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Sermon:
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Growing up, Easter was a very important day. It was the important day. We always spent it together as a family. Even when I went off to college, every year I was asked to come home. Even when I began working for the church, my family made the trek to come be with me for Easter. In fact the one year I wasn't able to with my family for Easter morning, I flew over to be with them that afternoon.
Easter was like a pilgrimage. Whether it was me or the rest of my family, one of us would always make the journey to be together and to worship together.
Last year, I remember speaking to many of our visitors. The expectation we often have is that many at Easter are members who are returning after some time to celebrate this special day with us, and I'm sure for many last year as well as this year that was the case. But many I noticed were family and extended family of faithful worshippers, making their pilgrimage to be with their family once again.
Pilgrimage is always about seeking something. We don't just journey somewhere to do; we journey to look for something. We journey to gain something.
Easter is such a special day because it is where we can find the ultimate thing we are all looking for. Whether or not you believe in sin, whether or not you believe people are good or bad, or maybe somewhere in the middle, each and every one of us has made a mistake or two in our lives. Each and every one of us has done something we wish we hadn't.
There are times for all of us when we wish something could be different, or that maybe we could be more like that ideal version of ourself who doesn't struggle as much as we do. What we are looking for is transformation in our lives. What we are really looking for is healing.
In looking for a transformative and healing event, we don't have to look any further than the events we celebrate this morning. This past week, we remembered Jesus' death on the Cross. His dead body was there, laying in a tomb. And then, in the wee hours of the morning, Jesus emerges triumphant. Jesus is no longer dead. He is alive and well.
And in rising, Jesus has transformed the course of all things. Those things that we wish we could change, those things that we regret, and those things that keep us from God, we no longer have let those things have a hold over us. We can let those things die in us while we still live. Because of the Resurrection, we too can rise to new life through Jesus. The old is dying away. We are now being made new.
We no longer have to be afraid of those things that destroy us. Whether it is sin, doubt, insecurities, our flaws, our failures, or our fear itself, these things no longer can harm us. Though our bodies may die and though our past selves may die, we will rise again. We will be made new. We have hope in this, the Resurrection, because Jesus has done it before. He has shown us the way.
There is a lot of fear and uncertainty beyond these walls. There is a lot in the world to be anxious about. But Jesus alleviates our fears, because He gives us the assurance that not even death will have the last word. All will be well because Christ Jesus has made all things well. All will be well because all is transformed and made new in our Lord Jesus. All we have to do is stretch our arms out and let Jesus take us back in to be with Him.
We are all on a journey. We are all looking for something. That is what life is about. Everyone of you here made a pilgrimage to be here today, whether you attend weekly, monthly, or yearly and whether you are a long-time member or visiting your family. Everyone of you came here for some reason.
Maybe you were looking for healing or transformation in your lives. Maybe you wanted some assurance that all will be okay. Maybe you were looking for something in your life that you didn't have words for until now.
In the end, everyone of us is really looking for hope, specifically hope for the future. I'm here today to tell you you've found it. Because the ultimate hope we are looking for is in Jesus and His Resurrection. He is the hope that all things will be made better. He is the hope that no matter what befalls us, it's going to be okay.
I hope that your pilgrimage here today has been fruitful. If the gift of grace and hope and love is what you've been looking for, then please know you don't have to leave it here today. Each and every week through our words, our worship, and our reading of Scripture, we talk about the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Every week, we speak of and act out His love for us and His desire to bring us back to be in relationship with God, with Him, once again. If you've found hope in the Resurrection this morning, you don't have to leave it here. Come back next week. You'll hear more about our hope in Jesus then.