Is Easter Just Another Nice Holiday?

1 Corinthians 15

St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
March 31, 2024
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes

During Holy Week preachers prepare to defend the relevance of Easter theologically. Yes, we’re concerned that we ask Americans their favorite holiday and Easter gets 2%. It is bothersome that when we ask non-Christians why Christians celebrate Easter, 46% don’t know. And they don’t care.

Therefore, I was ready to show you why we should care, theologically and biblically; why Easter isn’t just another nice holiday.

Then I realized that would not be the sermon I would need to hear if I were coming to church along with you, if it weren’t my job to preach to you today. What would I want to hear, sitting in the pew beside you today? What do you need me to talk about this morning?

Our text defends and explains the relevance of Easter. Let’s see if these words help us.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 1 Corinthians 15

Philosophers tell us there are three ways that we know what we know: Rationally, practically, and intuitively. We do math rationally, we start the car practically and we like people intuitively.

We know the resurrection is real. Rationally, we know after the fall in the Garden of Eden, God instituted a plan to redeem humanity. Practically, we know that Christ appeared before 500 individuals, his disciples, and many others. Intuitively, we know that life is in a constant state of death and new life.

If I was sitting next to you I want to hear how the risen Christ makes a difference in my life today.

The risen Christ gives purpose

The watchword of our day is stress, burnout. The Northwestern National Life Insurance Company recently did a survey, and discovered that 40% of America’s employees feel either “very” or “extremely” stressed.

I learned there is an American Institute of Stress. What does that say about us? They estimate that between 75% and 90% of our visits to the doctor are caused primarily by stress, with a loss to American industry of $200 to $300 billion annually. We are stressed people.

We need to know that my life matters beyond the day to day struggles and issues we all face, that God can give my life a purpose which makes the daily grind worth it all, that Jesus can use my life to accomplish something beyond myself, something significant. Don’t you?

We’re not the first. Peter gave up after the cross. Jesus had died, and Peter had failed. He had bragged publicly about his courage, then denied three times that he even knew his Lord. The proud fisherman turned out to be a coward. And his life had no more purpose or meaning.

So he went back to what he knew, to fishing. And just there, as Paul says, the risen Christ “appeared to Peter” (v. 5). He forgave him, and restored him. And he called him to “feed his sheep,” to lead his church. He gave his life purpose and significance.

The risen Christ can still do this today. He alone can give purpose and meaning to anyone, no matter our past or even our present. No matter the bad or the good we’ve done. Anyone.

On Maundy Thursday of this week we heard from King Charles of Britain. He has been the reigning monarch for 18 months and he is planning his funeral as he was given at the most, two years of life. He was diagnosed with late stage of prostate cancer. In an interview King Charles said, “throughout my life, I’ve learned from Christ the value of service. My life purpose is to serve and not be served.”

He says that his relationship with Jesus is “the most important part of my life.”

This morning Jesus reminded me that he is my only purpose. Only he can give my life meaning and significance. Knowing him, and then making him known. Not my work, or schedule, or stress. Knowing the risen Christ personally gives me purpose, meaning, and significance. I needed that.

Do you need “north” on your compass? A reason to be, in the midst of the stress and pressure of life? Only the risen Christ can give you the purpose your heart yearns to find, and only because of Easter. Only because this isn’t another nice holiday. On this Easter morning, why not ask him for the purpose he alone can give?

The risen Christ gives peace

This morning, I need his peace as well. The ongoing fighting in Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Palestine is a worry to us all. Where is God when civilians are kidnapped and innocent lives slaughtered? Closer to home, we worry about the economy, our ever changing culture and a divided country.

For many of us, fear is much closer to home even that that. Some of you are worried about keeping your marriage together, or your finances; some of you wonder where your children are today, or your parents; some are waiting for the next hospital test or doctor’s visit with great apprehension. Some wonder where you’ll go to college next year; some wonder how you’ll pay for college. We all have fears and worries. We all need peace. We’re not the first.

Consider “doubting Thomas.” After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples, but Thomas was absent. He wouldn’t believe them without proof.

So the next Sunday night after Easter, the risen Christ appeared to “the Twelve” (v. 5). And when Thomas saw him personally, his questions were answered, his doubts disappeared, and peace was his.

Consider the early Christian movement. They are supposed to take the gospel to the entire world, 25 million in the Empire alone, almost none of whom had ever heard of Jesus. How on earth would they do it?

Then on a mountain in Galilee, the risen Christ “appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep” (v. 6). And to them he said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations… And I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20).

He promised them his help, his presence. And the risen Christ gave them his peace.

We have many questions, many doubts, many fears. Psychologists list over 700 phobias in our society today. Everything from “arachnibutrophobia,” the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth, to “phobophobia,” the fear of fear. What do you fear? What causes you anxiety and worry this morning? Where do you need peace?

There’s only one place, or Person, where you can find it.

A few years ago the American Red Cross was seeking donations to help a group of suffering people in Africa. A box came with a note which said, “We have been converted, and as a result we want to help. We won’t ever need these again. Can you use them for something?” Inside were Ku Klux Klan sheets, which the Red Cross tore into strips and used to bandage the wounds of black people. Because the risen Christ gives peace.

Yesterday morning Jesus reminded me that he is my only peace. When I have doubts and questions, I can draw near to him and he will be my peace. When the future looks bleak and discouraging, he is our peace. The world is still in his hands.

Do you need peace today? Peace for your doubts, your fears? Only the risen Christ can give you the peace your heart longs to find, and only because of Easter. Only because this isn’t another nice holiday. On this Easter morning, why not ask him for the peace he alone can give?

The risen Christ gives power

And this morning, I need power, help, strength. It’s been a long week, and I know what is waiting for me tomorrow. The phone calls I didn’t have time to return, the e-mails, the stacks of papers and journals, the office work to organize, the meetings to attend, medical appointments the sermons to write. Right now, it looks pretty daunting. I need the power to fulfill his purpose for my life, and to live in his peace. Don’t you need his power, his help, this week?

Again, we’re not the first. James was Jesus’ half-brother, and one of his most vocal critics. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, James was convinced he was insane. Once he even tried to get him to come home with him, to save the family further embarrassment.

But then the risen Christ “appeared to James” (v. 7). And the man was never the same. Everything changed. He became the pastor of the church at Jerusalem, the headquarters of the Christian movement; he wrote the book of James, and he was widely considered the holiest man on earth.

His nickname was “camel knees,” since his knees were so callused from hours on them in prayer. He was given Jesus’ purpose, and peace, and power, to serve his brother who was now his Lord.

Consider another example. Saul of Tarsus hated the followers of Jesus. He was bent on an “ethnic cleansing” of Christians everywhere.

But then, Paul says, “he appeared to me also” (v. 8). And the result? “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect” (vs. 9-10).

And God made this murderer into the greatest apostle, missionary, and theologian the world has ever known. The risen Christ empowered him to fulfill his purpose and to know his peace.

The risen Christ still has the power to change people today. Hyun Hee Kim blew up the Korean Air Lines plane in 1983. In jail she became a Christian, and now tells anyone who will listen how the risen Christ has changed her life.

Manuel Noriega was saved in a Miami prison cell, and has been writing letters back to his former drug cartel partners in Panama, telling them of his salvation and urging them to receive Christ.

Lee Atwater was the most hated man in politics. Before he died of brain cancer, he met the risen Christ personally. He wrote to all his political enemies, asked their forgiveness, and explained the gospel to them.

Yesterday morning, as I tried to modify this sermon, I felt tired, even exhausted. As I thought about the week to come, I felt even more so. But then I realized that the risen Christ gives me all the power I need to fulfill his purpose for my life. And he did, and he will.

Are you suffering from a power outage, a need for strength and help? Only the risen Christ can give you the power you long for, and only because of Easter. On this Easter morning, why not ask him?

Conclusion

And one day we’ll have his purpose, and peace, and power forever. Not just for Easter, but for every day. We need him every day. And we can have him, every day.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who lives and believes in me will never die.” Never. If Jesus is in charge of your life, your future is secure. When you close your eyes for the last time here, you open them for the first time there. You step out of the car, into the house. And we are with God forever. A thousand years from now, you’ll be with him, and ten thousand years, and a billion years. But only because of Easter.

What a day that will be, when every day is Easter day.

Now, is Easter just another nice holiday? The choice is yours.

The historian Philip Schaff said it well: “This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

And now he wants a living, daily relationship with you and He yearns to give you purpose, peace, and power. What is your reply to him?