Open Grave, Open Hearts
Sermon
From This Day Forward
First Lesson Sermons For Lent/Easter
As the Cadillac owner walked to his car, he saw a boy about ten years old staring intently through the windows. Wondering what he was up to, the man put his hands on the youngster's shoulders, pulled gently and asked him what he was doing. The boy said he was interested in cars and had read a lot about different models. The owner talked with the boy for a while explaining to him details about this particular model and style.
After a little while, the boy asked, "Mister, how much did you pay for this car?" The man replied, "Nothing. My brother gave it to me." The boy responded, "I wish ..." but stopped without finishing. The man chuckled, "You were going to say, 'I wish I had a brother like that.'"
"No, I was going to say, 'I wish I could be a brother like that.' You see, sir, I have a brother who is crippled and I'd like to do a lot of things for him."
Our text says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had."
Jesus is alive! Christ is risen! The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
A sermon on giving at Easter time? I thought that was an emphasis for fall. Why not now? Giving should be our response to Jesus' life, death, and life again. Not just replanting lilies in the garden, dry-cleaning your suit to store for next year, or finding places to store egg baskets and that elusive green and pink grass. The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
Note that in the middle of our assigned text, there is emphasis on preaching by the disciples about the living Jesus and "much grace was upon them!" Sounds like our worship services on Saturdays and Sundays. Jesus is present in his Word and Sacraments, so there is grace present. But isn't it interesting that these words on the Word and divine favor are sandwiched between verses on giving, sharing, selling goods -- all to help those in need?
How did the people of Jerusalem and Palestine know that Jesus really was alive? There were more than 5,000 followers of the Way by then. But it wasn't only by the testifying of the apostles. It wasn't only by the joy on the faces of Thomas and Bartholomew. It wasn't only the empty tomb and not only the power the Risen Lord gave to the disciples at Pentecost. Above all else, the living Jesus was demonstrated by their giving spirit, their care for the less fortunate!
A man complained to his pastor, "I've been listening to your sermons and to our leaders at church and what you are asking us to do here and in our community is getting to be just one continuous 'give, give, give.' " To which the pastor replied, "Say, that's one of the best descriptions of Christianity I've ever heard!"
The early Church understood this. Our society has lost much of what the early Church had, including the desire to find a need and fill it, especially in the social ministry area. This text does not promote communism or bringing everyone down to the lowest level or even equal levels. It does promote taking care of others in the name of Jesus. The early Church was a small family. They were misunderstood and considered a sect. Even with the grace of God upon them, they had to stick together. So, "from time to time" they sold lands and property. Though not forced to, they did so once in a while. They didn't give all their money to a common pot. Their unity was expressed in reaching out, in thinking of others. It wasn't dinners or proclamations or cliques that they were known for (though that would have been easy) but for helping the community of believers.
What if they had not done this as the apostles testified? What if they had not responded to the grace upon them? Would people have believed? The grave was opened. Now their hearts and hands were open!
What about us? Do people see God for who he really is by what they see in you and me? Or are we more like cute, adorable, and selfish children who want their things when they want them? The following is a Toddler's Creed, by an unknown author:
If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you, and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it way from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it is mine!
Or do we do grown-up things like the notorious miser who was called on by the chairman of the community charity? "Sir," said the fund-raiser, "our records show that despite your wealth, you've never once given to our drive."
"Do your records show that I have an elderly mother who was left penniless when my father died?" fumed the tightwad. "Do your records show that I have a disabled brother who is unable to work? Do your records show that I have a widowed sister with small children who can barely make ends meet?"
"No, sir," replied the embarrassed volunteer. "Our records don't show those things."
"Well, I don't give to any of them, so why should I give anything to you?"
Or do we know the truth of Saint Paul's encouragement to the church in Corinth in this second letter about a giving heart? "But just as you excel in everything -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us -- see that you also excel in this grace of giving ... for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (8:7, 9).
When Jesus gets ahold of our life and we know the power of his resurrection, we act like he did: giving and serving, not being served. In fact, the Holy Spirit in response to an open heart can enable us to give not only money to the church, bread and canned goods to the local pantry, and our muscle to build Habitat for Humanity homes, but also our very lives so that others may know the Crucified and Risen Christ. Some people will never come to know Jesus until they see us getting down and dirty for them, giving up some of our comforts (as the Lord calls us). Then they will finally see Jesus-with-skin-on. Not even our homes and property are to be more important than the opportunities to show the resurrected Jesus to a dying world. "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).
How can I share my Easter faith this week with someone in need? Where is grace upon us as a congregation that would enable us to reach out more than we are already doing? How can we fulfill the two great commands of our Resurrected Lord to love God with all that is within us and to love our neighbor as ourselves?
It's just one big "give, give, give," pastor! Yes, it is, when you know Jesus and all he's given us: forgiveness, release from fear of death, abundant life, power over the devil, peace, and joy! He lives! We give! We live and give for him!
Ruth Peterson reached out her door to get her mail. A very plain looking envelope caught her attention first. It had no return address. Inside it was a one page letter with these few words written on it: "Dear Ruth, I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit." And it was signed, "Love always, Jesus."
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on her kitchen table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents: $5.40. "Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk. That left Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless she felt happy as she headed home, her meager offering tucked under her arm.
"Hey, lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plan, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway, a man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags. "Look, lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to. "Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to him."
"Yeah, well, okay, lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food? I'll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag. "Thank you, lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. "You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one?" Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back down the street ... without her coat and nothing to serve her guest.
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
"Dear Ruth, it was good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat. Love always, Jesus."
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
Jesus is alive! Christ is risen! The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
After a little while, the boy asked, "Mister, how much did you pay for this car?" The man replied, "Nothing. My brother gave it to me." The boy responded, "I wish ..." but stopped without finishing. The man chuckled, "You were going to say, 'I wish I had a brother like that.'"
"No, I was going to say, 'I wish I could be a brother like that.' You see, sir, I have a brother who is crippled and I'd like to do a lot of things for him."
Our text says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had."
Jesus is alive! Christ is risen! The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
A sermon on giving at Easter time? I thought that was an emphasis for fall. Why not now? Giving should be our response to Jesus' life, death, and life again. Not just replanting lilies in the garden, dry-cleaning your suit to store for next year, or finding places to store egg baskets and that elusive green and pink grass. The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
Note that in the middle of our assigned text, there is emphasis on preaching by the disciples about the living Jesus and "much grace was upon them!" Sounds like our worship services on Saturdays and Sundays. Jesus is present in his Word and Sacraments, so there is grace present. But isn't it interesting that these words on the Word and divine favor are sandwiched between verses on giving, sharing, selling goods -- all to help those in need?
How did the people of Jerusalem and Palestine know that Jesus really was alive? There were more than 5,000 followers of the Way by then. But it wasn't only by the testifying of the apostles. It wasn't only by the joy on the faces of Thomas and Bartholomew. It wasn't only the empty tomb and not only the power the Risen Lord gave to the disciples at Pentecost. Above all else, the living Jesus was demonstrated by their giving spirit, their care for the less fortunate!
A man complained to his pastor, "I've been listening to your sermons and to our leaders at church and what you are asking us to do here and in our community is getting to be just one continuous 'give, give, give.' " To which the pastor replied, "Say, that's one of the best descriptions of Christianity I've ever heard!"
The early Church understood this. Our society has lost much of what the early Church had, including the desire to find a need and fill it, especially in the social ministry area. This text does not promote communism or bringing everyone down to the lowest level or even equal levels. It does promote taking care of others in the name of Jesus. The early Church was a small family. They were misunderstood and considered a sect. Even with the grace of God upon them, they had to stick together. So, "from time to time" they sold lands and property. Though not forced to, they did so once in a while. They didn't give all their money to a common pot. Their unity was expressed in reaching out, in thinking of others. It wasn't dinners or proclamations or cliques that they were known for (though that would have been easy) but for helping the community of believers.
What if they had not done this as the apostles testified? What if they had not responded to the grace upon them? Would people have believed? The grave was opened. Now their hearts and hands were open!
What about us? Do people see God for who he really is by what they see in you and me? Or are we more like cute, adorable, and selfish children who want their things when they want them? The following is a Toddler's Creed, by an unknown author:
If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you, and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it way from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it is mine!
Or do we do grown-up things like the notorious miser who was called on by the chairman of the community charity? "Sir," said the fund-raiser, "our records show that despite your wealth, you've never once given to our drive."
"Do your records show that I have an elderly mother who was left penniless when my father died?" fumed the tightwad. "Do your records show that I have a disabled brother who is unable to work? Do your records show that I have a widowed sister with small children who can barely make ends meet?"
"No, sir," replied the embarrassed volunteer. "Our records don't show those things."
"Well, I don't give to any of them, so why should I give anything to you?"
Or do we know the truth of Saint Paul's encouragement to the church in Corinth in this second letter about a giving heart? "But just as you excel in everything -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us -- see that you also excel in this grace of giving ... for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (8:7, 9).
When Jesus gets ahold of our life and we know the power of his resurrection, we act like he did: giving and serving, not being served. In fact, the Holy Spirit in response to an open heart can enable us to give not only money to the church, bread and canned goods to the local pantry, and our muscle to build Habitat for Humanity homes, but also our very lives so that others may know the Crucified and Risen Christ. Some people will never come to know Jesus until they see us getting down and dirty for them, giving up some of our comforts (as the Lord calls us). Then they will finally see Jesus-with-skin-on. Not even our homes and property are to be more important than the opportunities to show the resurrected Jesus to a dying world. "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).
How can I share my Easter faith this week with someone in need? Where is grace upon us as a congregation that would enable us to reach out more than we are already doing? How can we fulfill the two great commands of our Resurrected Lord to love God with all that is within us and to love our neighbor as ourselves?
It's just one big "give, give, give," pastor! Yes, it is, when you know Jesus and all he's given us: forgiveness, release from fear of death, abundant life, power over the devil, peace, and joy! He lives! We give! We live and give for him!
Ruth Peterson reached out her door to get her mail. A very plain looking envelope caught her attention first. It had no return address. Inside it was a one page letter with these few words written on it: "Dear Ruth, I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit." And it was signed, "Love always, Jesus."
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on her kitchen table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents: $5.40. "Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk. That left Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless she felt happy as she headed home, her meager offering tucked under her arm.
"Hey, lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plan, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway, a man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags. "Look, lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to. "Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to him."
"Yeah, well, okay, lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food? I'll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag. "Thank you, lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. "You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one?" Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back down the street ... without her coat and nothing to serve her guest.
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
"Dear Ruth, it was good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat. Love always, Jesus."
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
Jesus is alive! Christ is risen! The grave is open; so also are our hearts and hands!
