Alleluia, We Sing Your Praises

Easter Sunday Year B

Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; Acts 10:34-43; Mark 16:1-8

“Where Jesus is, there is life,…life-before-death”

Not me, oh Lord, but you. Amen!

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
[The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia!]

Good Morning! It is a blessing to be here with you on this Easter Sunday Morning, the day of our Lord’s Resurrection. “This is the day Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

See, the word Alleluia means “praise God!” Praise be to God! We’ve been fasting from saying Alleluia in our worship these forty days of lent, preparing ourselves, being sanctified by God, to let our praise ring out today. To help our Alleluias ring out this morning, I want to do something a little different. I want to teach you a song. Our guest musician, Benhi Khabeb, is going help us as well.
So, here’s how it goes. I’ll sing a line and you’ll sing it back along with Benhi.

[teach]
Alleluia, we sing your praises.
All our hearts are filled with gladness.

Alleluia, we sing your praises.
All our hearts are filled with gladness.

Christ the Lord, to us said,
“I am wine. I am bread.
I am wine. I am bread.
Give to all who thirst and hunger.”

Wonderful! Thank you for playing along!
I taught you that song this because I am haunted by the words of the theologian Jurgen Moltmann from his book, The Passion of Life. He writes,

Where Jesus is, there is life, there is abundant life, vigorous life, loved life and eternal life. There is life-before-death. I find it deeply disturbing and unsettling whenever I think about how we have become accustomed to death—to the death of the soul, to death on the street, to death through violence, to death-before-life.

I think Jurgen is on to something here. On this Resurrection Sunday we are reminded that where Jesus is there is life. Life-before-death. Life so abundant it can not be destroyed by death. Jesus gives us that life just like it says in the verse of the song we just learned. “I am wine. I am Bread. Give to all who thirst and hunger.” The abundant and vigorous life of Christ is given to us each and every time we come to God’s altar and receive the body and blood of Christ. Where Christ is there is life.

Now some folks, out there, might say that Christ is dead, that God is dead. That Jesus is not present here in North Omaha nor at the Church of the Resurrection. They could say that our Sunday Morning attendance is declining. They could say that our building has cracks in it, our parking lot has too few stalls, our priest is too young and our location is bad. My response is simple: Crap! That analysis is a grade A load of horse manure if I have heard it. Not 22 years ago this congregation didn’t exist, there was no church of the Resurrection. Yet over coming the weight of American racial separation two churches embarked on the long struggle to become one congregation. Here we stand over 20 years later still a diverse family united in God’s love.

I was telling a guy from North Carolina the other day about our church. He said, “y’all stayed together for over twenty years. How’d y’all pull that off?” I said, “We do it by eating together.” His reply, “Laws yes, y’all got that right.” Every time we come together at the Lord’s table, and every time we sit down together at a dinner table it is a symbol of Resurrection, a symbol of abundant life, of life-before-death.

Another piece of evidence that Christ is present and there is life in this congregation is our glorious choir. They’ve been working hard, and this morning they are going to sing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. It’s been tough, but no tougher then Jesus dying cross for us. And this morning when they bust that out, you will have no doubt they believe Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Hallelujah Chorus at the church of the Resurrection. Just ten twelve years ago that could not have been imagined. If that ain’t a symbol of Resurrection I don’t know what is.

Now some might say, that these signs of life here are nice and all, but preacher have you looked a newspaper lately? Yeah, I have. I know when I look a paper, or see the news on TV, or the internet, that there are a whole lot people that just don’t give a damn about their neighbors near and far. Then I come here to the Church of the Resurrection, and I see folks caring for their fellow congregants like they were Christ himself. I come here to the Church of the Resurrection and see folks caring for perfect strangers like they were Christ himself. I see young adults formed for leadership in the church and world through Resurrection House. I see school children fed and taught to read at the Miller Park afterschool program. I see people housed at Maggie’s place. I see people’s stomachs fed and their homes heated through the 30th street ministry. I see the Good News of Jesus Christ being shared with the people of war torn Sudan by Fr. Daniel our Sudanese missioner.
I see these things. I rejoice in these things, but I do not pat us on the back. Let us not fall into the sin of complacency; for today I am reminded of the verse of that song we just learned. Jesus said, “I am wine. I am Bread. Give to ALL who thirst and hunger.” Give to All.

There is a large mass of hurting people all over the world, and right here in Omaha. There is a large mass of people that turn to violence to solve their problems all over the world, and right here in Omaha. There is a large mass of people that are physically and spiritually hungry all over the world and right here in Omaha. People who need to know that their redeemer lives. People who need to know that God loves them. People who need to know that Christ is risen and where Jesus is there is life-before-death.

THEY WON”T KNOW IF WE DON’T TELL THEM!

The words of that song we just learned sum it all up. Christ gives us his vigorous abundant life. In turn, we are to share it.
My brothers and sisters, the time is now and the place it here. We are called not just to attend the Church of the Resurrection. We are called not just to walk this aisle and receive the body and blood of Christ. We are called not just to serve the word of God.

We are called to spread the word God around the world.
We are called to be the Body and Blood Christ broken, blessed, and shared with all.
We are called to be Resurrection to rise up in this forgotten part of empire and be a bright shining beacon of hope to a hurting world.
My brothers and sisters, I believe Christ is risen. I believe that where Christ is there is powerful life. I believe we are Resurrection. I believe we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
My Brothers and Sisters, today sing praise to God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Praise be to God. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God who working in us can do infinitely more then we could ask or imagine. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! We sing your praises. All our hearts are filled with gladness! Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen!