as I contemplate the Easter service on Sunday, I am trying to express how the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ frees us to act in new ways. WE are no longer bound by our worldly expectations, our sinfulness, or even death iteslf.
here are some thoughts racing through my mind as I work on the sermon.
1. If we die and are raised with Christ, in Christ--how then ought we to live? Much of the letter to the Colossians is taken up with contemplating these questions. The author reminds his readers that the "earthly" way that they have lived is not adequate to their current existence in Christ. Examples of the old existence (e.g., Colossians 3:5--10) contrast sharply with doxologies such as this one, which celebrate the opportunities of the new life.
Commentators often note that this passage (3:1--4) begins the "exhortation" section of the letter to the Colossians. Up to this point, the tone of the letter has been primarily one of instruction, telling the believers in Colossae what they need to know--or, perhaps more to the point, reminding them of their former instruction in the light of conflicting teaching that they have recently received. Now, however, the tone shifts to a hortatory one. The verbs become imperatives, or other verb forms that carry imperatival force. Like other New Testament letters that contain a section of instruction followed by a section of exhortation, Colossians is a directive to its readers both to know and to do. Both are necessary in the Christian life. Sandra Hack Polaski; Commentary on Colossians 3:1-4
2. Joseph Harvard, III: ""Barbara Brown Taylor points out how extraordinary the Easter claim is that God has raised Jesus from the dead ("Dust to Dust" The Christian Century, 3/27/02, p. 32). This is not a message that we could have ever imagined. It is not the natural turn of events, business as usual, what we expect. People who die stay dead! That is the way the world functions. Now we have to stand up and bear witness to a different reality. It is not our task to explain something taht defies conventional wisdom and reality." ( Journal of Preachers, "Preaching the Easter Texts: Can I Get a Witness," Easter, 2014, p.3) Harvard goes on to tell the story of how Martin Luther King, Jr. "felt the anxiety of delivering the most important speech of his life. He had his "Dream" speech, but hut his adviors had told him not to use it, so he worked ona fresh analysis of the sitaution faced by Afriacn American seeking fredom and jusice in our country. MLK, Jr. had just begun his speech when Hahalia Jackson, who was sitting on the podium near Dr., King, shouted out: "Tell the about the Dream, Mart! Tell them about the dream!" So he launched into his "I Have a Dream" speech.
The story that has been told since that day has Mahalia Jackson intervening at a critical junction when she decided King's speech needed a course-correction. Recalling a theme she had heard him use in earlier speeches, Jackson said out loud to Martin Luther King, Jr., from behind the podium on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, "Tell them about the dream, Martin." And at that moment, as can be seen in films of the speech, Dr. King leaves his prepared notes behind to improvise the entire next section of his speech—the historic section that famously begins "And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream...." http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mahalia-jackson-the-queen-of-gospel-puts-her-stamp-on-the-march-on-washington
3. People often ask me (as well as other minsters) "You must be relieved Easter is over." I know what they mean. The extra activities of HOly Week and the energy put into arguably the biggest service of the year are done. But Easter is not over when the last trumpet sounds in the postlude. Easter is the beginning!
4. Barbara Brown Taylor discusses why the followers of Chirst were scared by the empty tomb. she notes these reasons: they were scared because they knew how to act in the face of death, but they didn't know how to react to an empty tomb. they were scared becuase they had ralized at his death that they didn't have to do, believe or hope anymore that radical message Jesus preached, but now they are not let off the hook. They were scared becuase if they were united in Christ, then they were connected to his resurrection and there was nothing that could hold them back (the Easter sermon she preached in April 16,2006, at Cannon Chapel , Emory University, as shared in Jouranl for preachers, Easter, 2008, p. 13)
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