Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II are now dead and will soon be forgotten.  Sad, but it's a fact.  Jesus of Nazareth died and His detractors figured the same.  Give them a little time and everyone would forget the rebellious Rabbi.  But they did not know Jesus and they did not know His followers.  They thought they were rid of Him, but once again, they did not know what they were doing.

          I am always a bit surprised every year when the Easter Gospel lessons tell us how no one believed what others told them about the resurrection.  There was an empty tomb, but disciples didn't believe the women, disciples didn't believe other disciples, and women didn't believe other women.  They all wanted proof, either by seeing Jesus or by hearing it from someone more trustworthy.

          But then why should that be surprising?  Humans are by nature skeptical.  That someone died - that was natural, therefore acceptable.  That someone had risen from the dead - that was unnatural, therefore improbable.  We always remember Thomas the skeptic who needed to have proof, but we rarely remember Thomas who earlier had said, "Let us go with Him that we may die with Him." (John 11:16)   Thomas was not alone; like most others he just wanted proof.  We're like that, too.  Unless we ourselves see or touch, neither will we believe.

          When Jesus met His disciples that first Easter night, He said, "Peace be with you."  When they saw Him they needed something to quiet their fears.  God needs to give us peace, for it is easy to become agitated at what goes on in our world.

          William G. Carter wrote of a story that could only happen in our politically correct times.  A pastor of a congregation located in a northwestern state received a letter from a member who was threatening to sue the congregation for passing the peace during worship.  ("God's peace be with you...")  The parishioner, a young lawyer, wrote, "I disagree with this practice, both personally and professionally, and I am prepared to take legal action to cause this practice to cease.  The pastor contacted the man and asked why he was so disturbed.  The lawyer said, "Passing the peace is an invasion of my privacy."  After some discussion, the pastor responded:  "Like it or not, when you joined this church you gave up some of your privacy, for we believe in a risen Lord who will never leave us alone."  Then he added, "You never know when Jesus Christ will intrude on us with a word of peace."  Carter doesn't tell us what happened next, but I'd surely like to find out.

          What happened on Easter morning changed the world.  St. Paul puts it in one perspective: "By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also." (1 Corinthians 6:14)

          Nothing in all of human history has changed things like His resurrection did.  No single life, no major event, not even the worst cataclysm of nature has changed the world like the resurrection did.  With the resurrection came the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit came the church.  And with the Church came changes that have altered the entire world in unimaginable ways.

          The religious authorities thought they would stop it all by posting a guard.  It didn't work.  They thought they could pay off the guards to spread a lie.  That didn't work.  They thought they could stop Christianity by outlawing it.  That didn't work, either.  They threw Christians to the lions and burned them alive.  They tried to destroy the sites of Christ's ministry.  But still the church flourished.  Why?  Because the church is of God.  If it was a human institution, it would have faded.  But it's not - it's created by God.  That's why it will never perish.

          Ever thought what the world would be like without the Church?  First of all, there'd be no Terri Schiavo case because there would be no hospitals or hospice.  The Church has followed Christ's command to help others, and so it first came up with the idea of hospitals.  No hospitals have been created by the teachings of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism or Confucianism.  Christians came up with the idea.

          It's the same with Universities and schools.  Nearly all the world's universities were developed through the church which sought to teach people fundamentals so they could also know God's Word.  The modern American public school system first started in church schools, primarily Lutheran schools, started by German Lutheran congregations.  And these are just the beginning.

          Modern architecture and priceless works of art have come to us through the Church.  Vocal and instrumental music, Homes for the Aged, Orphanages, Adoption Agencies, Homes for Unwed Mothers, Refugee Resettlement programs - all have roots in the church due to its biblical teachings.  Theologians like Barth, Thielicke and Bonhoefer have given us Christian ethics.  Christian inventors like Gutenburg, Henry Ford, Marconi and Thomas Edison have made life so much easier for us.  About the only thing that hasn't come to the world through the church has been the entertainment industry.  Perhaps that's why it has sunk to such low levels in its attempts to entertain us.

          Exploration of the globe and discovery of new worlds began primarily as a way of spreading the Gospel.  Even modern science found its principles in the efforts of Christian scientists like Galileo, Newton and Francis Bacon.  Our entire American government has its roots in the teachings espoused by the Church.  All who today think the church has always been separated from the state either have poor memories or are in denial.  It is the Christian church that has given birth to our own government as well as all the important agencies of learning and art and medicine and science and geography and human compassion.

          And it all began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ!  Without the empty grave we would have none of this.  The resurrection changed the world.

          Does that mean it's been a smooth road?  Has the Church done it all perfectly?  Of course not.  The church has been and always will be made up of sinners in need of God's grace.  Whatever it has done wrong is worthy of human repentance, and whatever it has done right is worthy of God's praise.

          Jesus told Thomas in today's Gospel, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  That's us!  We are the blessed.  We were not there, but we still believe.  We have been taught the Gospel by people who weren't there either, but they also believed.  The few original ones are long gone.  All the rest have believed without seeing.  And when they saw, they did not keep it to themselves.  They freely talked.  They imposed their beliefs on others.  They took the risk of sharing their faith.  They invaded privacy in the name of Jesus.  And so should we!!

          A college student came by his pastor's office to discuss the Bible.  Eventually the conversation came around to the subject of Easter.  (If you take Christianity seriously, it will always lead you to Easter.)  "What do you think of the resurrection, the student asked.  The pastor replied, "I believe it happened in reality, and not just in the minds of men."  "What is your evidence?" the student asked.  The pastor said, "Twelve men and many others who saw Him alive are not going dedicate their lives to perpetuate what they know is a hoax."  "I don't know," mumbled the student.  "I just don't know."

          There was his problem.  He was seeking knowledge, not faith.  It doesn't work to say, "Jesus, appear to me, and then I'll believe You."  It's just the opposite.  The resurrected Christ comes only to those who seek to believe.  If we are looking for proof, we want knowledge, not faith.  "We live by faith, not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7)

          As I said last Sunday the angels told the women, "Come and see Jesus... now go and tell the Disciples."  Come and see - Go and tell.  That's what the church has been doing ever since it first saw Jesus alive.  That's the news that changed the world.  CHRIST IS RISEN!  (He is risen indeed!)  May the news that changed the world change us and our own personal worlds, so that we may trust in Christ more completely, amen

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.