The Responsibility of the Resurrection
- Reverend Michael Vanacore
- Apr 28, 2019
- 5 min read
John 20:19-23
The Responsibility of the Resurrection
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." -NRSV
4/28/19 | Trinity Lutheran Church in Sunset Park |
Rev. Michael Vanacore
On this second Sunday of Easter, I want to preach to you this morning on the responsibility of the Resurrection. Very often, in many areas of our lives, we find ourselves handing over the reins to someone else--to our parents, our bosses, our political leaders, our pastors--or even to God. And we forget about the power and the responsibility that God has placed in our hands. That power and responsibility that Jesus conferred to all his disciples on the day of the Resurrection.
On that day, as our Gospel tells it, Jesus re-appears to his disciples, only to find them huddled in fear behind locked doors “for fear of the Jews.” It seems that they knew that what had happened to Jesus could happen to them! It is interesting that, even though we celebrate the resurrection with singing and shouts, on that day, the disciples were still living in the shadow of the cross.
And so Jesus returns to this amazed group and stands amongst them, saying “Peace be with you.” He shows them his hands and his side to prove to them that it is indeed him, and that he still carries the marks of the cross. And they rejoice!
Now, I can only imagine how relieved they must have felt. While Jesus was alive, they relied on him for guidance, mentorship, and approval, and most importantly, leadership. With him gone, and with brutal crackdown of the authorities, they must have felt abandoned and afraid. Now that he was back, surely Jesus would tell them what to do. Surely Jesus would take the reins. Surely Jesus would assume his place at the head of his disciples and lead them to victory! But that is not quite how things go down.
“As my Father has sent me, so I send you,” Jesus says. Instead of re-assuming responsibility for the mission that God had given to him, he passes that mission on to them. And he grants them all the power, all the wisdom, all the might that they will need to accomplish it: “Receive” he says, the Holy Spirit.” In other words, whatever they do going forward, they will do with the very power of God.
Now, as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. And this is certainly the case with the divine transfer of power that takes place in our Scripture today. For Jesus confers on them the same spiritual authority that he himself had held when he walked the earth: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
And so, even though Jesus dies on the cross on the Friday, to cite the great San Romero, he was fully reborn in his disciples on Sunday. And in that same way, he is reborn in us, with that same mission, power, and responsibility.
In this Easter season, I urge us all to seize more fully the mission, power, and responsibility that is our inheritance as disciples of Christ.
Let us start with the political world. Pastor Sam preached last Sunday that as an Easter People we cannot allow ourselves to set low expectations for what we can achieve as a society. And it is true! Do we believe in a world where healthcare is a right, and not just a privilege? Do we believe in a world where people do not have to choose between having a roof over their heads and food on the table? Do we believe in a world where we do not rain down bombs and bullets on our neighbors just because we are the “United States of America?”
Well, if we believe it, then we have the RESPONSIBILITY to make it happen. Our Gospel lesson teaches us that we cannot wait for God to fix it for us. We cannot wait for Jesus to do it first. If we want that better world, then we cannot wait for anyone else to do it for us. Not some politician. Not some business tycoon. Not even God. It is up to us to take the lead, and to take the lead with all the confidence and power of the resurrection.
And how about the church? How many of you have looked at this beautiful building, have looked out upon this beautiful congregation, have listened to this beautiful music, and have thought, “My God, I don’t understand why this place is not full?”
Well by God, if evangelization is not the responsibility of the disciple, then I do not know whose it is. But for too long the Mainline church has waited for God to fix it. For Jesus to take the lead. For new blood or new ideas or new theology to somehow magically arise in our midst and lead us to a new resurrection. But that is not what the Gospel tells us is the way. Do we want to see a rebirth of the church? Then it is up to US to make it happen! Do we want to see those pews full of believers? Then it is up to US to go out and make that invitation. Do we want the church--THIS church--to transform and fully live into the mighty destiny that we know that God has prepared for it? Well then we cannot wait for any one person--not the Bishop, or Pastor Sam, or Pastor Michael, or the church Council, or President Stacy or Vice President Awilda, or even God or Jesus to make it happen for us. We have that responsibility and that power.
And finally, in our personal lives, we could all benefit from remembering that the power--and the responsibility--of the Resurrection--are ours to command. Do you ever feel, because of the difficulties you face--be they legal or financial, familial or relational--that you just do not have the power to make a change? That you, like the disciples, are powerless without a leader, without somebody bigger or better or stronger than you to fight the battles that you need to fight?
But the Good News of Easter is that with the power of the Resurrection, you are already more than enough to meet whatever challenges await you. If you have a mission to complete, rise up and take on that mission--for just as the Father sent Jesus, so too does Jesus send YOU. If you have a challenge to face, rise up and face that challenge--for Just as Jesus granted to his disciples the POWER of the Holy Spirit, so too does he grant it to you. And if you EVER have any doubts about your authority to do the things that you know are your responsibility to do, just remember that Jesus gave to his disciples the spiritual authority that is reserved for God alone. As a disciple, that authority is also given to you.
And so on this second Sunday of Easter, let us take up the spiritual discipline of the Easter Season, and embrace the almighty POWER, the MISSION, and the RESPONSIBILITY of the Resurrection, which is not only of Jesus, but of all of us. Amen.
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