Easter Cantata - The Cross Made The Difference

The notes are familiar, the words as well. We will proclaim our faith in song this morning. And by ‘we’ I mean ALL of us. You are invited to sing along at any point with any song. Today of all days, we are ALL called to proclaim our faith in the risen Lord. (Chorus)

58 AT THE CROSS

Christ’s offering of himself on the Cross for our sake, in our place, is the central mystery of our faith. It is a mystery ONLY in the sense that we are incapable of understanding the depth of the love that God had for his creation, to come to earth and live among us and die for us to atone for us – to pay the price that WE should have, by rights, paid ourselves. (Chorus)

59 AT CALVARY

Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthian church:

“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. I resolved to nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

That is the heart of the Gospel. Without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection. Without the resurrection and ascension, there would be no Pentecost and no church. Jesus taught a revolutionary ethic that echoes to this day against what the world would have us do. Where else do you hear ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’? If Jesus had just been a prophet and teacher, we could write off those things he said as points of disagreement and be okay with it. But in the resurrection, we are confronted with who Jesus WAS – in ESSENCE – and he was God incarnate, God dwelling among us. We are therefore not in a position to say ‘I don’t think I’ll keep THAT particular teaching’, or ‘I’ll meet him halfway on this other one.’ No. That is not an option. Jesus is either Lord or not. If we claim to be Christians, then we are proclaiming that Jesus is Lord of our lives— EVERY aspect of our lives. Not just on Sundays, not just at Easter, but every waking moment of our lives are given to him. The life of a follower of Christ is one of continuing trust, continuing surrender, continuing obedience. We commit to LIVE our faith, we don’t just think about it and read about it, we ACT on it. So we remind ourselves of what we believe.

33 I BELIEVE IN A HILL CALLED MOUNT CALVARY

Images and symbols bring to life the story of Jesus. They are reminders of God’s presence among us. A manger, a fishing boat, a basket with five loaves and two fish, a basin of water and a towel, a lilly, a fig tree, the sparrow that searches for food, or a sower sowing seed with reckless abandon; a loaf of bread and a cup of wine. All of these ordinary, everyday images carry a meaning beyond what is first seen and call us to look beyond what is on the surface. Especially when it comes to an empty cross, and an empty tomb.

36 THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
37 THE OLD RUGGED CROSS MADE THE DIFFERENCE


Paul continues in his letter to the Colossians:

“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things … by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God … but now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

Why did God make peace with us through the blood of Christ? It was a terrible price to pay, but it was necessary. And God knew that THAT was the only way for the reconciliation to be accomplished. God knew that we’d never fully understand and accept if it had just been left up to keeping the law. So he came and showed us what was at the root of it all. Love. Love beyond measure, love beyond understanding, love that is deeper and wider than anything we can imagine in this world.

52 IF THAT ISN’T LOVE

The whole thrust of the Gospel, what Jesus showed, and what Paul said time and time again was that there was nothing we can DO to merit the gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ on the Cross. We can’t live a life worthy of it, we can’t work our way to heaven, or into God’s good graces. We can only accept the gift freely given: the gift of Jesus standing in our place when God sees us. And that makes us uncomfortable, because we live in a world where there are no free lunches. Everything has a catch, a hidden cost. We don’t get something for nothing. The Cross stands in clear and absolute opposition to that. With this one thing, God changes everything. The offer is radical, universal, dynamic. Dynamic means it is in motion. That is, God’s offer of salvation is an offer to meet us where we are, but to take us where we have yet to go. God’s offer of salvation is one that involves a calling to a higher purpose, a deeper commitment, a broader view of the world than simply that which touches or immediate daily lives. We are called to live into the Kingdom of God – to bring about the reality of the Kingdom in some small or not-so-small way every day.

131 I WILL GLORY IN THE CROSS

So what does this mean for us here, on Easter morning, 2008, at Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton? We have to ask ourselves the same question we ask every week: how will this affect my life? Will I LET it impact my life? Do I believe it enough to let it make a difference for me tomorrow, or the next day, or the next?

If we agree that Jesus suffered on Thursday and died on Friday on the cross at Calvary and did it for us, and that he was buried, and rose from the dead at some point early Sunday morning after that, our FIRST response should be just the same as the women who saw him in the garden. Matthew tells us that they fell at his feet and worshipped him. John tells us that eventually, ultimately, EVERYONE will call him Lord – whether in rejoicing welcome on his return or simply in recognition and understanding that the one whom they have ignored all their lives, or paid lip service to, IS INDEED the risen Lord. You might call this a dress rehearsal.

16 HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LAMB

Easter has a meaning beyond simply REMEMBERING the resurrection. The resurrection is central, but the follow up is where we are now. We don’t simply sit and ponder all the details of the story. We live the life of the resurrected Christ DAILY. We sing of the cross, we sing of the tomb, and we sing of the resurrection. We now sing of HOW the resurrection moves us. It is not simply a single event that took place 2000 years ago, it is an event that is lived out in our daily lives. What we do, what we say, what we speak, ALL need to be done in the light of the resurrection. We serve a living savior, not a crucified prophet, dead and buried. We are empowered by the one who overcame death itself, and asks to live in our hearts today.

Please turn in your hymnal to number 407 and join us in singing

BECAUSE HE LIVES

Benediction