1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
Easter Sunday
April 1, 2018
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and 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 and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit 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 towards me has not been 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 proclaim and so you have come to believe. - 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
On any given day we encounter defining moments.
A student goes to tutoring in attempts to reframe a difficult concept; the light bulb goes off and she does a fist pump because she finally gets it! “Yes, I can learn hard things!” she says.
After years of struggle, he found the courage to face his addiction and say “I need help.” And then he felt the chains release and tasted the beginning of freedom for the first time.
As the days blurred into months of grieving the loss, she found the strength to rise up to another day with the support and encouragement of her community.
Sidney Evans says, “A defining moment is a point in our life when we are urged to make a pivotal decision, or when we experience something that fundamentally changes us. Not only do these moments define us, but they have a transforming effect on our perceptions and behaviors.”
The Apostle Paul was a man who was deeply acquainted with defining moments. Before he wrote over half of the New Testament he was a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Christian movement. He dragged men and women to prison for their faith in Jesus and breathed threats and murder against the disciples (Acts 8:3; 9:1).
But then he encountered the Risen Lord and his life completely turned 180 degrees. Jesus Christ turned this man’s zeal into a heart burning to proclaim the good news of forgiveness, salvation, and new life.
Soon after, Paul lived among the Corinthians for eighteen months as a tent maker and church planter (Acts 18:11). As he worked making tents he got to know the people of the community. He heard their stories, their joys, and their struggles. And he shared his own with them so that God’s power might come through. Paul met the Corinthians where they were to help them see their defining moments through the lens of faith. He followed God’s purpose in his life to preach, teach and build up the body of Christ so that others may know God’s eternal hope.
His words today are the earliest written words to tell about the Easter story. The good news is always about Jesus’ life, death, and being raised by God to new life.
It is good news because we are freed from the penalty of our sins.
It is good news because our risen Lord appeared to so many people in so many various places.
It is good news because the Easter story has been passed down through every generation.
It is good news because the claim that “He Is Risen” bears eternal hope to face tomorrow.
It is good news because it has a transforming effect on our perceptions, behaviors, and the reality in which we live.
Easter is God’s defining moment for creation and humanity.
Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, author, and professor at Piedmont College and Columbia Theological Seminary; she says: “Christianity is the only world religion that confesses a God who suffers. It is not that popular an idea, even among Christians. We prefer a God who prevents suffering, only that it is not the God we have got. What the cross [and empty tomb] teach us is that God’s power is not the power to force human choices and end human pain. It is, instead, the power to pick up the shattered pieces and make something holy out of them – not from a distance, but right close up.”[1]
Lee and Lisa were seven years into their marriage with a son when something changed. The demands of life began causing great strife. A multigenerational family business dominated Lee’s life. The future which had once looked so bright and full of promise suddenly came crashing down.
The family business broke down. Lee’s parents divorced. His marriage to Lisa broke down too. They went to three marriage counselors and nothing seemed to change. They felt like they were living in a container without oxygen. It all led to the decision to do a trial separation. An agreed six weeks turned into three years. It all felt like a dead end.
Lisa began thinking about her broken life. She thought about faith and church had long been something you do instead of something that is relationship centered. It was in that space that Lisa was invited to her first adult Bible study with women from various backgrounds. She says, “We studied Genesis and I began to learn about the God of the universe and this God of the impossible.”
That Bible study turned into a defining moment. She recommitted her life to Christ. She says, “Because of what Christ was doing in my life along with this community of women, I began to trust the Lord, meet him daily, and ask him for strength and wisdom.
At the same time and in a different place, Lee reflected on his life too. His career was gone. His family of origin was gone. His marriage and son were gone. So he was left to focus on the only thing that was left, which was faith. Lee also happened to come across a non-denominational Bible study with a community of men who counseled and care for him.
The dark side of life showed up and it was there that Jesus Christ began to show Lee who he was. It was a defining moment. He found that when you are feeling like a zero, well that is good news because nothingness is what God works with.
Lee and Lisa found God was at work picking up the shattered pieces of their lives in order to make something holy. It was the work of the cross – they each met God in a very unexpected way.
As the Lord was teaching them to prioritize their focus on their vertical relationship with Christ first and foremost, then God’s Spirit allowed for them to experience resurrection hope and reconciliation in their horizontal relationship with one another. It was not overnight; picking up the pieces took 11 years.
The good news of the Resurrection does not mean our stories of brokenness all have a happy ending.
It means that when we find ourselves in the lowest points of our lives that God is there with us. Despair and hopelessness are not the end of our stories. Those moments are actually places where God is hovering over the chaos and whispering that we are not forsaken or abandoned.
When the light shines into our darkness, that just may be a defining moment for you and me. It is in that kind of space where God is renewing our humanity. God causes us to rise to new life.
We rise because through Jesus Christ, God has triumphed over brokenness, sin, and death. Even when life happens and hits the fan, nothing in all the world can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior (Romans 8:38).
The Easter story is a powerful one because God invites the voices of all who have seen the Risen Lord to share their story of God’s faithfulness and unfailing love.
As we focus on our vertical relationship with God, then we experience grace up close. God has claimed you and me as his own and calls us beloved. The Lord strengthens our fragile spirits to begin making us holy and whole; it is by his wounds we are healed.
And the Spirit moves us to engage our horizontal relationships in a new and profound way through the gift of community.
Theologian Shirley Guthrie says, “We listen to the stories of faith not so that we may believe that [the resurrection] really happened, but so that we may know Jesus Christ and knowing him, share with him this promise of new life.”[2]
What is your story? Where is God’s story of amazing grace shining into your story of despair and brokenness?
If there is no death, then there is no resurrection. When we are feeling like a zero, well, that is when God does his best work.
May each of us rise up in the defining moment of God’s resurrection hope.
May we tell our stories so that others may know the resurrection joy of the Lord is our strength.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, “God in Pain” (Nashville:Abingdon Press, 1998).
[2] Shirley Guthrie, “Christian Doctrine” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994). P. 274.
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