1 Corinthians 15:19-26
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Certain Hope for Uncertain Times
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure what worship was going to look like this morning. A month ago, there was hope that we might be in Step 3 of our province’s Path Forward. Maybe there’d be fewer restrictions. Maybe we could all be together in 1 service, not 2. Maybe we could do something absolutely crazy, like share coffee or donuts after church.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
There may have been those hopes a month ago, but as little as week ago I’ll admit to being concerned about what added restrictions might come if/because we were entering into the infamous 3rd wave. A lot can change in not a lot of time. Lights at the end of the tunnel may just be spots in our eyes. And as we try to sort it all out, we have to deal with a lot of uncertainty.
Uncertainty is the worst, isn’t it?
I think back to Easter a year ago. We had no idea what was going on. No certainty to our plans. None of you were here. We had to scramble to get a recording uploaded to YouTube. I’m convinced that’s where more than one of the gray hairs in my beard came from. Uncertainty is the worst.
Don’t even ask me what Easter’s going to look like a year from now. I wouldn’t hazard to hope or guess. But that’s just Easter. That’s just one day. Some of you are living in much greater uncertainty every day. Some of you have more urgent hopes:
I hope this virus goes away soon.
I hope I get a job before it’s too late.
I hope my loved one gets better again.
Hope is a tricky thing, though, isn’t it? It’s an important thing to have, but it’s tricky, because most of the time, the hope that we talk about is really no hope at all. It’s just wishful thinking. “Wouldn’t it be great if…” There’s nothing concrete or certain about that kind of hope. It’s an eyelash in the wind, a penny in a pond.
Sure, there are vaccines being administered, until they’re not and suddenly the supply has run out or the brand has been recalled.
Maybe you have an interview, but that’s no guarantee. They might be interviewing 100 people more qualified than you.
There are surgeries and treatments, but there can always be complications and setbacks.
Hope that is no more than a wish or a dream, hope that has no foundation in fact or reality, isn’t very helpful. But that’s why it’s so good that we are here this morning, because today, of all days, we celebrate a hope that is certain, a hope that is based in fact and reality, a hope that comes from the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
In his letter to the Christians of ancient Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”[1] Forget the pity for a second, let’s focus on the hope. He says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ…” which means that Jesus does give us reason to hope in this life, and it’s no wonder when you look at the pages of the Bible. They’re full of promises from Jesus that give us hope for a better life here and now.
Jesus promises us that he is always with us. Jesus promises that he knows our fears and our worries, that he hears our anxious thoughts and receives our fervent prayers. He promises that he has the power to provide for and protect us. But above all, he promises that he loves us more than life itself. The one who knows your need and has the power to provide it, is there for you and cares enough to care for you.
When I am isolated from my family and friends, it’s a comfort to know that nothing can separate me from God’s love for me.
When my anxiety robs me of sleep at night and rest for the day, it’s a comfort to know that God knows my anxious thoughts, that he hears my fearful prayers.
When I wonder how I’ll make ends meet or if I’ll ever get out from under soul-crushing debt, it’s a comfort to know where my daily bread comes from.
When I look around this world and see the dangers and the reminders of death and mortality, it’s a comfort to know that the almighty God holds me in his powerful, life-giving hands and that nothing – not corona or cancer or a car crash – can pluck me forcefully out of his hands.
Jesus does give me hope for this life. He makes you all kinds of promises. But where’s the proof? I said before that hope that is nothing more than wishful thinking isn’t very helpful. How do you know that Jesus is with you? Where’s your proof that he hears your prayers or has the power to do anything about them or that he loves you?
Well, we saw the proof of his love on full display this last week. Jesus loved his disciples so much that he bent down and washed their feet. Jesus loved his disciples so much that he established a sacrament that generations of believers could enjoy to this day, i.e. eating and drinking his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus loved his disciples of every generation so much that he willingly went to the cross and died for you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is!
But if that were the end of the story – if the Bible stopped on Good Friday – all we’d have is the story of one man who was willing to jump on a grenade for someone else. As nice a gesture as that is, you can only do it once, and after that you can’t really help those people anymore.
If Jesus had just died and his bones were still in the tomb today, then what hope would we have that a dead man who’s been rotting in a grave for thousands of years can do anything to help us today? What hope would you have that he can hear your prayers or do anything about them? There’s about as much hope that Jesus could do those things as that great-grandma could – or Genghis Khan or any of the billions of people who have died and been buried just like Jesus.
If Jesus had just died and his bones were still in the tomb today, then any hope for life after death would be a fairy tale, a figment of our imaginations, wishful thinking at best or a hopeless delusion at worst. Imagine the disappoint of millions of people who spent their lives in faithful anticipation of life after death, only to die and find that it had all been a bunch of lies.
I mean, I could make you all kinds of fantastical promises. I could even sacrifice my life for you. But that wouldn’t make any of my promises true. That wouldn’t mean I really had the power to do any of the things I promised you. If you fell for my lies and empty promises, you would be the most pitiable of all people, like Paul says.
But if I rose from the dead, just as I said I would, that’d be a different story.
Jesus didn’t just die, and his bones aren’t moldering away in a tomb somewhere. He rose from the dead, just as he said he would. Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate proof that Jesus has the power and the desire to do exactly what he promises you.
If Jesus can defy death and rise from the grave, then he can defy the laws of space and time and be with you here today. If Jesus can predict his resurrection and make it happen just as he promised, then he can hear your prayers and answer them according to his power. If Jesus has the power to put life back into his own crucified body that had been dead for three days, then he has the power to help and heal you too. But that’s not all!
That’s not all that Jesus promises. We heard it in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”[2]
Jesus doesn’t just give you hope for this life. He gives you hope for eternal life. Through his crucifixion and death, he promises that your sins are forgiven. There is no more condemnation; there is no more fear of judgment. He’s been judged for you and you’ve been declared innocent in his blood. Through his crucifixion and death he promises that your sins are forgiven.
Through his resurrection and life, he promises that you will join him in heaven. He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, meaning that you and all who believe in him will follow. Death is not the end; it’s only a sleep in Jesus’ name from which we will wake up in our eternal home.
Talk about hope! And I don’t mean wishful thinking. I don’t mean eyelashes in the wind or pennies in a pond. I mean sure and certain hope that is based in reality and founded in fact. It’s a hope backed by the proven power of Jesus to keep his promises.
He promises you that even though this life can be short and full of sorrows, your life with him in heaven is eternal where he will wipe every tear from your eyes. He promises that even though you may still be filled with fear and anxiety about the uncertainties of this life, you can rest assured that because of his resurrection, your eternal life is guaranteed. There will come a time when this life cannot hurt you anymore.
Uncertainty is the worst! When will this virus be over? When will I get a job? Will my loved one ever get better? I don’t know. But I do know this, that because Jesus lives, you too will live. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can trust in his promises for life, both here and now and forever in heaven. That’s a hope you can take to the bank. That’s a hope made certain in the life, death and resurrection of your Saviour Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] 1 Corinthians 15:19
[2] 1 Corinthians 15:20