Resurrection, Happy Ending and Happy Beginnings
April 18, 2025 |
Hodgdon UMC
<A Near-Death Experience>
At
his church’s Easter pageant, five-year-old Billy was supposed to recite Luke
24:6: “He is not here, he is risen.” He had practiced several times, but when
he stood before the church, he froze. The director leaned over and
whispered the verse in his ear. Billy smiled, grabbed the microphone, and
confidently proclaimed, “He’s not here. He’s in prison!”
Thankfully,
all our children did a great job during our Easter pageant. But you know, for
many young children—or—even those who haven't grown up in church—“He is risen”
is a totally unfamiliar phrase, and hard to believe. Honestly, “He is in
prison” might be something they’ve heard more often. After our Easter play, one
child saw the risen Jesus and asked, “Jesus, how can someone die and
then come back to life so quickly?” That’s a fair question. “He is risen”—it’s
something we’ve never seen before. It's something we've never heard before
outside of faith.
Maybe
we haven’t experienced a full resurrection like Jesus, but I’m sure many of us
have had near-death experiences. I’ve had quite a few myself. I was sledding on
a frozen slope and nearly fell over a cliff 30 meters high. I cried out,
“Lord, help me!” and shut my eyes tight. Then it felt like a giant hand pushed
me sideways—I didn’t fall. I still remember pulling 20 thorns out of my hands afterward.
Some of us have come close to death through illness, or maybe through
relational breakdowns, job losses, or failures. How did it feel when you
survived? Relief. Gratitude. Joy for a second chance at life.
Now,
imagine not just almost dying, but actually dying—and then coming back. Imagine
we meet our beloved lost one again, like disciples. How much greater would that
joy be?
<Jesus’
Happy Ending>
Right
here is the story with the happiest ending in all of history. Most stories
follow four parts: beginning, conflict, climax, and resolution. If we graphed
it, it would rise, then fall after the climax. But Jesus’ story is different. His
story starts high. All things were made through Him. But when humanity fell
into sin, He left everything behind and came down. Born in a manger, the Prince
of Heaven became a poor wanderer. He lived quietly as a carpenter for 30 years
in a small rural town, was baptized by His cousin, and for three years wandered
with His disciples. Then He appeared—not riding a majestic horse but on a lowly
colt. Soon after, He was betrayed by one He loved, beaten, mocked, and handed
over to a sham trial with a predetermined sentence. He was stripped,
humiliated, and crucified—the most painful and disgraceful death imaginable.
From
the beginning to this point, the story just keeps going downhill. Is there a
more tragic story?
What
kind of religion tells of a God who comes to earth only to be treated worse
than an ordinary man and killed?
This
wasn’t a “near-death” situation. He was completely dead. When pierced in the
side, water flowed out—He was truly gone. But the story doesn’t end there.
This
Easter morning, everything changes. The graph that has only been going down
suddenly turns upward. Jesus rises. Alive again.
“When
disciples locked the door from fear of the Jews, Jesus came and said, 'Peace be
with you. ' He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when
they saw the Lord” (19-20)
Not
even His followers, not even Satan, expected this kind of ending. It’s the most
powerful story of triumph—victory over death. It’s a breathtaking story of how
our heavy burdens of sin were lifted forever.
The
resurrection of Jesus is the only historical event that confirms the Son of God
died and rose for me. It's not just relief—it’s a completely new beginning. A
truly happy ending.
And
after His resurrection comes ours. Our story becomes one of endless rising.
That’s the happiest ending of all.
<Disciples'
Happy Beginnings>
But
Jesus’ happy ending becomes our happy beginning.
Into
a life of failure and pain, He drops the joy of resurrection and starts a new
story.
“Peace
be with you. As Father has sent me, so I send you” (21)
As
Jesus came to us, now Jesus sends us to the world as His disciples.
Today,
across our three churches, we celebrate those beginning new chapters. At Mars
Hill Church, Lillian. At Houlton, Rob and Sirong. And here at Hodgdon, Sue and
Nell. They'll share how they met Jesus and became part of this faith family.
I
was so moved when I received Sue’s Easter card. Jesus, who conquered death, set
my heart on fire again through her.
When
I read Nell’s testimony, I couldn’t help but praise God. She described meeting
Jesus as if having heart surgery—and it reminded me of my own spiritual
surgery.
Jesus’
happy ending lets His disciples start their stories with happy beginnings.
In
our church study, “Our Church Speaks,” we’ve been learning through Dietrich
Bonhoeffer what it really means to live as a disciple.
Born
into a wealthy Christian family, Bonhoeffer gave up a safe professorship in
America to return to war-torn Germany. Like Jesus, he chose suffering, living
in freezing, starving, prison-like conditions before being executed just months
before WWII ended.
What
a costly death. But Bonhoeffer spoke of costly grace, not cheap grace.
“Cheap
grace is forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, communion
without confession… Grace without discipleship, without the cross, without
Jesus Christ.”
Bonhoeffer
knew costly grace because he followed the life of Jesus. And he knew that death
was the gateway to eternal resurrection life.
In
Pilgrim’s Progress, when Christian dies crossing the river, it’s not the
end—it’s how he finally enters the Celestial City.
<Our
Happy Beginnings>
Only
those who die completely with Jesus can experience such costly grace. It’s not
“near death”—it’s full death that leads to full resurrection. John Wesley said
we must not be “almost Christians” but “altogether Christians.”
The
world gets excited about Easter picnics and egg hunts like it does about
Christmas dinners and Santa. Some Christians celebrate Easter just in their
heads, feeling a vague warmth from “cheap grace.” But not us.
We
are people who have truly died with Christ. We know what costly grace is. We
are walking the difficult, downward path Jesus walked—one that may look like
it’s leading down, down, down… but we know the joy that waits on the other
side.
This
might be my last Easter worshiping here at Hodgdon UMC, and as I prepared,
tears came.
It
hurts to know we may not gather again like this. With every new church we
embrace, it feels like we’re going down another step. But preparing this
message reminded me: Jesus turns our endings into beginnings.
Bonhoeffer
never stopped wrestling with what the church truly is. It’s not a structured
institution—it’s a community of disciples. A group of people who live for God and follow Jesus in His suffering, holding onto the hope of resurrection. That’s
who we are. We were called here for that purpose—to die completely with Christ,
and to live completely in Him. There are so many people who in prison
spiritually, even though He is risen! May our story be one of resurrection, joy, and happy beginnings to them.
It’s
an honor and a joy to write this story with all of you.
The
last lyrics of the Hymn of Promise are like this.
In
our end is our beginning
In
our time, infinity
In
our doubt, there is believing
In
our life, eternity
In
our death, a resurrection
At last, a Victory
Unrevealed
until its season
Something
God alone can see!
He
is risen!
He
is risen!
He
is risen!
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