He’s Not Here!

"He [Jesus] isn't here! He is risen from the dead!"

- An Angel, Luke 24:6

"With God… Tomorrow will be better.

But...You've got to fight for the better!"

- A Pastor

Recently, a frustrated friend blurted out: "Man, this world is going to hell in a hand-basket…. I can't wait for God to beam me up to heaven."

And like a lot of you, I get it! More and more people are getting so sick and tired of selfish politicians, eroding family values, a brutal economy and a hostile global community that they're throwing up their hands and giving up on their world. They think that the Resurrection of Jesus was all about God abandoning this world by opening up the door to another – better – world called Heaven.

But... That is not the message of the Resurrection!

The first Christians believed that the Resurrection of Jesus was not just about somewhere else… but first… it was about here and now! When the Angel declared, to the women at the Tomb, "He is not here!".... Where was He? Risen from the dead, Jesus was walking and talking and telling stories… in the flesh… and inviting His friends to have breakfast with Him… not in Heaven...but right here, right now!

If God had given up on this world, Jesus would have gone straight from the grave to Heaven. But He did not.

In one of His first post-resurrection appearances, Jesus says:

"Touch me and see; a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

- Luke 24:39

Jesus is declaring that His resurrection is not about a disembodied evacuation to Heaven… but it is the affirmation of flesh and blood and bone and skin and embracing and touching and kissing and forgiving… that is rooted here… NOW… in this life!

And then, as the disciples stood there amazed, filled with joy, Jesus says to them: "Do you have anything to eat?" Ha! Don't you love this? Apparently, when you die you work up a phenomenal appetite. The Scripture says:

"They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He ate it as they watched."

- Luke 24:42

In a second post-resurrection appearance Jesus is on a beach and calls out to Peter, who is fishing, and tells him where the fish are. Recognizing Jesus – that He's alive – Peter dives into the water in his birthday suit… swims to shore… and after running up to Jesus… Jesus looks up, laughs, and says, "Peter sit down and have some breakfast." The story here is not “Whoo Hoo, Jesus is Risen… now we can all abandon this old rotten world”.... No, the message is that Jesus rose from the dead to rescue and redeem and restore this world and to bring Heaven and Earth together right here, right now!

And the reclamation of this troubled world begins with the power of Jesus that conquered death and broke the Devil's power!

After weeks of tenacious colds and flus and pink eye and ear infections and persistent coughs and respiratory sickness among our grandkids, Candace and I finally said, "Gosh… if we don't see them when they're sick, we may NEVER see them!" So, with a prayer in our hearts for protection, we're babysitting a sick granddaughter; her eyes have a glassy, fevered glaze over them, her nose is red from an incessant river of snot that gets blown everywhere by her endless cough…. And as I put a hot plate of mac-n-cheese before her… she looks up at me, and through her misery, smiles, and says with a raspy voice, "PawPaw, I love you!"

The Resurrection of Jesus is the announcement that God has declared this world good. And no matter how bad we feel… it is worth fighting for in the power that raised Jesus from the dead!

It is not just a celebration of new life beyond this one… but it is also a celebration of new life IN this one. Right Here, Right Now! That's what the Angel meant when he said, "He is not here!"

AMEN

Pastor Harry

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