March Madness

Happy Easter everyone! (Welcome to everyone in Auburn @ Westcott, Online)

There is no time of year like March Madness!

Absolute best!

I love March Madness -

Although SU not in it on the men’s side - so sad - was soo good watching the women’s team… -

You know what’s so great about March Madness - dreams come to life - the down and out - the team that’s not supposed to win…

David and Goliath

Underdog

… defies the competition. Folks no one ever has heard of… surprise us at the buzzer.

It’s a Cinderella story - the girl who grows up in utter poverty - in utter rejection - surprises all of the other bachelorettes and is chosen by the king - ascends to the throne

This year the story of March Madness is…

Oakland and Jack Gohlke - so much fun to watch!

no division 1 offers

5 seasons at a division 2 schools

doordash and uber on the side.

10 - 3 pointers and they beat Kentucky Wildcats- a team that deserves to lose. - reminded me of Steph Curry and Davidson’s run in 2008

As March Madness began - I found myself looking at my phone a lot! I couldn’t wait to get home and turn the TV on - I subscribed to HBO Max so i could watch all the games.

stayed up way too late during those first rounds - and it’s so good because the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight are this weekend.

(pull up Highlight reels on phone)

I’m tempted to watch Highlights right now…

The way that I am about March Madness - Christians all around the world are about Easter. This weekend billions of people will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

growing up - I’d wake up and try to find the easter basket hidden around the house.

get dressed up to the 9’s

Easter dinner with the family

Easter Egg hunts

candy and celebration

It’s kind of weird though…why do we do it?

What’s all the madness about?

What’s the big deal about Easter?

Easter is the day that Christians have commemorated - ever since the birth of the early church - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

He was crucified on Friday - and rose from the dead on Sunday.

The Apostle Paul - one of the early leaders of the Christian faith explains in a letter to the Christian church what this event of the resurrection of Jesus was all about.

1 Corinthians 15:1–6 (NIV)

1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

Paul believed that the event of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead

Really happened - Jesus was raised bodily from the dead - eating, breathing, hugging, cooking, talking Jesus

That this event is the single most ground-shaking event in all of history - the world changed

Acts 26:24 (NIV)

24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”

However, many of us… might say… Paul - maybe you are a bit crazy - maybe you’ve gotten caught up in the excitement - maybe you are a mentally ill? - maybe you have gone “mad?”

I mean, come on Paul… Resurrection didn’t really happen - dead people don’t come back to life. - they stay dead.

Kind of a nice story for children. -like the Easter Bunny - it’s a beautiful myth

it’s a wonderful metaphor - spring - caterpillar - goes into its cocoon and emerges a butterfly

Or…in the age of Fake News - someone made it up

They were primitive - if they had had the kind of science - knowledge that we have - they’d know.

even if it’s true - it happened a long time ago - doesn’t impact me today-

Folks who think this way have drunk the Kool-aid. they’re ignorant of the facts.

There’s this moment in the Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe - an allegory of the crucifixion and resurrection story -where Susan and Lucy Aslan as the Christ figure - the resurrected Aslan appears to the children…

“Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad.

“Aren’t you dead then, dear Aslan?” said Lucy.

“Not now,” Said Aslan.

“You’re not - not a —?” asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ghost.

I think there’s something else that factors in here for why people would think that the Resurrection is March Madness…

It appears at the end of the scene in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe we just read…

“You’re not - not a —?” asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ghost.

Aslan stooped his golden head and licked her forehead. The warmth of his breath and a rich sort of smell that seemed to hang about his hair came all over her.

“Do I look it?” he said.

“Oh, you’re real, you’re real! Oh,, Aslan!” cried Lucy, and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.

“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.

Again N.T. Wright wrote:

“Sometimes human beings - individuals or communities - are confronted with something that they must reject outright or that, if they accept it, will demand the remaking of their worldview.”

I think the reason that many of us would rather just leave the resurrection story as just another myth - another Easter Bunny story - is we are afraid of what it means.

But today… for a couple of minutes… I’d like to explore the question that Susan asks: “What does it all mean?

If Jesus was resurrected from the dead - if he really died bodily and then was raised to life bodily - and appeared to over 500 eyewitnesses - many of whom were still alive when the New Testament was written…

- What does it all mean?

If Jesus was raised from the dead

It Changes Everything:

1 Corinthians 15:12–14 (NIV)

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

Ya’ll are right… if Christ was just raised metaphorically - there’s no point to this whole religion thing. - “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we will die.”

But the opposite is also true - Paul says that is Christ was resurrected - if he really was brought into the tomb a dead person on Friday - and walked out of the tomb an alive person on Sunday am… then everything changes.

“Our preaching is useful - and so is your faith.”

1 Corinthians 15:20 (NIV)

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…

In what ways do things change?

1. Our sin is forgiven.

I was a huge punk growing up (anyone else?)… went to visit a friend in Maryland when i was like 15… - staying at his home on Sunday am… this school bus pulled up - this church was picking people up in this neighborhood to go to church. - this guy was going and knocking on the different doors in the neighborhood - he knocked on the door - such a jerk - started giving him the run-around -

“why would I go to church?” - he expains that I could get to know Jesus and my sins would be forgiven.

grew up in church - went to Christian school - this word “sin” had lost the entirety of its meaning for me… so again… I’m being a jerk - “What is sin?” - my friends and I burst out laughing - we shut the door on his face. “Father forgive me.”

What is sin?

You and I were created by God to live in a way that pleases him - that points towards him - that is kind and caring towards others - that lives out purpose - belonging.

whenever we fall short of this ideal - we would be doing what the authors of the Bible describes as “sin”

We violate the way we’ve been made.

the way that I treated that man that day - that was sin - objectifying him - using his life for our own pleasure - demeaning him

I was sinning.

You and I… if we are honest with ourselves mess up every day…

we ignore our kids when they are talking with us

we don’t take care of God’s creation

we get angry with someone in traffic

we entertain the idea of cheating on our spouse with a co-worker

we bully someone by making fun of them behind their back

we don’t take the opportunity to help someone we know we should

Each one of these seemingly small things - falls way short of what God has for us = sin

1 Corinthians 15:17 NIV

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

If the resurrection didn’t happen - welp - good luck - there’s nothing to be done. That’s life -

the worst thing that you’ve done - that’s life… you’re just a bad person

that thing that was done to you - you can go to therapy - but really - there’s nothing else I can tell you.

But if Christ has been raised - look at what Paul says:

1 Corinthians 15:3 NIV

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

That can be yours today. You can accept what he did for you… and everything that you’ve ever done wrong - everything you hold over your own head - can be forgiven.

2ndly: How does it change everything?

2. We get purpose.

Paul says something deeply profound in this chapter -

1 Corinthians 15:32 (NIV)

If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Paul says that there is a way that we live if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead - and our culture is full of this:

“don’t judge me.” “i do what I want”.

“I’ll live however I want.” “I’ll live for myself” “i’m going to get mine.”

Do you know how this type of living is leaving us?

15% of our youth aged 12 - 17 are clinically depressed.

drug and alcohol abuse and addiction is rampant - 48 million people have a Substance Abuse Disorder

Syracuse = 2nd highest level of childhood poverty

But look at what Paul says is the solution…

If the dead are raised - there’s a future - here - on this earth -

In the future when Christ returns - the New Heaven and New Earth will be here - and we will be alive - our bodies will be raised from the dead

gives importance to everything we do

every interaction we have - with people we don’t even know - and people we deeply care about

every way we treat Creation,

every meal we give out to someone who’s hungry. every act of justice we enact.

There’s so much more that the Resurrection gives us… I don’t have more time… Finally -

3. There’s Eternal Life

Look at how Aslan responds to Susan when she asks:

“But what does it all mean?”

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards…”

Death itself working backwards. Death itself - broken.

So many of us dread the idea of dying…

“Will anyone remember me?”

“What will I leave as my legacy?”

“What will I do with my regrets?”

What will happen to me?

Look at what Paul says…

1 Corinthians 15:42–44 (NIV)

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (a body that is powered by The Spirit)…

This is isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of all eternity - it’s the start of something.

Again, listen to what Paul says in his next letter to the Corinthian church:

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

In fact! the reality is - Paul says - that if you accept the gift that God is giving you in the resurrection of Jesus -

The future life breaks into this current reality - you don’t have to wait until you’re dead to start living this reality…we can begin to live the new life today.

There’s this ancient practice of symbolizing this reality - called Baptism - going to be having one at the end of April - we go under the water - buried with Christ - come out - we are raised with Christ - symbolizing the fact that we begin to live this new reality right now.

Today… Easter 2024, I want to give you an opportunity to take a hold of this reality.

Paul says - that Christ died for our sins… according to the Scripture.

The Easter reality is this: that Jesus, God in flesh, came into this world to pursue relationship with you… to reconcile us to himself - so that we might be able to live the life we were always meant to live.

Easter reality: this same Jesus - is alive today and is leaning in… he’s been pursuing you your entire life and desires to bring life where there’s death in your life.

I’d like to give you that opportunity right now: Everyone close your eyes (at the sites)

If you would like to accept this reality - I am going to lead you through a conversation - you can repeat after me in the quietness of your heart - nothing magical about these words -

Action Step: