Concordia Lutheran Church – Cerritos, Ca , at dawn on Easter Sunday

(if you would like to hear the message and the service, please go to bit.ly/concordiacerritos )

Your Encounter with Jesus
Revealed to All!
Colossians 3:1-4

† In Jesus Name †

May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ convince you that because Jesus has risen, you have risen indeed!

Getting called to the front of the class

There are two types of people in the world.

The first type is the kind that is scared to get called up to the front of the class because it means they are in trouble again.  Or called on in the midst of the sermon… which I can’t do today.

The second type is the kind that is scared of being called up in front of the class period. They don’t like to be in the spotlight, and they are usually more upset when you call on them to praise them, than if they are in trouble.

Either way – most people don’t like being the center of attention.  And yet in today’s epistle lesson, every believer is going to find themselves in the center of attention. You will be in the spotlight!

Isn’t this about Jesus?

You may be saying, wait – this Is Easter, it is supposed to be about Jesus being the center of attention!  It is about the fact that Alleluia! He is Risen! (He Is Risen Indeed – and therefore We are risen Indeed!)

Did you hear that last part?

Now hear how Paul describes this,

⁴  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory!

This idea that because Jesus has risen, so have we leads to that thought.  We won’t be sitting in the nosebleed section of heaven, nor will we be in the kitchen, or outback mowing the lawn.

We will be there, sharing In His glory.  The term in Greek means to be in the focus of the lights. Yes this is all about Him, and yet the reason it is, is because He is bringing us home!

The Struggle with not seeing ourselves the way God does!

Whether we are type 1 or type 2, the idea of being in the spotlight with Jesus might seem more than a little crazy, it might seem downright insane.

For the first type, the type always getting themselves in trouble, there is a more than a little fear that maybe God will figure out the mistake that was made, that let us into heaven in the first place.  Peter didn’t have a bookkeeper like Sandie, so there was an error that wasn’t caught, and that’s why we are there!

We know we are sinners, it is just a matter of time before we are caught. We think right now that we don’t belong, we are not good enough.

And the type two person may not see themselves as evil and rotten, but they don’t see themselves as anything spectacular, noting essential.

Sin robs us of the truth.

Even the sin we know has been forgiven, seems to leave a shadow hanging over us, convincing us that we might get into heaven, only because of technicality – Jesus had to forgive us, so we get the seats furthest out…

I wonder if that is why Lutherans like the seats in the back of the room?

You will share in His glory!

Seriously, we have to get used to this idea – that God did save us, that Christ didn’t die so that we could be stashed in some back corner of heaven.

He saved us to spend eternity with us.

(And that is a lot longer than a pandemic’s stay at home order)
God’s desire is not that we become some kind of audience in heaven, nor His fanbase.

We died with Jesus in Baptism so that we could rise to live with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, forever.

That is what faith is, waiting to see Him, to see our real life revealed in Christ Jesus in heaven.

Jesus didn’t die just to save us from our sins, he died for this life to be created, for us to live with Him.  I love how Psalm 68 describes it

¹⁸ You have climbed the heights of heavens, having taken captivity captive, you have taken men as tribute, even rebels that Yahweh God might have a dwelling-place with them.   Psalm 68:18

Jesus, having died, burst through the gates of hell, and taken His ransom.

A ransom of people to call His own.

He broke down the walls of hell to rescue you and me,,, to bring us to the Father. That is why Hebrews say this,

¹⁹  So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. ^{20   21   22}  So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. ²³  Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.
Hebrews 10:19-23 (MSG)

A promise that you will share in His glory, for He is risen Indeed Alleluia… and therefore… you are risen indeed ALLELUIA!