with God, but let me suggest one thing today: that we start with the Sabbath.    It’s worth repeating the Fourth Commandment:

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:8-11).

The whole idea of the Sabbath is that we rest one day a week: a complete stop from labor and rest.  God set the example before us: He Himself took a rest from His work on the seventh day.  He commands us to do the same.  Imagine a town where everyone takes a rest on Sunday at the same time.  That’s the beauty and key of the Sabbath.   Everyone at the same time.   God’s simple solution is still relevant, yet our society doesn’t follow it any longer.

Remember the Blue Laws?  America used to close the stores on Sunday until the 1960s.  Then, it began to vanish 50 years ago.  A few stores began to open Sundays, then the majority followed suit.  Now, opening the stores on Sunday is a norm in our society.  Keeping the Sabbath holy became a rarity even among the Christians.  We are all guilty of violating the Fourth Commandment, are we not?  Myself included.

Personally I believe shopping on Sundays hurt our society rather than help.  Why?  Not because shopping and pleasure activities themselves are evil, but because they take our time away from rest.  More activities mean more energy spent and less rest taken.  None of us is an Energizer Bunny, yet we think and act like one.  No wonder, back to work on Monday morning, many of us are sluggish.   Furthermore, environmentally speaking, keeping the stores open on Sunday means more electricity needs to be generated, more traffic for shoppers, more CO₂, and more family time taken away from the employees, let alone that of shoppers.  Maybe, I am living in a fantasy world myself, but I believe it doable (otherwise, God wouldn’t command us to do it) and God will honor those who honor Him by keeping the Sabbath holy.  Here are a couple of positive examples: 1) B & H Store in NYC.  Business (both store and online store) is shut down during Sabbath and Passover.   2) Chick-Fil-A company.  Stores are closed on Sundays.  Truett Cathy, the founder, says, “I don’t want to ask people to do that what I am not willing to do myself” (Golden Rule).    Both of them thrive with God’s blessings.

b. Sins of Hate, murder, jealousy, greed, and violence among nations: we need to restore peace among us.  One way to do it is Jubilee—God’s concept of debt cancellation. 

What is Jubilee?  In a nutshell, it is the year of release from debt.   Listen to the Word of God.  The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord…You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you (Leviticus 25:1-4, 8-10, NASB). 

Application: imagine the world where everyone, both individuals and nations, practices a universal debt cancellation [forgiveness—remember the Lord’s Prayer].  How wonderful would it be?  Not a far-fetched idea, either.  E.g. Japan three years ago said it would forgive about 300 billion yen ($3.7 billion) of Myanmar’s debt and resume development aid as a way to support the country’s democratic and economic reforms (ABC News 4/21/2012).

c. Sins of Greed and Abuse: Although we have been making a progress on this, we still have a long way to go.  One thing we Christians must remember is this: we are the stewards, not the owners of God’s creation.  The earth doesn’t belong to us.  Neither do we belong to the earth.  Both belong to God who has entrusted in our hands the care of the earth.  Being God’s stewards means that God will hold us accountable.  God will reward those who fear His name and will destroy those who destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18).

Application: Never waste God-given resources but use with care.  E.g.  A study shows the less consuming of meat helps to reduce the global warming: nearly 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions (of foods) come from producing and processing food. (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/07/141123243/how-that-food-you-throw-out-is-linked-to-global-warming).   So, my suggestion is to eat less meat.  E.g. My personal habit of eating half of the food at restaurant and bring the other half home.

Conclusion

We have a job to do: creation care (Romans 8:19).  Creation care begins with bringing God back into the picture.  We need to restore our broken relationships with God, with each other and with God’s creation.    We can only be responsible stewards of God’s creation when we keep God’s commandments, when we are merciful to each other, and when we treat God’s creation with the sense of accountability.

Let’s pray.

Pastor Choi talks about resurrection today: Christ affirms that there is resurrection.  He raised the dead.  He even raised Himself from the dead.  In the same resurrection we will partake after our physical death.  At the end of the sermon, Pastor Choi invites the congregation to take up an Easter Challenge: to worship the Lord every Sunday to walk close with God.

An Easter Challenge

Following is a summary of the sermon:

An Easter Challenge                                    Matthew 22:23-33

Matthew 22:23-33  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jesus Answers the Sadducees

²³ On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him,²⁴ asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; ²⁶ so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Introduction

The human mind is a curious thing; it sure is a curious thing.  Our brain houses the mind.  In this football-sized brain, we can contain the entire universe, the vast universe (E.g. The Sun is 93 million miles away, our own galaxy the Milky Way is so huge that it takes at the speed of light 100,000 years to travel across it.  It is the size of a quarter when the Sun is a microscopic speck of dust on it; whose orbit is the flat disc of the coin—NASA).

The human mind is curious about anything in the world; both visible and invisible.  It has an insatiable appetite for knowledge.  It is in the constant search of truth and information.  It engages itself in ever going exploration of the unknown.  In the past 30 years, technology and information have advanced in an unprecedented rate.  E.g. IBM computers in the 1980s took up the entire room.  Now, in the 2010s, we feel we need to upgrade our computers every three or four years due to the fast pace of innovations made.  Another example is genetic engineering: not only have scientists mapped the entire human DNA, but they also alter the genes across various species, cloning, cross-breeding, both plants and animals and even humans (it’s perilous times we are living in).

The same mind has been curious about one thing ever since Day-1 of human history: the afterlife.  What’s out there after we die?  There seem two beliefs: don’t know/nothing or something.   Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (in the book written by Walter Isaacson) once said about life after death: don’t know.  Maybe it is like a switch “on-off.”  50-50. This theory follows the logic that since we don’t exactly know what’s out there let’s not talk about it.  Death is followed by complete darkness.  No one knows what’s out there.  No one has been there and come back to tell us.  Science can’t prove it.  No one can explain it.  Today, many scientists follow this approach.

At the time of Jesus, the Sadducees (religious leaders and members of the Sanhedrin—the Jewish Council—along with the Pharisees) also took this approach, not through science but through logic.  They thought of themselves as rational (scientifically-minded in today’s term).  Has anyone come back to life after death and tell us what it is like?  No, then, why bother with something you don’t know well?  Why bother with something invisible and intangible?   So, they said, let’s focus on what we have here.  All we need is the idea of God and the principles to live by.  Not miracles.  Not resurrection. Not even angels.  Stop talking about supernatural things.   Just give me the Book of Law (Torah—the first five books of the Old Testament). 

That’s what today’s story is about: one day the Sadducees brought a hypothetical question to Jesus.  A woman was married seven times, they said.  If there is resurrection, whose wife is she going to be in the end?   A tricky question that no one was able to answer until Jesus cleared it up.  Jesus said to them, “Two things you don’t understand: the Scriptures and the power of God.”  There is resurrection, Jesus asserts.  It’s a sure thing.  Your question is invalid in itself, too, because there is no marriage in resurrection.  All will be like angels.   After all, Jesus concludes, God is the God of the living, not of the dead.

The second approach is the belief that there’s something out there after we die.  In this belief, there are two schools of thoughts.  One is reincarnation (Hinduism and Buddhism): basically, it is the recycling of life.  Born over and over again with no end.  Like a circle with no beginning and no end.  Continuous cycle of life for eternity.  The next life form you will be born into is determined by how good or bad you have been in the present life: born into a lower form of life if you had been bad and vice versa.  You will be born as a worm if you had been bad in this life.  A dog can be born into a human form in its next life if it had been a good dog.  The other branch is Christianity.  We believe in the resurrection.  Every human soul with no exception will be resurrected.   All will stand before God’s judgment throne.  They will either enter into eternal life in Heaven or eternal judgment in Hell.  God determines each one’s eternal fate.

So far, I talked about beliefs on the afterlife.  Now, if you were inquisitive, the Bible would be a good place to study further on this subject (e.g. 40 occurrences of the word “resurrection”).  It is filled with stories and teachings on resurrection, in both the Old and the New Testament.  For instance, Elisha the prophet in the Old Testament raised the son of Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32-37).  In the New Testament Jesus raised the dead at least three times: resurrected the only son of a widow in Nain (Luke 7), raised the only daughter of Jairus (Mark 5), and raised Lazarus from the tomb (John 11).  Peter the Apostle raised a woman called Tabitha/Dorcas—Acts 9:36-41.   Paul the Apostle too raised a young man named Eutychus—Acts 20:7-12.  The Bible presents real proofs of physical resurrection.

Now, we can raise the bar another notch: Can Jesus, who taught about the resurrection and also raised others from the dead, raise Himself from the dead?  Yes, He can and He did.  He rose from the dead on the first Easter Day, every Apostle and every writer of the Four Gospels testified with their own lives.  He is the first fruit of resurrection, the Scripture says.  The risen Christ appeared to three ladies first, to His ten disciples, then to the doubting Thomas.  Later He also appeared to more than 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:5).   Then, He ascended into Heaven.

Since then, the Church of Christ celebrated Christ’s resurrection for the next two thousand years.   Please note here that the risen Christ never appeared to those who rejected His teachings or to those who refused to believe Him as the Messiah.  If I were Christ, I would’ve appeared to everyone who doubts God’s power to raise the Christ from the dead (this approach of mine is dangerous because it puts God to the test and brings Him down to the human level).  E.g. an atheist professor dares God, if He exists, to strike him down with lightning.  Nothing happens so he claims that there’s no God.  Just remember: God doesn’t respond to those who put Him to the test.  He appears only to those who sincerely seek Him.   E.g.2. an atheist teacher asks the children in classroom to look at the sky.  He asks if they see God in the sky.  When the students say no, he says, “See?  There’s no God.”  Johnny the student asks his peers if they can see the teacher’s brain.  When they say no, he says, “See?  He has no brain.”

Finally, I want to place an Easter challenge before you.  I hope and pray that all of us will take it.  The challenge is to renew our relationship with God through worship for the next year.  The goal is to worship the Lord at least 52 times in the coming year.  Yes, that means, once a week.  Every Sunday.  Perfect attendance for a year.  Challenging, maybe.  But, it is doable.

Why the challenge?  Let me explain.  I am thankful that we all share the same faith in Jesus’ resurrection.   Every one of us believes that Christ has risen from the dead, right?  Otherwise, you would not have been here this morning.  We believe that we too will partake in the same resurrection as Jesus, that is, to have the same resurrection body that Jesus had, that transcends time and space.  We also believe that we will be in the presence of God forever along with our loved ones in the place called Heaven.  So far, so good.

I must point out to you, though, that it would be very naïve of us to believe that having such intellectual agreements alone would carry us all the way to Heaven’s gate even when we neglect to worship the Lord on a regular basis, let’s say only a couple of times a year.  You know that there’s such a word in the Church nowadays, “Chr-easter-s” combined word of the two words: Christmas and Easter referring to folks who go to church only twice a year on holidays.

I am not criticizing anyone.  Because there are some reasons why people don’t worship the Lord often enough.  You work on Sundays, you have families over, you are tired, you want to sleep in, and so forth.  You don’t have to explain to me or defend yourself.  It is between God and you.  All I am saying is this: even though worship itself doesn’t guarantee your seat in Heaven, it will help you to stay the course without drifting away from salvation.   It is delusional to believe that we still have a good chance or even a guarantee in Heaven without worshiping the Lord.   If I were you, I would make sure that I clear out my Sunday mornings so that I worship God with God’s children every Sunday.  Why?  Because in worship we encounter the living God.  Worship establishes and reaffirms our covenantal relationship with the Almighty God: who we are and what kind of God we serve and honor.  Worship, like an anchor to a ship, keeps us from drifting away from God.  Worship also provides the opportunity to cultivate the attitude of gratitude.  In worship we encourage one another.  We will miss out on all these great opportunities if we only go to church a couple of times a year.

Think this way: Jesus was in very nature God.  However, when He was on earth, He would worship the Lord every week along with other believers either at synagogue or at the Temple of God.  How much more do we need to do so?  By the way, if you got hurt in the past by the Church, or by “the organized religion,” for whatever reasons, I sincerely apologize on behalf of the believers.  However, that shouldn’t keep you from worshiping the Lord, because it is Satan’s scheme to keep you from the Body of Christ by all means.   After all, as the Day of Judgment is approaching, God commands us never to neglect worship (Hebrews 10:25).

I pray all of us will take up the Easter Challenge so that next year you come to me and say, “I have completed my challenge!”  And, I will say, “Good for you!  Praise God!”  Take up the challenge, and you will be forever blessed. Your life won’t be the same.

Amen.