Easter: Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Exodus 19:16-25

We see this passage the Lord descend down to Mt. Sinai. We see His holiness, His power, His might. We read it; they saw it. And yet, in spite of all they had seen: the plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea, the fire night/cloud by day, manna, and the Lord descending onto the mountain. In spite of all this, they still doubted. They still disobeyed. But, they just never got it, did they.

While we have never seen these things, have we not felt God's grace within us? Have we not felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit? Have we not felt the forgivness of our sins? Have we not felt the presence of God in a powerful way in our lives? Have we not seen God move in powerful ways in our lives, in the lives of church, in the lives of our friends, our families? Have we not seen God move in amazing ways, just like they did? And, we still disobey and doubt. They question is not why didn't they get it, but why don't you and I get it?

New Testament Lesson

Colossians 1:15-23

This is one that I could preach on forever, and actually had to preach on at one point during my journey to ordination in the United Methodist Church. There is so much here. Through Jesus Christ everything, both seen and unseen, was created. He holds it all together. He is the head of the church. Not the preacher, not the bishop, not any source of human authority, Christ is the head of the church. So, the question for our churches is, are we following the will of Jesus Christ, are we doing things the way we want them done. Are we, in church, more worried about what we want, as opposed to what Jesus wants. It is His church not our church. He is the head, not me, not any human. Jesus, He is Lord of the church.

And we see in this passage that through Jesus, God is reconciling the world to Himself. Through Jesus, God has undone what we have done. Our sin separates us from God. Through Jesus, we can be brought back. Through Jesus, we can come home, we can be reconciled to the Father. Through Jesus, we can live at peace with God.

Jesus offers us this today. He offers peace and hope and love and the chance to be made right with God. The question is, do we accept?

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 3:13-17

We see in His baptism, each person of the Holy Trinity. We see the Son, being baptized. We see the Father, saying that He is pleased. We see the Spirit, descending as a dove. We must never forget that one of the main tenants of our faith is that belief in the Holy Trinity. We see that in this moment, each person of the Trinity is at work, as it is in our lives. In life, we are convicted of sin by the Spirit, and called into relationship with the Father by that same Spirit. The Son died for our sins and paid the price, so through Him, we come to the Father. And it is the Father that longs to bring us back home, but we cannot come to the Father but by the Son. And after our conversion, it is the Spirit that calls us to keep walking each day, closer to Father, through the grace of Lord Jesus, and by obedience to our Lord, Jesus.

We see that we often speak of God or Jesus or the Spirit, but each person of the Trinity is at work at all times, bringing us to that closer, deeper walk with God, the Triune God that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.