Bulletin

Living from the Liturgy

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia.

Therefore it is written: ‘At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.’

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You have heard, dear Christians, how in the incarnation of the Son, Christ did not merely take on a human body, He did not merely take on a human nature, but took on all of human nature. He became all of humanity. He took the story of our lives into Himself. Our lives become His life. Our stories become His story, and now, my people, the story is finished.

For Christ is Adam, is mankind, as it was originally created, to serve God and obey His word, and on the cross He submitted Himself to the will of the Lord, given Himself up in perfect obedience to the call of His maker.

For Christ is Adam, is mankind, as he became after the fall, filled with sin, even as you and I are, and on the cross, that sin was put to death. It was punished forever, that the justice of God against all unrighteousness might be accomplished, that the one who does evil should die.

For Christ is Adam, is mankind, as he was meant to be, glorified and filled with all God’s blessing and beatitude, being loved by God above all else, and loving God with all his heart and soul and strength and mind. And on the cross, the love of God was shown to us, that the Father kept not back his only begotten son, but gave Him unto death for us, that we might live and reign with Christ in heaven to all eternity.

But now those three stories end the same way. They become one story. The story of the Risen Man.

For Christ, by His obedience, fulfilled God’s Law and demonstrated His perfect obedience to the Lord of All Creation.

Christ, by His Passion and Bloody sweat, suffered the wrath of God for us, that we might not perish eternally in the fires of hell.

Christ, by His sacrifice, freed us from sin, death, and the devil, that we might return to our heavenly home, the New Jerusalem.

And that story ends with Christ’s resurrection, that death has no power over him, that hell has no right to keep him, and that eternal life is His forevermore.

And by our baptism, that story is given unto us, for we too will be raised on the last day, and we dwell in the House of the Lord forever, for we are his people.

To quote one of my fathers in the faith, ‘The story is not yet finished. You are in it. Christ is the foundation. He makes you part of His story. He incorporates you into His victory over death. Or, to speak more like the New Testament, we are joined to Christ, collectively, as His body. His body is risen from the dead, and His body the church will likewise be raised. At the edge of the grave a Lutheran pastor reads from Philippians 3: “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”’

His story changes our story. Our own stories, by themselves, are filled with failure and folly. Beauty fades, strength atrophies. “It’s a bittersweet symphony, this life, trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die.” Our first father could have written that song. He heard from God, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread until you return to the earth, from dust you are and to dust you shall return.” With anger and greed, vanity and suspicion, we ruin everything.’

Every human story ends in a corpse. The entire globe is a mass grave. ‘The stone is very great’ meant the women couldn’t move it – but also, that no one can. The barrier between death and life is immovable. But the story changes in Jesus. For in His crucifixion, He took on your story, that in the Resurrection, you might live anew in His.

He is risen, and the story of your misdeeds is blotted out.

Jesus is condemned, and Barabbas goes free. 

Jesus is judged, and you are acquitted before the heavenly courts.

Jesus is fallen, and you are raised up.

Jesus is spit upon, and you are washed with pure water.

Jesus is mocked, and you are praised before the throne of God.

Jesus is hated, and you are the Father’s beloved.

Jesus is killed, and you are reborn.

Jesus is buried, and you are baptized.

And now, Christ is risen, and death is undone.

Christ is risen, and Adam and Eve are lifted up from hell.

Christ is risen, and you shall rise again with him.

Christ is risen, and the demons are put to flight.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice at the return of the lost sheep.

The regrets and failures of your life no longer matter, for you have been hidden in Christ, and where he is, so shall you be also. Your sin has been buried with Him in the grave, but your life now lives in His body, and behold, His body is no longer there.

For the stone is rolled away, and the door to paradise is opened to you.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. And sing to the Lord a new song. Sing with all gladness and cheer:

‘You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’

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