The Scripture for this morning in John 20:1-18
The Sermon title is The Impossible...Possible?
Early Thoughts: Can life really win after all? Can hope really overcome despair? Can love actually conquer fear?
It seems impossible. WE know all too well the reality of death, despair, and fear. We just have to look at the world around us to believe that they are what is actually winning. Surely it is a pipe-dream, a pollyanna attitude, to believe otherwise.
And then we read the Easter story.
Jesus was dead after all. When the Roman Empire wanted you dead then you were going to end up dead. He had been crucified, he had proclaimed "It is Finished" and bowed down his head, his side had been pierced, and his body had been laid in a tomb. The world had won. Mary was heading to his tomb to weep and mourn.
But then the impossible happened.
The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. Some new horror must have taken place. "I don't know where they have taken him!"
But this was not some new horror, this was hope beyond hope. Mary would meet the one who died, would be able to proclaim (as the first evangelist, the first to preach the Good News) "I have seen the Lord!"
What seemed impossible was indeed possible. Death did not have the final word --life and love did. Despair is not, in the end, stronger than hope.
That is the Easter promise. That is the Easter message. The world had done its worst and it still lost. It is still true today. When it looks like fear and death and despair have won then we know it ain't over yet. It ain't over until hope and life and love have won. Anything else is just a setback.
As The Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley tells Buttercup in The Princess Bride "Death can not stop true love, all it can do is delay it for a while".
It seems impossible but it is a statement of faith and trust. Live Wins.
Thanks be to God.
--Gord
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