در روز عيد پاك در مورد اينكه ماهم رستاخيز را در أطراف خود تجربه خواهيم كرد، صحبت كردم. تجربه هريك از ما از رستاخيز به أشكال گوناگون شامل پيدا كردن دوستان جديد، مشاغل جديد، ورود يك فرزند به زندگي ، بازگشت اميد به زندگي همراه با هدف و انگيزه ، احساس تبلور عشق بعد از يك شكست و ... خواهد بود.
رستاخيز ، بازگشت مجدد به زندگي بعد از مرگ ، در أطراف همه ما به تجربه در خواهد آمد. خداوند رستاخيز را بخشي از زندگي ما قرار داده است، رستاخيز تنها يك رخداد در ٢٠٠٠ سال پيش كه براي عيسي مسيح پيش آمده نيست، رستاخيز براي ماهم رخ مي دهد.
امروز ، موعظه من در مورد رستاخيز ايمان خواهد بود. زماني در زندگي هريك از ما وجود دارد كه بدون انگيزه و حس اميد صبح ها براي انجام وظايف روز مره از خواب برميخيزيم و روز را بدون حس زندگي ، سپري مي كنيم. زماني كه از نظر معنوي تهي هستيم ، فقدان حضور خداوند، عدم اعتماد به نفس ناشئ از خلا حضور خدا در زندگي ، خلا ايمان به خدايي كه ما را دوست دارد و ..... حواريون عيسي مسيح هم در همين احساسات و مرگ معنوي مملو از ترس بودند كه عيسي مسيح رستاخيز شده ، آمد تا آنها را أحيا كند.
خود من ، ساليان سال از خداوند نشانه هاي حضور و عشق او را طلب ميكردم ، إثباتي كه خداوند وجود دارد، مي خواستم مطمئن شوم كه خدايي براي خودم بر أساس آمال و آرزوهايم ، خلق نكرده ام. لذا داستان اعتقادي من ، با شك و ترديد آغاز و منتهي به يك سفر هفت ماهه به اسرائيل و فلسطين مقارن با انتفاضة دوم گرديد. در اين سفر شاهد انفجار بمب ها در خيابان ها و كشتار صدها إسرائيلي و فلسطيني بودم. چندين ماه پس از بازگشت به امريكا ، روزي شخصي از من پرسيد: " زماني كه در اسرائيل بودي ، نترسيدي؟" با خودم فكر كردم ! فهميدم ، نه ، نترسيده بودم ، آرامش داشتم ، اعتقاد داشتم سرنوشت أبدي من در دستان خداوند أمن خواهد بود ، آنجا بود كه متوجه شدم " ايمان" در من هست!!!
رستاخيز براي من يعني مرگ و نابودي تمامي شك ها ، ترديدها ، ترس از نبود خدا و زنده شدن احساس آرامش بعد از آن همه احساسات منفي و آزاردهنده بود. احساس آزادي براي ادامه مسير همراه با اشتياق جهت خدمت به خداوند و بندگانش بدون ذره اي ترديد، معناي حقيقي رستاخيز در زندگي من بود.
آيا شما به معجزه رستاخيز ايمان داريد ؟ آيا به رستاخيز عيسي مسيح ايمان داريد؟
آيا ايمان داريد خداوند رستاخيز را هر روز و حتي أبدي براي شما قرار داده؟ ممكن است شما كسي باشيد كه بپرسد :" چرا من بايد به رستاخيز عيسي مسيح ايمان داشته باشم؟"
بعضي از أفراد ، در مورد اينكه رستاخيز مسيحا در أناجيل چهارگانه در جزئيات متفاوت است، دچار إبهام هستند. يوحنا مي گويد ، زني در كنار مقبره مسيحا حضور داشت. مارك مي گويد چهار تن در كنار مقبره حضور داشتند ، و مرد جواني خبر خوب رستاخيز مسيحا را مي دهد. يوحنا مي نويسد ٢ فرشته خبر خوب را مي دهند. در برخي منابع گفته شده ، عيسي براي إثبات رستاخيز خودش ، توسط ديگران لمس شده است . در انجيل متي گفته شده ، عيسي مسيح در جليله بر حواريون ظاهر شده است. در انجيل لوقي آورده شده كه مسيحا در أورشليم بر حواريون ظاهر شده است. برخي أز مسيحيان ، مي گويند جزيئات متفاوت ضرورتا متضاد هم نيستند ، بلكه همگي با هم مي توانند يك راه محتمل براي شرح وسيعي در مورد رستاخيز باشند. به عقيده من ، جزيئات متفاوت ، شاخص داستان نيستند و موضوعات مهم عقيدتي كه براي رستگاري ما مهم هستند ، در بين أناجيل چهارگانه ثابت هستند.
چرا ما بايد به رستاخيز عيسي مسيح ايمان داشته باشيم ؟
من معتقدم معجزات محتمل هستند. من به شخصه به پنج تا از اعمال معجزه گونه خداوند بيشتر احساس نزديكي مي كنم. تعداد بسيار بيشتري معجزه در كتاب مقدس مطرح شده و حتي تعداد بيشتري هم در سنن مسيحي وجود دارد كه به تنهايي درمورد رستگاري و رستاخيز مسيحا نيستند. در اينجا دو معجزه را مطرح ميكنم كه براي رستگاري و حقيقت آن ، ضروري هستند.
نخست ، معتقدم عيسي مسيح ، هم كاملا إنسان با تمام ضعف ها و محدوديت هايش و هم كاملا الهي با قدرت نامحدود الهي مي باشد. عيسي بايد اين شخص منحصر به فرد براي عملكرد نجات بخش بازگشت بشريت به رابطه با خدا باشد. اگر مسيحا خصوصيت بشري و الهي را با هم نمي داشت ، نمي توانست إنسانيت و إلهيت را باهم بياورد.
دوم ، معتقدم به مرگ و رستاخيز معجزه آساي مسيحا. اعتقاد دارم به مرگ كامل عيسي مسيح به عنوان آشكارسازي حقيقي بعد إنساني مسيحا و محدوديت ها و ضعف ها و شرائط بشري او . معتقدم مسيحا از مرگ به پا خواست و دوباره زنده شد براي آشكاري اين حقيقت كه شرائط بشري جدايي از خداوند واقعا و كاملا بر قدرت الهي در عيسي مسيح غلبه ميكند . رستاخيز حقيقي يك بازگشت بشري حقيقي را به خدا ممكن مي سازد. بازگشت حقيقي انسان به خداوند، نيازمند به يك رستاخيز از مرگ كه جدايي از خداست، مي باشد. براي بازگشت از بشريت به سوي خدا كه واقعي و صحيح باشد و بر زندگي من و شما مؤثر باشد ، اين نوع بازگشت يك كار واقعي مي طلبد كه انجام شود. يك مرگ واقعي و رستاخيز حقيقي منجر به بازگشت واقعي بشر به خداوند مي شود.
عيسي نياز دارد آنچه هست ، باشد و همچنين نياز دارد انجام دهد آنچه انجام داده است ، در غير اين صورت مسيحيان نمي توانند وعده هاي رستگاري و زندگي أبدي را كه هم اكنون ادعا مي كنند ، را مدعي شوند. اين همان چيزي است كه پال از حواريون عيسي در قرنتي به مردم در پاسخ به رستاخيز بيان نمود :" اگر رستاخيز براي مسيحا اتفاق نيفتاده است، شما از ايمان تهي بوده و همچنان غرق در گناهان خود هستيد." پاياني كه ما معتقديم ،اين مفاهيم معجزه گونه را ايجاب مي كند.
چرا شما بايد به معجزه رستاخيز عيسي مسيح ايمان داشته باشيد؟
توماس كه در كتاب مقدس چنين ادعاي بزرگ رستاخيز را بدون إثبات نپذيرفت، ناصالح نخواهد بود. شما هم به همين ميزان حق داريد كه به راحتي رستاخيز را نپذيريد. من سألها از الگوي توماس پيروي كردم اما هديه بسيار متفاوت تري را نسبت به توماس دريافت كردم بنابراين به آن معتقد شدم. من آرامش را دريافت كردم . برخي ادعا مي كنند :" خداي مهربان دانا از ما ايمان بدون إثبات نخواهد خواست ". آيا ميشود خداي خوب ، ما را در مورد چنين مسائل مهمي اينگونه بي اطلاع بگذارد؟. من به آرامشي كه حاصل رستاخيز معنوي من از شك هاست، ايمان دارم كه نوع ديگري از اطلاع رساني است. هداياي متعدد خداوند در اين كليسا براي ايمان آوردن در أطراف ما در سرودها، عشاي رباني و كتاب مقدس وجود دارند. خداوند به شما عشق زميني عطا فرموده، چنين كه عشق الهي است كه مي تواند در فراز و نشيب هاي زندگي ياور و مراقب ما باشد.هيبت و شگفتي جهان خلق شده مي تواند الهام بخش ايمان ما باشد. ما به خداي عاشقي ايمان داريم كه از طريق روح القدس بر قلب هاي ما اثر مي بخشد . و روح القدس به شيوه هاي گوناگون اثر بخش مي باشد. توماس آن را با دستانش لمس نمود، آنهايي كه در ايمائس( شهري نزديك به أورشليم) بودند، دعوت شدند تا بچشنند و ببينند. همان طور كه پيشتر گفتم به من آرامش عطا شد. شما ايمان خود را خواهيد داشت كه به روش خودتان در زمان خويش عطا خواهد گرديد. هديه معجزه آساي ايمان ،رستاخيز شما همه در أطراف شماست بنابراين باشد كه شما هم عشق نجات بخش خداوند را همانطور كه حقيقي و واقعي است، تجربه كنيد.
باشد كه با دريافت اين موعظه بركت يابيد همانگونه من آنرا وعظ كردم. آمين
In the name of God,
On Easter I preached that there’s resurrection for us to experience all around us. New friends. New jobs. Babies. Coming out of depression with a sense of purpose for life. Feeling love after heartbreak. The season of spring with its blossoming flowers, its gentle rains and bright sunshine nurturing back to life green grass and leafy trees. Resurrection, the restoration of life after death, is all around us. God has made resurrection part of life. Resurrection is not just something that happened 2000 years ago to Jesus. Resurrection happens to us.
Today, I want to preach on the resurrection of faith. There are times when what seems dead is not our bodies, which continue to walk and talk and eat and work, but rather we have died to hope. We have died to the spark of life that gets us up in the morning looking forward to our day’s duties and possibilities. There are times where we experience spiritual numbness… the loss of God’s presence… the loss of confidence in God’s goodness… the loss of faith that God actively loves us. The disciples of our Gospel reading were in this state of spiritual death, behind locked doors, afraid, when the resurrected Christ comes to them to resurrect them.
Last week I asked: “Where are you experiencing resurrection in your life? How is Easter manifesting itself around you?” Well, the first few years of my Christian life, the first 8 years to be precise, from 13-21 years old, I would have said I’ve never felt God’s resurrection in my life. I don’t have an Easter experience? I didn’t have a religious experience or spiritual connection or resurrection moment that I could point to. I’m not saying God wasn’t in myself. I can look back now and see that God’s presence and love was all around, protecting me, pushing me to discover who I’ve come to be, and even carrying me through some tough times that I couldn’t have made it through on my own. But for my first 8 years of being part of a Christian community I was like those shell-shocked disciples in our Gospel just before Jesus appeared, wondering why God wasn’t with them. I was like Thomas demanding an Easter experience of God. “Show me resurrection so I may believe.”
I know I’ve shared my faith story before with many of you. I was first introduced to the Church and Christianity through a Lutheran youth ministry. From my first exposure to the Church in Jr. High up through the time I decided to go to Seminary I struggled with doubt. For many years I asked God for signs of His presences and love, proof to me that He existed. I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t creating a God for myself out of my desires for, my fascination with, the idea of God. I wanted confirmation that I wasn’t lying to myself, convincing myself. I wanted a moment of bliss, realization of a grand connection to some power beyond me, a tingly feeling in my toes, something, some sign that God was real.
I was in Israel in 2001 for 7 months, and over September 11th. It was a time where bombs were going off in Israel during the Second Intifada, a period of intensified Palestinian–Israeli violence. While I was in Israel in 2001, a total of 469 Palestinians and 199 Israelis were killed. I had eaten at a Sbarro pizza a few days before it was bombed. I walked through an intersection 20 minutes before a bus exploded in it. During a late night food run, fellow students and I debated going to the primarily Jewish West Jerusalem or the Palestine quarter. We decided on falafels in at a great late night falafel stand in the Palestinian quarter, only to find out the next day that at the other late night spot in Jewish West Jerusalem, two suicide bombers detonated themselves on Ben Yehuda Street, followed by a car bomb set to go off as paramedics arrived. Thirteen people were killed, and 188 were injured.
After I was back in the U.S., some months later, someone asked me if I was scared while I was there? I realized I hadn’t been scared. I had a peace… believing that my eternal destiny was safe in the hands of God. I realized this months after the fact. I realized that I had been a believing Christian for a while. I had faith. I had been resurrected out of my doubts. Resurrected out of the anxiety that God wasn’t real that had haunted me for years. My resurrection felt like peace with the doubts. A feeling of freedom from my obsession with avoiding self-deception. A feeling of freedom to pursue my passion to serve God and His people without hesitation. Doubts still very much accompany me as I am not Thomas that saw and touched the bodily resurrected Jesus. I’ll just have to wait till heaven for that. But for now my Easter resurrection experience looks like the gift of peace in the doubt that lets me serve you.
Do you believe in the miracle of the resurrection? Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Do you believe that God has a daily and eternal resurrection for you? You might be one who asks: “Why should I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?”
Some people find it difficult that the four Gospels differ in the details of the resurrection. John says there was one woman at the tomb. Mark mentions five. Mark says one young man gave the good news that Jesus had risen. John writes about two angels giving the news. In some of the Gospels Jesus is touched to prove He is physically resurrected. In some Jesus is not touched. In Matthew Jesus appears to the disciples in Galilee. In Luke Jesus comes to the disciples in Jerusalem. Some Christians say the differing details don’t necessarily flatly contradict each other, but can be harmonized together in a plausible way to tell a larger resurrection story. In my opinion the details that differ aren’t significant to the story, and the import theological themes that matter for our salvation are consistent through the Gospels.
Why should we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
I believe that miracles are possible. But I only really actively concern myself with about five miraculous acts of God. There are many biblical miracles and even more miracles claimed by Christian tradition that are simply not necessary for Christ’s salvific and restorative work. Here are two miracles that don’t conform to my daily experience of life that are necessary for salvation to be real.
First, I believe that Jesus Christ is both fully human with all our weaknesses and limitations and fully divine with God’s limitless power. Jesus must be this uniquely miraculous person to do the saving work of restoring humanity into relationship with God. Jesus is in His very person the work He does, and if He weren’t humanity and divinity come together He couldn’t bring humanity and divinity together.
Second, I believe in the death and miraculous resurrection of Jesus. I believe in the complete death of Jesus as the real manifestation in Jesus of human limitations and weaknesses and the human condition of separation from God’s life. And I believe that Jesus was raised from death to life as the manifestation that the human condition of separation has been truly and really overcome the power of divinity in Jesus. A real resurrection makes possible a real restoration of humanity to God. A real restoration of humanity to God demands a real resurrection from a death that is separation from God. For the restoration of humanity to God to be real and true and impact my life and yours, that restoration needed real work to be done. A real death and true resurrection is what results in a real and true restoration of humanity to God.
Jesus needs to be who He is and He needs to have done what He did or else Christians cannot claim the salvific and eternal promises for the world that we claim. This is what the Apostle Paul tells the people in Corinth when they question him on the resurrection: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” The ends we believe necessitate these miraculous means.
Why should you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Thomas is no less righteous in our Gospel for refusing to believe without proof so wild a claim as the resurrection. You have as much right. I followed Thomas’s example for years, but was given a very different gift than Thomas so that I might believe. I was given peace. Some claim: “No wise or compassionate God would demand of us belief without proof. Would a good God leave us so poorly informed about something so important?” I believe the faith, the peace that is my spiritual resurrection out of doubt, is another kind of informing. God’s many gifts for believing are all around in the song, supper and scriptures of this church. God gives you human love so that divine love that saves you can hop a ride and be carried into you. The awe of the created universe can inspire faith. We believe in a loving God by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And the Holy Spirit does its work in many forms. Thomas touched with His hands. Those on the road to Emmaus were invited to taste and see. I was given peace. You will have your own faith gifted to you in your own way in your own time. A miraculous gift of faith all your own, your own resurrection, is all around you so that you too may come to experience God’s saving love as real and true.
May you be blessed by this sermon as I have preaching it. Amen.