the Resurrection of the Our Lord

Luke 24. 1-12
Jesus lives not yesterday and not tomorrow, but today!

“… as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be …” As it was, is now, and ever shall be! These words might be familiar to some of you, I sure. At least, to those who have been a part of the Lutheran church for a long time. They’re from the old red book, the hymnal, two colors back. And they fell by the wayside when we changed things up, about forty years ago, now. They’re part of the Introït (we used a lot of Latin, at the time). Introït meaning entrance or beginning. It’s from the same place our word introduction comes from.

Anyway, worship, back then, began – pretty much – like it does now. With confession, forgiveness. We’d sing a song. The pastor would greet us and we’d greet the pastor, right back. Then would come the Introït and it would let us know what the theme, the focus, of worship would be. Short. To the point. No more than a mouthful of verses that we’d read back and forth – the pastor and us – just like we do the psalm. But that Introït, no matter what the Sunday, what the day, would always end the same way. The pastor would say, “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” and we’d respond, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” And we’d go on from there.

But for some reason, those words have been rattling around in my mind, the past couple weeks. Like one of those songs you, just, can get out of your head! “As it was, is now, and ever shall be!” Over and over and over. Again and again and again. Past, Present, Future. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. It reminded me of the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. But like I said, those words have been ricocheting around in my head. They were there as I read the passage from Luke, again, for the first time. But funny thing. When I got to the message the two men spoke to the women, that first Easter morning, outside the empty tomb, they stopped. And the only thing that remained was that question. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

I heard those words and I realized, we’re a lot like those women! We, too, look for Jesus in all the things that lie behind us! Jesus in our past! Jesus in our yesterdays! Jesus in our memories! Think about it. What’s reading the bible if not looking for Jesus among the dead. Don’t get me wrong. The bible’s important. Maybe, even, essential. But it’s hardly living. The most recent parts of it are over eighteen-and-a-half centuries old! Some of us are lucky enough to make it to the Holy Land. To walk where Jesus walked. To pray where Jesus prayed. But it’s all over and done with. It’s history. And those two men ask us, as they once asked the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” They women went to the tomb, that morning, because that was the last place they saw Jesus! It was the place they’d left him, three days before. And we do the same. Looking for Jesus in our as-it-was!

Then, again, as really good American believers, we, also, look for Jesus in the opposite direction. We look for Jesus up ahead. Over the next hill. Around the next bend. If not for a so-called second coming, then the other side of the grave, on the inside of the pearly gates. When it comes to faith, when it comes to believing, we’re all in! All in with what was! All in for what ever shall be! But the thing we have trouble with is finding Jesus here, now, today! We just never seem to look for the living among the living! And that is Easter! That is the Resurrection!

It’s Jesus – the living one – found among the living! Jesus present! Jesus in this day! Jesus in this hour! Jesus in this minute! In this second! Jesus present! Not in some paranormal, metaphysical way. But Jesus here and now! Down to earth! Flesh and blood! Today, this holy day, is about the Jesus who is! Not the Jesus who was! Not the Jesus who will be! But the Jesus who is! The Jesus really, truly present not just in the bread and the wine of the supper. But Jesus really, truly present in each and every word! Jesus really, truly present in each and every drop of water! Jesus really, truly present between and among each and every one of you!

It’s like the words I’ll say to bring today’s worship to an end. The words I’ll end worship throughout this season. “You are the body of Christ!” Present tense! “You are the body of Christ raised up for the world!” Not simply Jesus past tense or Jesus future tense. But Jesus present tense! “You are the body of Christ!” The body of Christ is you! Notice, it doesn’t say, “Jesus is in you!” In your heart! In your head! It says, “Jesus IS you!” You are Christ! Christ is you! You ARE Christ’s eyes and ears! You ARE Christ’s arms and legs, Christ’s hands and feet! “You are the body of Christ raised up for the world!”

God love the world so much that god gave that world Jesus! God, still, loves the world so much that god gives the world you! That’s what Maundy Thursday was all about! The great commandment! Love just like me! That’s Easter! That’s the resurrection! It’s looking for the living, not among the memories or the dreams, but among the living! Looking for Jesus right here and right now! Looking for Jesus in the crosses you bear for each other! In the crosses you carry for this world! For in those crosses, god continues redeeming the world! Redeeming all creation! An eternal now! An everlasting present! And it’s the only place Jesus – the “is now” Jesus – can be found!

As it was in the beginning, ever shall be! That’s where most of us – myself included – live out our faith. One foot in the past; the other in the future. But this day, Easter Day, the Resurrection of Our Lord, is about neither! Not yesterday! Not tomorrow! If this day is about anything … if this day is about nothing else … it’s about the present! Today! “Is now! Jesus isn’t up high! Jesus’s not far away! In time or in distance! Jesus is right here! Jesus is right there beside you! Right there behind you and before you! Jesus is right there in between and among you all! Jesus is the person you saw in the mirror, before you ever got here! Not a thought! Not an idea! Not a commandment or a creed! But Jesus was, will be, is, a person! The word forever becomes, forever is, flesh and blood!

As it was? Ever shall be? The important words are the two we overlook! The two we forget! IS NOW! IS NOW! We know about the once-upon-a-time. We yearn for the happily-ever-after. But it’s that time in between that matters most! My friends, it’s time! It’s time for us to see Jesus NOW! It’s time for us to look for Jesus, not among the dead, but here! Among the living!

Midland Lutheran Church
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