Sermon preached by
The Rev. Dr. Fulton L. Porter, III
at
St. Thomas Church, Chicago
The Feast of the Resurrection (Easter Sunday), 4/12/09
John 20:1-18
What a Difference a Day Makes
Have you ever had a bad day? A bad day is extremely frustrating because everything that can go wrong does! On bad days cars malfunction, keys get lost, children get sick, deadlines are missed, opportunities are lost, reputations are tarnished, mistakes are made, lies are told, wounds are inflicted and pain is endured. Bad days are unavoidable. They often come unannounced and give us little opportunity to respond to them. Bad days, at the very least, are aggravating. Bad days don't discriminate. Children have bad days. Adults have bad days. People of all races cultures and creeds, all have experienced those irritating times when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
I read the story of the man who went to work after an especially bad day. The people in the office could always tell when Tom was having trouble at home. One friend said, “Tom, how was your day?” Tom said, "I had a very bad day. Me and my wife got into it. We argue like cats and dogs." The friend shook his head and said, "You did have a bad day." Then Tom added, "But before the day was over with she came crawling to me on her hands and knees!" Impressed the friend asked, "What did she say to you?" Tom answered, "She said, Tom, come out from under this bed. Don't you make me have to come under there and get you. " Tom had a bad day!
You can't tell what kind of day it'll be by the way it begins. A day that starts off great can very well end up a bad day. Some days start bad and end the same way. Then there are other days that start out bad but before the day is over, end better than they began. We know it's been a bad day if we left home with plenty of money but came home broke. If we leave broke and come back broke, it's still a bad day. But if we leave broke and come back with our pockets full, then we've had a good day.
No condition in life is permanent. Neither success or failure is fixed. Both are conditional. On July 3, 1776 America was a colony of England, but on July 4th, one day later, the whole world changed. What a difference a day makes! On Wednesday, October 23, 1929 millionaires in America were dancing in the street. The next day, Thursday, October 24th, the stock market crashed and millionaires instantly became beggars. Hundreds jumped from windows in anguish over their sudden poverty. What a difference a day makes! One day a man is a lowly janitor. They next day he wins the lottery and is a multimillionaire! What a difference a day makes!
Have you seen the television show that sings this song? "Come and hear the story of a man named Jed. A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shooting at some food and up from the ground came a bubbling crude.. Oil that is, black gold." One day they were hillbillies, the next day they were living in Beverly Hills! What a difference a day makes!
There are some days that are different from others because they are turning points. They are days that mark transitions, shifts, and life-style changes. These days are important because of the way they initiated change in our lives. The day we decided to get married instead of shacking. The day we decided to stop smoking. The day we decided to tone down our wild and reckless pattern of living; all of these were important days because they made a difference in our life-style. Today, we celebrate an important day. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a day that changed the entire world and the lives of millions of people. What a difference a day makes!
This text focuses on Christ on the resurrection day. The crucifixion of Christ was a tremendous blow to his disciples. They had high hopes of establishing the kingdom of God on earth with Jesus as King and themselves as his royal court, some sitting on his left and others on his right. As the stone was sealed in front of the tomb, their hopes were also sealed away.
Early Sunday morning the women came to the tomb to anoint his body with spices. They had hurriedly wrapped him without completing the process. When they left home they fully expected to find Jesus' body just as they had left it. Instead, they found the stone rolled away. John's account tells how the women saw Christ himself risen and spoke to him. Other Gospel accounts tell more details. In Matthew the women are told by the angels that Jesus had risen. They said, "Come see the place where the Lord lay." In Luke 24 the women are told not to be afraid, but are asked, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" Mark 16, which we read today, identifies Mary as the first person to see Christ alive. All of the Gospels describe the same great event, one with more detail than the other.
While many focus on the beginning of the day, John focuses on the end of the day in a peculiar way. After Jesus’ death, the disciples enclosed themselves in a room and shut the doors. They were afraid for their lives. Since Jesus had been crucified, some concluded they would be next. It was a striking contrast to the boldness they had shown just a few days earlier. Peter was so bold that he cut off a man's ear at the garden and swore he would never reject the Lord. Now he was huddled with the others, shivering and afraid. What a difference a few days made. When we read a little further we see that their fear was equaled by their surprise when Christ appeared himself. He challenged them to look at his hands and his feet, to bring him something to eat and even invited them to inspect the nail prints in his hands and feet.
The appearance of Jesus made their day. What began as a bad day of low spirits and defeat, ended in victory. Together, the gospels give us an account of one amazing day that began with women making a sad pilgrimage to the tomb, only to find it empty. It ends with 10 of the disciples seeing Christ in his glory standing in triumph. It began with defeat, fear and hiding. It ended in celebration, praise and renewed faith. What a difference a day makes.
The women who came to the tomb came with low expectations. They expected to find Christ dead, even though he told them repeatedly that he would rise in three days. They woke up expecting a bad day. There are many people today who begin each day with low expectations. Attitudes set the tone of every day of our lives. The attitudes that we carry to work, school or community service have a great effect on the way we appreciate every day. It is dangerous to prejudge the day before it begins. In the same manner it is also troublesome to prejudge every situation before it actually unfolds and every circumstance before it comes to its conclusion.
When Israel stood at the banks of the Red Sea there were many who had already prejudged the situation and concluded that they were lost. Pharaoh's army was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them, making the possibility of survival very slim. The wind was blowing, but they didn't understand why. The waves on the water were rippling but they didn't understand why. They saw all of these signs, expected defeat and began to complain. Moses told them to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
When Jesus carried Mary and Martha to the tomb of Lazarus they expected the worse. Lazarus had been dead for four days. They accepted what they considered to be reality. They began to complain to Jesus, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." They did not expect to see their brother again, despite the fact that Jesus was by their side. They approached the situation with a low expectation.
On the other hand, a woman who had an issue of blood heard that Jesus would be passing by. She felt that if she could push her way through the crowd and touch the hem of his garment she would be healed and made whole. It didn't matter that there was a big crowd. She expected to see Jesus! It didn't matter that she was old and sick; she expected to be satisfied! It didn't matter that she had an issue of blood for 12 years; she expected to see Jesus!
Today, there are many who are living through personal droughts. Some are spiritually dry! Some are praying for a shower of blessings but they leave home every day with low expectations. If you pray for rain, and rain is in God's will...carry your umbrella, boots and a rain coat. If you pray for blessings, and blessings are in God's will, it doesn't matter how your day begins, expect a shower of blessings.
Their Day began to change when they saw Jesus! The women came to the tomb expecting to see the body of a dead rabbi, but they ended up seeing the living Lord. The text elaborates that Mary looked into the tomb, saw an angel sitting on the slab where Jesus lay. The Gospel of John lets us know that she saw Jesus but did not recognize him, thinking he was a gardener. Finally she recognized him as the risen Lord and she became excited.
No matter how bad an experience may be, it always looks a little better when we can recognize the hand of God working in that situation. Like Mary, who saw Jesus but did not recognize him at first, there are many today who cannot recognize the hand of God working in every situation of their lives. We should approach each day with the full knowledge that God is working in every situation. If we succeed, God is working. Yet, if we fail, God is working that situation too. If we get a promotion on the job, God is working, but if we are not selected for promotion...God is working that situation too! Romans reminds us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
We should understand that sometimes God has to trouble the waters, to roll back the sea for us. Sometimes God has to heat up the kitchen of our experiences to put food on the table. God's hand is in every experience of those of us who have give our lives to God. The prophet Elijah sat by a brook and was fed daily by ravens and drank from a brook. When Elijah wouldn't move, God dried up the brook and called the ravens home. Elijah recognized the hand of God in his situation and moved on with his life. We must see God's hand in every situation. When we are able to see Jesus and recognize him, what we think is a bad day, may not be so bad after all. The man who missed his flight, thought he was having a bad day until he read how those who caught the flight died in a crash! He praised God for missing the flight. The woman who thought she was having a bad day because she had a flat tire but as she changed the tire she notice his gas tank had a slow leak that could have caused an explosion and killed him. He praised God for the flat tire! Whenever we can see God working in a situation, our attitude about it begins to change.
Finally, brothers and sisters we must consider that bad days become good days when Jesus shows up! The disciples, unaware that Jesus had risen from the dead, were locked in a room. They were trembling and afraid, but suddenly Jesus showed up. When Jesus showed up, everything began to change. It doesn't matter how bad things are, things change the day Jesus shows up. A lame man sat by the pool for 38 years, that's 13, 870 days, but one day Jesus showed up and told him to take up his bed and walk. What a difference a day makes! A blind man had never seen the light of day, but one day Jesus showed up and the blind man was able to see. What a difference a day makes! The disciples were fishing in their boats and couldn't catch any fish. It had been a bad day, but when Jesus showed up, he told them to cast their nets on the other side and they caught so many fish they broke their nets. What a difference a day makes.
We should not count on the praise of people to determine whether they are having a good day, but we have to put our trust in the Lord. People will praise you one day, and turn against you the next. One day Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowd cheered saying, "Hosanna" in the highest. The next few days, that same crowd was saying "crucify him." What a difference a day makes! One day Judas was among the faithful disciples, the next day he was betraying Christ with a kiss. What a difference a day makes! One day the people were ready to put a royal crown on Jesus' head, the next day they were giving him a crown of thorns! What a difference a day makes! One day your boss gives you a plaque and calls you the employee of the month, the next day you are fired for being incompetent. What a difference a day makes! One day your husband says, "I love you forever" the next day he's stepping out on you. What a difference a day makes!
Yet we should never be intimidated by the events of any experience. Every day is a good day. That's why David wrote, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" No matter how bad the day looks at the beginning, it's a good day to be glad! It might be cloudy outside, but I'm glad! It might be a time of storm, but I'm glad! When Jesus was arrested and carried before three courts, it looked like a bad day; but God was working his plan! When they put a crown of thorns on his head, it looked like a bad day, but God was working his plan! When they nailed him to an old rugged cross, it looked like a bad day, but God was still working his plan. When he died out on Calvary, it looked like a bad day; but God was still working his plan! When Mary and the women came to the tomb they were expecting to have another bad day. They didn't know that God had taken what was supposed to be a bad day and turned it into a good day! Early Sunday morning, God took the sting out of death! Early Sunday morning, God removed victory from the grave! Early Sunday morning, he arose from the Grave with all power in his hands! One day he was in the grave, but the next day he was alive! What a difference a day makes! One day he was down, but the next day he was walking around! What a difference a day makes!
