 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
|
The 6th Sunday of Easter
(A) In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord of Life. Amen. To begin with, we must understand that Jesus’ descent into hell is NOT the “hell” of fire and torment where Satan and all the wicked are punished. The actual word should be HADES (the Hebrew word is SHEOL) – the realm of the dead. Indeed, if you look at the Apostles’ Creed in our Lutheran Book of Worship, you will see that this is noted as a “footnote” - that Jesus descended to the DEAD rather than into hell. HADES is not a place a punishment, but simply a place where all the dead went. According to William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible commentary, the Jewish people at the time of Jesus had a very shadowy conception of life beyond the grave. They did not think in terms of the dead going to either heaven or hell, but rather that they all went to a “shadow world”, where the spirits of people moved like gray ghosts in an everlasting twilight, and where there was neither strength nor joy. As we hear in Isaiah 38:18 – “For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.” Or again in Psalm 6:5 – “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise?” Sheol (or in the Greek language – Hades) was a place of forgetfulness, where people were separated from life and light and God. It is to this realm that Peter in today’s passage says that Jesus, though put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, descended and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison. With this statement, Peter is saying that the good news of Jesus’ salvation is even for those who have died! Indeed, as he goes on to say later in chapter 4, verse 6 (not in today’s second reading) – “For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.” Think of what a fantastic concept this is! God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ is not just for the living – it extends even to the dead! It is God’s desire that ALL people – even those who have died and are seemingly beyond hope – should have the good news of the Gospel proclaimed to them! Last week I mentioned that there is as much room in heaven as there is love in God’s heart. And now this week we hear that this love is even for those who have died without hearing about Jesus or perhaps even (and this is really “mind-blowing”!) for those who have been disobedient to God in this life but who are now being given another chance! There are absolutely NO LIMITS to God’s love! Through Jesus’ descent into Hades, even the dead are being given the opportunity to repent and experience God’s salvation! WOW!!! When we truly understand this, then many familiar scripture passages begin to take on a new meaning for us. That is why “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) And that is also why “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them are singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:1) Nothing, not even the realm of the dead, is ever beyond God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ! May we always remember that! But there is also another great concept in today’s second reading that we need to look at. Immediately after reflecting upon Jesus’ descent to the dead, Peter talks about BAPTISM. Why? In its original context, baptism involved total immersion. Some Christians, of course, still follow this practice today. Although immersion may not be necessary for a baptism to be valid, it makes a very powerful symbolic point that the baptized person is being BURIED. In other words, baptism involves DEATH! As we say at our funeral services: “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:4-5) How many of us have thought about baptism in this way – that it involves DEATH? Today at the 8:00 service, we are baptizing Dillon Hasbargen – and it is not just a sweet little ceremony. He is being buried into death! A supposedly true story is that in a certain Brazilian village, a coffin will be constructed for a child when he or she is born – and when it is time for that child’s baptism the coffin will be filled with water and the child will then be immersed into the water and coffin. Baptized into death! The point is this: that Jesus comes to seek and to save the DEAD so that they can then experience the power of his resurrection. The only people whom Jesus cannot save are those who are still “alive” to their own righteousness and way of living. But when we are baptized, we DIE and join the realm of the dead that Peter talks about in today’s second reading – the ones who seem to be beyond hope. When we are baptized, we join the multitude of the “spirits in prison” to whom Christ is proclaiming the gospel in today’s second reading. In other words, through baptism we are admitting our absolute helplessness and dependence upon God’s mercy through Jesus. In a very real way, we become like the DEAD – so that we can then experience the power and new life of Christ’s resurrection! Baptism, Peter writes in today’s second reading, now SAVES US – not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The “good conscience” is our assurance that we have been united to Christ forever, and that nothing will ever be able to separate us from his love. Even though we die, we shall certainly share in his resurrection from death! Knowing that gives us a hope that nothing can ever take away from us! The message of Easter is that Jesus has conquered anything and everything that would ever separate us from God. He even descended to the dead, to the region beyond hope – FOR US – so that we can live with him forever! May this message give us comfort, hope, peace, and joy – now and always! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
|
||||
