CELC Third Sunday of Easter

The Third Sunday of Easter – April 10, 2005

1 Peter 1:17-23

Did you remember the most important event of last week? There were a number of folks from Christ Church there, maybe you are one of them?

No, I am not speaking of Charles and Camilla.

Nor am I speaking of the funeral of John Paul II. The funeral was a significant moment in our lives, but it is not what I would consider the event of last week.

No, the event of last week took place near Greenville. It was there that Andrew Cox became an Eagle Scout.

You may recall Eagle is the highest rank a Boy Scout can attain. Only about 4% of all scouts make it to Eagle. It is an honor that lasts a lifetime. An Eagle Scout not only attains the rank, but becomes part of a very select group that is expected to be leaders all the rest of their life. Eagle Scouts are given a new model to aspire to as they become Eagles. Attaining the rank does not mean it is the end of the road. Rather it is the beginning.

I want to again congratulate Andrew on becoming an Eagle, as Matt Bigelow also did a few months ago. It is a joy that these young men at Christ Church have be so honored and recognized for their work, and now are challenged to become even more as they live the rest of their lives.

When reading the second lesson today from 1 Peter, I recalled being at Andrew’s and Matt’s courts of honor as they became Eagles. I thought of them because in the middle of our lesson we are told, “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from you ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.”

Note the lesson tells you that you have been ransomed from a futile life. If Easter means anything, it is the way by which we are transformed to a new life. I thought about an Eagle Scout. Reaching that rank means you are a different person who is now expected to be responsible and a leader in different ways than they ever have before. You can say that becoming an Eagle means beginning a new life. Through the cross of Jesus Christ and his resurrection you have been ransomed from an old life and given a new life.

It is different than becoming an Eagle Scout because there is nothing we do to reach this marvelous new life. There are no merit badges, no projects, and no superiors to please. God comes loving you and gives you a new life in Christ. It is the Easter gift.

It is a new Exodus. At the first Exodus the people of Israel were ransomed from slavery in Egypt and given a new life in a new land. They were never the same. In the cross, Jesus as the new Passover Lamb is the “lamb without defect or blemish” who has given you a new life.

This new life is a life where you are reconciled to God. You are so completely loved by God that you know that your restless heart has finally found life as it is meant to be live. It is a love that transforms you. You are loved so unconditionally that loving others becomes your path. Like the God who loves you with a love that is self-giving, the love of the cross becomes what you live.

In fact our lesson says, “…have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.” Here is the call of the life of faith. Trusting that God loves you unconditionally, you love. This is different than the life of an Eagle Scout. You are not simply called to be leaders and responsible in God’s mission, but you are called to love.

All of this has been made possible because of the “lamb without defect or blemish.” Your new life of godly love comes from the transforming Easter gift of Christ.

Note that the lesson tells us that it is the lamb, not “silver or gold” that gives you a new life. It is in the waters of Holy Baptism where you drown and then rise to new life as promised by Christ. There is no silver or gold involved. It is the gift of God.

The gift of new life does, however, have silver and gold implications for you. In your new life your calling to love includes a calling to be stewards of the riches God provides. God calls you to manage with love all that we have. Care of the earth, our selves, our families and much more is implied. Most of all it is the relationships of your lives that you are called to nurture and maintain. It is known as acts of love.

You are not called to love things, to love silver and gold. You are called to love God and to love others as yourself. Silver and gold is a means to this love. It is not what we love. Just as the Eagle Scout learns attaining the rank is not the point, but living a life of leadership and responsibility, you as people of faith learn silver and gold is a means, not the end. The end is to love God and others. The means is the silver and gold.

Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps I did not remember the real significant event of last week. Perhaps the real significant event of last week was the baptism of Persephone Rose Taylor. Last week it was in the waters of Holy Baptism that Persephone was called by God into a new life of love. It is the gift of Easter and greatest calling you can have. Amen.

Pastor Robert F. Holley