2010

John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors 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 side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Pastor Mike McCoy
Vineyard Christian Fellowship (Concord)

Every Easter Sunday, we would go to my motherinlaw’s house for dinner. Upon arriving, Margie would call out to us, “HE is risen!” Our expected and joyfully given response would be, “HE is risen indeed!” This ancient call and response is being uttered throughout the world today by those who follow the risen Lord and King – Jesus of Nazareth. In the reality of this proclamation lie the invitation and the challenge of the risen Jesus.

It starts on the evening of the first resurrection Sunday. Jesus suddenly stands among His fearful disciples. He is alive and with them again, and they are filled with joy. How does the presence of the risen Jesus fill you with joy on this Easter Sunday?

Then He gives the invitation: “Peace be with you! Rest and don’t be afraid. I am here.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is with us, and He alone has overcome the power of evil, sin, and death so that we can rest without fear. He can and will take care of us and our world. And He has invited us to enter into His care. Do you want to receive the invitation of Jesus and learn to rest in Him without fear?

Next is the challenge: “As the Father sent Me, I am sending you!” Jesus was sent into the world to fulfill the Father’s purpose, and He sends His disciples into the world to continue His mission – to speak God’s word, do God’s works, and give their lives for the sake of others. Do you want to accept the challenge of Jesus and go to whom He is sending you?

Finally, Jesus breathed on His disciples and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, we cannot apply the invitation and the challenge of the risen Jesus to our lives. With the Spirit, we can live in peace and go in power to whomever Jesus sends us. Today, will you ask Jesus to breathe on you and fill you again with the Holy Spirit?

Jesus, please empower me to accept the invitation and the challenge of Your resurrection in my life – to live in Your peace and to go where You send me. AMEN.

Romans 8:10-11

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Rev. Mary Holder Naegeli
Adjunct Instructor, Fuller Seminary

The Christian faith is a life and death matter! The life and death of Jesus Christ, which we have pondered over the last few weeks, are both significant for the life and death we experience as human beings. The Apostle Paul was well aware that the death of Jesus on our behalf was not his only calling. The thirty-three year life of Jesus accomplished something, too. He faced the challenges of mortal “weakness” without succumbing to sin (Heb 4:15), and he modeled “walking in the Spirit” as redeemed day today behavior. By giving it purpose and meaning, he proved that this life—as we know it—is worth living.

But here is the staggering news well worth remembering on this “in between day” of Holy Saturday, falling between Good Friday and Easter: The very same life that invigorated Jesus during his thirty-three years and then raised him from the dead dwells in us! Stop and think what this means, Paul urges: You have this same life now, giving energy to this old sack of bones you carry around with you every day. The Spirit that called Jesus Christ out of the grave is the same Spirit giving life to you, oh mortal. Despite your physical limitations, despite your age, despite your discouragements or the roadblocks in your path, despite your mortality, the Spirit of God is at work in you to empower life this side of death.

Experiencing this Spirit-filled life day by day actually prepares us to face our physical death with joy and anticipation of life after death. Death is a transition from this life to the next, but it is your one continuous life that is being sustained by God’s eternal Spirit. Wow!

Lord, such knowledge is too wonderful for me: that your Spirit dwells in my heart and gives me life, energy, purpose and meaning!

John 13:36-38

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Doug Stevens
The Renewal Project

Peter is so transparently human. We don’t know whether to laugh at him, banish him as an embarrassment or just enjoy his childlike antics. He’s always impulsively asking questions, making presumptuous demands or promising the moon. His heart seems to be right, but his character is appallingly weak. His follow-through is just atrocious.

Here he is pledging his life to Jesus (again) without understanding what this might mean. When all the other disciples are fearful and cautious, Peter steps up with this naïve declaration. He’s often the first to speak (even before he thinks!) and always sounds so sure of himself. He’s enjoying this moment and the spotlight on his verbal bravado. We all know he will fail miserably as this fateful night unfolds.

Jesus is arrested, convicted and goes to the cross. Peter runs away and plays it safe, hanging out at the edge of the crowd — at the edge of panic. He denies he even knows Him, when people recognize his familiar face and Galilean accent. Three times he denies Him! What happened to “I am ready to die for You?!” Some champion!

At dinner that night, a couple of hours earlier, Jesus had shocked Peter with the warning that the devil was coming after him. Jesus knows Peter very well, loves him still, and doesn’t give up on him even after his total meltdown and humiliation. This was a bad Friday for Peter, but God is determined to salvage and rebuild this broken-down man. He sends His Son to the Cross to forgive and redeem fallen humanity, such as Peter, who more than once played the fool and the coward…such as me…such as you.

Lord, we have failed again and again, publicly and privately…You know! Yet You invite us to restore our relationship with You, based on Your victory, which now becomes ours, in Christ. It’s our second chance, even though we thought it was too late. We are overjoyed and forever grateful!