God’s grace, peace
and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Debt Free and my focus is our
Gospel (John 20:1-18). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I
rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”[1] Now that our feet are
within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit
enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we
pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Chris and Dana
step to the microphone. Four years after incurring $80,000 of debt from student
loans, credit cards, two cars and the birth of two kids, they are ready for
this moment. In unison, they shout at the top of their lungs, “We’re debt free!” … On the heels of
their debt free scream, a line from Braveheart – “Freeeee…dooommm!!!”
Daily, dozens of
couples and individuals echo these screams. Relieved that they are debt free, these
people tell the world their stories of incurring debt and paying it off by
heeding the advice of one man, Dave Ramsey.
Dave Ramsey fans travel
to Nashville to tell their story and scream on his syndicated radio show because
they are relieved, they worked diligently, budgeted income and expenses, ate
beans and rice, and lived like no one else. They proudly paid their debt.
We too are debt
free. After incurring the debt of our sins and our parents’ sins – Adam and Eve
– our debt is paid. The difference between the debt paid by Chris and Dana and
ours is that Jesus Christ our Risen Lord paid our debt. Christ was payer and
pay, propitiator and propitiation, and His payment warrants a debt free scream
from each of us.
Our freedom from
debt involved no effort on our part. We did not budget income and expenses,
work two jobs, use the envelope system, or eat beans and rice for two years.
All we did was believe. Believe.
John recorded that
Peter and the Beloved Disciple did not run from the cave screaming, “We’re debt
free!” Rather, when they left the tomb, they went back to their homes. Even
though the Beloved Disciple saw and believed, they did not understand the
fulfillment of Scriptures or what it meant to rise from the dead. They just
went home.
The thought of
Jesus rising from the dead did not occur to them because they did not expect a
resurrection. … Think of it. Until this moment, the Bible recounts six people
raised from the dead – 3 by prophets and 3 by Jesus.[2] Why would resurrection
enter the mind of Mary Magdalene, Peter, John or any disciple? That is why John
recorded that the first to reach the tomb and look in to see the burial cloths
there simply went home. They did not know what to make it this.
Resurrection from
the dead … furthest thing from their minds. God’s victory over Satan, sin and
death … furthest thing from their minds. A debt-free scream … furthest thing
from their minds. In other words, John pointed out that the disciples realized
God’s victory comes not from an experience of an empty tomb, but from an
experience of the Risen Lord.
The Lord has risen
indeed! God indeed conquered Satan, sin and death. Christ paid our debt. We are
indeed debt free. Alleluia! Amen!
The empty tomb is
not proof of the resurrection, but simply a source of wonderment. After Peter
and John left, Mary Magdalene stooped down as she was weeping, and through her
teary eyes saw two angels. It’s a rather odd scene. Mary converses with two
angels in a manner like talking to her neighbor at the bus stop or in the
grocery store.
The manner of her
speech continues as she thinks this guy outside the grave is the gardener.
Until Christ spoke her name, as the Good Shepherd knew it, she did not
understand what had happened that early morning, but if there was going to be
anything that would jolt her from her stupor it was not going to be coffee.
Believing that Christ
would rise from the dead springs from the actual experience of the risen Lord.[3] Only then did she
understand what the empty tomb meant – that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Mary Magdelene’s emotions leaped from grief to joy the moment the Risen Lord
said her name. Unchecked excitement ran through her veins and down her spine when
Christ revealed himself to her.
Eventually, all of
Jesus’ disciples witnessed Him alive. The unparalleled experience of witnessing
Christ alive impelled them to tell the world of the great Paschal Mystery –
Christ’s willful suffering, death and resurrection, and what He taught
throughout His life on earth. Peter and the disciples remembered and shared
their experiences of Jesus the Christ with greater zeal and zest than any Dave
Ramsey disciple.
Today, more than 2
billion Christians around the world celebrate Easter. More than 2 billion
people share their own experiences of the risen Lord. More than 2 billion
people share their debt free screams with others. More than 2 billion
witnesses.
Are we among them?
When did we last witness? When did we last share our debt free screams? When
did we last share our experiences of the risen Lord with zest and zeal? Or are we
still silently wondering what happened?
Is it because we
have not pondered how the risen Lord has appeared to us? Is it because it is
more difficult to believe God is present in bread and wine, in baptism and
confession, in the Word proclaimed and preached by ordinary human beings than
it is to believe Jesus rose from the dead? Indeed, God is present to us today,
at this moment, but we do not always feel it or cannot articulate what we feel.
Let me share the
brief articulated expression of a woman named Sally who became a baptized
Christian 34 years ago. During the Easter Vigil 1989, Sally – then 62, frail
and legally blind – was baptized and received into the Church. Several days
later, when asked to share her experience of Christ’s death and resurrection
symbolized in baptism, Sally, whose facial expressions and voice reminded one
of Carol Channing, exclaimed, “WOW!”
Wow! Wow, Christ
is risen and is present to us right now. Does the wow of that experience impel
us into the streets like apostles with tongues of fire to proclaim the Gospel
in word and deed? Does the wow of Christ Risen sustain me when I return to the
humdrum of life’s work? Does the wow of Easter stay with me at home or
hospital, in classroom or lunchroom, at the office or the in-laws? Do I feel
the freedom of being debt free? Do I feel Victory even when I feel like a loser?
The wow of Easter
should take all of us into the world because the world, America, Pennsylvania
needs Christians who know Christ’s Victory and the deeper meaning of being debt
free. John’s Gospel says that the truth will make us free[4] - not comfortable and not
respected, but free in the real sense of the word: able to see and do what is
right.
In the Christian
tradition, freedom is to be used in the service of others. Working to defend
the dignity of human persons and the dignity of the human family is an
obligation of our freedom. As debt-free Christians we are obliged, are we not,
to protect the unborn child, the immigrant, the disabled, the elderly. If
Christians are not involved in ensuring the dignity and rights of others, then
we risk living in a state governed not by justice but by thieves.[5] Bi-partisan thieves at
that.
Let me close by
asking a question that I pray you ponder as you go out from here and make your
way home. Like Mary Magdelene, will you announce to your brothers and sisters
that Jesus Christ rose from the dead? Will you demonstrate the power of the
Holy Spirit in your life as Jesus did in his? Or will you remain silent when
you are afraid to share your faith? You should be more willing to tell everyone
that your debt has been paid not by working longer and spending less, but
simply by accepting the Gospel.
As church, can we
remain silent in public and be faithful to Christ at the same time? Working respectfully
and firmly to form the public conscience violates no one’s free will. Actively
witnessing to our convictions and advancing what we believe about Christian
morality in the public life is not coercion. It’s truth-telling.
Let’s tell the
world the truth about our faith, about what we believe. Let’s witness to the
point that when neighbors see us walking up their driveway, they will no longer
say, “Here come those Holy Rollers,” but, “Here come those Missouri Synod
Lutherans.” And when we share with them the good news that we are debt-free
because Jesus Christ rose to free us from our sins, may we be overwhelmed by the
peace of God that surpasses all understanding, and may it keep our hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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