The Lutheran Hour
-
"Accept No Substitutes!"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: 1 Peter 1:3-9
-
He is risen! He is risen indeed, Hallelujah! Amen!
I didn’t want you to forget! In fact our reading today not only reminds us of the “reality of the resurrection of Jesus.” Today, St. Peter challenges us to see the impact of His resurrection on our daily, even eternal lives. Because this Jesus is “Risen from the Dead” there is real, eternal, living hope for all who believe in Him because trusting in Him is not merely musing about what happened in the past. No, it is about having Christ’s “Resurrection Hope” for today, for tomorrow, forever in His Name!
Today we are called anew by the Lord through the words of this Epistle, to have His hope for our lives, to accept no substitutes, to live as His “Resurrection Hope people” in a world where false hopes, fakes, and facades reign supreme.
So, Peter shouts out this hope today to all who will listen, but merely a few verses later in this chapter, he also warns us, “not to be conformed to the “passions of this world.” It’s as if he were saying, “Don’t be fooled, don’t grasp for the cheap, lifeless imitations. They don’t last. They won’t last. Rather, receive the Resurrection Hope that only Jesus Himself can give. Have His hope in this world.”
But many of us would rather have the substitutes or the counterfeits. Why?
Today the word “relationship” can mean a variety of things, many of them actually destructive for true intimacy!
Today most “counseling” has taken the place of worship for many people. Why, because worship implies a need for forgiveness of sin, a relationship to God and much therapy today neglects this basic thing because that’s just the way folks like it.
Today the word “family” has a variety of meanings, most of which are “substitutes” for the real, necessary thing, and most of these new ‘choices’ leave children more at risk, more broken than ever before.
Even in churches today people are being offering everything but the real thing in Jesus Christ! “Let’s not talk about sin or our need for forgiveness, let’s not talk about getting right with God,” they say, “Let’s talk about everything else but that.” No crosses, just Easter joy, right? Remember, the Bible is very clear…to understand the real meaning of Easter, The “Resurrection Hope of Jesus,” one needs to remember that it was the “crucified One” Who was raised for us all.
We live in a world of fakes, facades, even more, a world of false bravado, false hopes. But that doesn’t explain why we “love them” more than Christ’s hope. We love the “counterfeit hopes” of this world because we don’t like the fact that having “hope born of Christ’s resurrection,” means we have to admit our need for forgiveness. As sinful people, that’s the one thing we will not do. We love the substitutes because it inebriates us with the false hope that maybe we can go it alone without God, without being accountable to Him. So we fashion false hopes, false loves, even false religion to maintain our sinful, self-centered, “me-centered” control. In the Bible, sin is not only breaking God’s commands, it’s also the rebellious attitude which tells the one who created and redeemed us, “We’ll go it alone without you.” It’s owning our TV remote for the “reality TV show” of our lives, and getting to call all the shots, even if it turns out eternally badly for us in the end.
We love the counterfeits! And that clouds our vision of what is valuable and what is not, temporally and eternally!
Jeffrey Kluger writes in a Time Magazine article, titled, “Why We Worry About the Things We Shouldn’t,” (Time magazine (12-4-06), p. 65-67), he says, As human beings, we pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk. Yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities-of building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones.We put filters on faucets, install air ionizers in our homes, and lather ourselves with antibacterial soap. At the same time, 20% of all adults still smoke; nearly 20 % of drivers and more than 30% of backseat passengers don’t use seatbelts; and 60% of us are overweight or obese.
He concludes, “Shadowed by peril” as we are, you would think we’d get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong.As sinful people who love “false hope” more than the real thing, You would also be wrong to think that people know where to find true hope on their own. And that is precisely why Peter’s outburst of praise is calling all people to not only receive the “Hope of Jesus, born of His resurrection,” but to live in this world “to bear this hope for others,” no matter the cost.
What a word of Hopeful Praise.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according to His abundant mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus.”
So, let’s be very clear today. The Resurrection Hope of Jesus is not just a call to reject the substitutes, the fakes, and facades; it’s not merely about rejecting what we don’t need or repenting about what we shouldn’t want. It’s more so about being overjoyed with what we do have by Faith in Him! It is, in view of God’s abundant, overflowing grace, about receiving, reveling, and rejoicing in the Hope that only Jesus Himself can give.
Have His Hope! It’s the only Hope that lasts. Have His Hope, it’s the only one that encourages, protects, and sustains us in all circumstances in this life.
Have His resurrection-born hope by faith. But, maybe you still can’t see it for yourself. Then keep looking in the Scripture with me today, for it is on display for all to see. The Resurrection of Jesus was not just a proclamation of Good Friday’s victory for all; it is also a demonstration of what humanity’s future is going to be for all those who trust in Christ. Jesus says, “Because I live, you will live also.” God’s action creates and sustains such hope!
See this “hope” on display at the end of every Gospel, whether in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Where Jesus, our Savior, is also the public example of what New Life, Your life is in Him. This is your future, now. Yes, the fullness of that Resurrection may be still in the future, but the certainty of it is now. Why, because Jesus Christ has already gone on ahead of you. He has already demonstrated what the end is for those who trust in Him.
This is a certain hope because it is born of His resurrection not of humanity’s wishful thinking or perceived expertise. Just as the Father raised the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit, so you too can walk in eternal newness of life! The day is coming when all of God’s people will be raised in the fullness of this living hope. There will be a day when there is no more sorrow, no more tears, no more wars, and no more fears. But the certainty of that fact is available to you through His faith-giving Word, today. To those who put their trust in Jesus, this eternal, undefiled, unfading inheritance is yours today as surely as Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! That gives us real hope!
But look even more closely with me. See such resurrection hope in action those days after that first Easter morning. See Jesus in action, seeking out the disciples to bless them. Immediately, He began to make appearances to all of His disciples, not for trickery or for side-show antics. No, He sought out His disciples with His “Resurrection Hope” and “His eternal inheritance” to strengthen and root their faith in real-present grace.
He brought His eternal peace to the tears of Mary. He brought confident faith to the doubts of Thomas. He emboldened the fearful and strengthened the weak. He even restored those who thought that they were beyond redemption.
Do you hear what is being said to you? Do you see what is on display for you? This life of the resurrected Jesus is your life, as His Gift to you. The power of His forgiving love, the power of His reconciling Presence is your gift not only for your life, but for the relationships you have in this world!
Just look.
His hope is on display for all to see, for you to receive. The “resurrection of Jesus” births a “living hope in us” because now we see clearly God’s love in action for us; now we see more clearly what our futures holds in and through Him! That’s so important. People sometimes foolishly say that “Christians are so focused on heaven that they’re of no earthly good.” But that’s not true. In fact, if you are certain of God’s eternal, heaven by faith in Jesus, and you know that God the Father Himself is guarding it and you by grace that empowers a person to live a “Resurrection Hope” life boldly right now.
In his book, “Hope Is Contagious,” pastor and former pro football player Ken Hutcherson shares his personal journey of facing a terminal illness with faith. In the process of battling cancer, he heard a story that reflects how we often lose hope in our trials. Hutcherson said, “A disturbing report hit the news about a little boy in Chicago who was shot and permanently disabled in a drive-by shooting. That fact alone is awful enough, but the reporter went on to say that everyone in the neighborhood knew who the shooter was, but no one came forward to identify him. The boy’s mother even acknowledged that she drove by the shooter’s house every day on the way to work. But what caught my attention were the words of an educator from Chicago who was interviewed by the reporter. The quote went something like this: ‘That’s what happens when people lose hope. You don’t think things will get better, so you just give up.'”
Hutcherson said, “I don’t want to see anyone give up hope, especially when hope is so readily within our grasp. Whether you’re walking the streets of inner-city Chicago or sitting at your kitchen table, no tragedy can dim the hope that comes from knowing that God will walk with you through the valley and that his presence will give you peace.”
Well, if I’m reading Peter’s epistle correctly today, incredibly it says that and more. This hope is more than within our grasp, it’s literally reaching out to grasp you, to rebirth you. This hope today is moving through the words of the Scripture calling your heart to faith.
And, this hope is on display even through the lives of “Hope-filled” believers, calling others to faith in Jesus through loving service, or strength in trial. See that hope on display in the neighborhoods that are being redeemed and restored through the Good News of Jesus Christ. See that hope on display when broken relationships are restored by the reconciliation and redemption that only Christ’s hope can bring. See that hope on display, when people begin to realize that one’s worth is not dependant on bank accounts or notoriety, but on one’s faith relationship to the One Who created and redeemed you as if you were the only person in this world.
Christian recording artist Carolyn Arends shared a unique Easter insight, passed along to her from her pastor. She writes: A couple years ago, during a jubilant Easter service, our pastor said something that stopped me in my mental tracks. He said, “The world offers promises full of emptiness.
But Easter offers emptiness full of promise.”Empty cross, empty tomb, empty grave-clothes “. all full of promise. If I were writing the
Easter story, I don’t think I’d choose emptiness as my symbolic gesture. But then, I also wouldn’t be talking about strength being made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), foolish things confounding the wise (1 Corinthians 1 :27), the meek inheriting the earth
(Matthew 5:5), or the poor in spirit getting the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3). And I certainly wouldn’t be talking about dying in order to live.She continues: What is it about God that makes Him so favor this kind of paradox? I guess this is what we should expect from the Servant King-the God who decided that the best way to save the world was to let it kill Him. I don’t understand the way God thinks. But on those days when I feel hollowed out and broken-half-dead, even-it makes me glad to remember that for Easter people, even death is full of promise.”
Peter wrote this passage to those who were most likely suffering for their faith under Nero’s persecution. Nero set fire to Rome and made the pious believers the arch enemy of the state. I guess when your “false hopes” don’t come to fruition; blame the ones who possess The Real Thing. Peter reminds these believers, even then, that this world can’t steal your hope in Christ. It’s a “Resurrection Hope” that sees through the suffering. It’s a “Resurrection Hope” that sees through the persecution. It’s a “Resurrection Hope” that lives through death itself because death couldn’t hold our Savior Jesus, so it can’t hold those who put their faith and hope in Him!
This hope elicits a “Blessed be God” in all circumstances, for the believer in Jesus Christ knows God’s forgiveness as a gift through Christ, knows God’s love as a reality in Christ, and knows God’s future inheritance as a certain promise of Christ.
“Blessed be God” is the “Resurrection-Hope” attitude for every moment of our lives. I think that the Christian believers in Tanzania have it right on this. I have heard that they have a unique custom at Easter; when they sing or shout “Hallelujah,” they do it as a laugh, shouting ‘Hallelujah, ha ha ha!” It’s an expression not only of joy, but of their confidence that the power of God evident in the resurrection of Jesus frees them to laugh in the face of anything that threatens to defeat them!
Such hope can face any circumstance. “Resurrection hope” means that the struggles and pains of this world are temporary, or even that such trials have eternal purpose. There are some things that are worth living and dying for still. Resurrection hope means that even when the way appears too hard or too long God Himself has already walked this way before us and He will see us through to “His and our resurrection end” Wow!
So, the next time you are feeling “hopeless” and you think that your life is out of control, or going nowhere. Remember the “Resurrection Hope” that is being offered to you today.
Or as our Tanzanian Christian brothers and sisters might say, “He is risen, He is risen
indeed, Hallelujah, HA, HA, HA.” By His Spirit, have His hope, accept no substitutes, and let Christ’s certain inheritance for you, let it empower your lives with a “Resurrection Hope” that will sustain you in this life and in your eternal life to come in Him. Amen!LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
May 1,2011
Topic: Is it necessary to believe in Jesus’ literal resurrection?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer and today we’re talking about the Resurrection.
SELTZ: And, I think it’s perfect timing, too, Mark. I was hoping we’d talk about today.
ANNOUNCER: One of our listeners writes, “I like the message that’s preached on the Lutheran Hour, but do you “have” to believe in Jesus’ literal Resurrection in order to be a Christian? That seems very hard to believe nowadays.” How would you answer this listener?
SELTZ: Well, first of all, I would share with our listener that the question is more than whether a person “has to” believe in the Resurrection, it’s that, but it’s even more.
ANNOUNCER: What do you mean by that?
SELTZ: Well, it’s not just “that” it happened. It’s that it happened for you and it’s that you “get to” believe in the One who died and rose for you.
ANNOUNCER: So, it sounds like the “teaching” about the Resurrection is also a teaching about having a relationship with God through what Jesus Christ has done.
SELTZ: Yeah, exactly. In fact, this teaching about Jesus’ literal Resurrection, it is a foundational teaching for the Christian faith for sure, but it’s also an “offer” from God Himself about your life with Him. Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also” and He meant it.
ANNOUNCER: In other words, Jesus linking our resurrection with His. So the whole SELTZ: Absolutely. Remember Jesus told His disciples several times that He would have to suffer, die, and that He would rise again. So, the Resurrection was clearly part of His plan. Also, the Bible is very clear Jesus was crucified for our sins, and that “He was raised (from the dead) for our justification,” or as we say, our forgiveness before God the Father. So, no Resurrection of Jesus, no Good News of the Gospel, or, as Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
ANNOUNCER: Without Jesus’ resurrection then, that whole message falls apart. There’s no message at all, really.
SELTZ: Yeah, that’s right!
ANNOUNCER: Didn’t you also say, though, that it’s not just about “whether” the Resurrection took place but also what it means for us?
SELTZ: Yeah, and I think that’s the best part. This just isn’t a question, “did it happen or didn’t it happen?” The real question is, “Now that it has, what does that mean for us?” Remember why Christians even began to worship on Sunday?
ANNOUNCER: Well, Sunday was the day of Christ’s resurrection, is there more to it?
SELTZ: Yeah, I think it’s about the day for sure, but it’s also about what His resurrection meant for them. If you think about it, those early Christians, Jesus’ resurrection was so compelling, so overwhelming that they moved their worship day to Sunday in celebration. So, if you think about it, what they were saying is “Sunday is the first day of the new creation, the eternal 8th day,” all just because Jesus rose from the dead.
ANNOUNCER: So, it’s not just that their day of worship had changed, their whole sense of reality was different, their lives were changed as well?
SELTZ: Right. That’s right, because when you think about it, when the Resurrected Lord Jesus is on your side, that changes how a person sees everything! So, those first disciples who saw Him face to face were forever changed.
ANNOUNCER: In what ways?
SELTZ: Well, just think about the emotional rollercoaster they were on. Jesus’ death had to crush them. I’m not even sure we can imagine their disappointment and discouragement. Also remember Peter said, “Lord, we’ve left everything for you.” And on Good Friday, they lost Him too. All that changed because they had “seen the Lord” raised from the dead just as He said.
ANNOUNCER: And does Jesus’ literal, physical Resurrection have that same hope and meaning for us today?
SELTZ: I think so. If you think about it, if the resurrected Lord was alive for them, He is still alive for us and that means everything. So, because He is alive, we can trust in His word. Because He is alive, our greatest enemies, sin, death, and even Satan himself has been overcome. And this is even better because He is alive, we can be confident that our future is secure in Him.
ANNOUNCER: So, Christ’s resurrection means that in Him, we can be confident not only for today, but for every day.
SELTZ: I don’t think I could have said that better myself. But, remember this, Jesus also says, “Lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age,” Well, we get to receive those words as a “literal” blessing too.
ANOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Seltz. “He is risen indeed,” may those words mean more to us each and every day. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia” arr. James Kosnik & J. Michael McMahon. Concordia Publishing House
“The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)