The River Really Runs

Luke 24.1 12

Rev. Kenneth C. Whitt                 September 23, 2007

The story of The Resurrection as told in Luke 24.1 12:

THE INTRODUCTION

I have set, or maybe God has given, an ambitious goal for this morning. That goal is that everyone leave this Sunday worship service doing one of two things:

Witnessing

or

Wondering

I pray that some of you will be witnessing, that you, like the women who came to the tomb, will believe in and experience the Resurrection with such clarity that it will light your way in the world and that others will see this light and begin to wonder about its source.

And I pray that those who can not yet witness will be wondering, that you who can not yet believe, or have not yet experienced the power of the Resurrection in your life, that you will be pondering, like Peter, what all this means.

I preach this sermon today in large measure because everything I shared with you the past two Sundays on how we hold on to our faith in a God of love in the midst of inexplicable suffering—this kind of faith depends on the resurrection. If resurrection is a lie or merely a myth then darkness and death speak the loudest and the final word. If resurrection is reality, truth of the highest order, then life and love are always victorious.

So, I pray you will be witnessing or at least that you will be wondering. What we are talking about here this morning, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the single most important spiritual event in human history. What you decide about the Resurrection has more to do with your present life and your future life than any decision you have ever or will ever make. It is the light that makes it possible for you to live by faith in dark times, the faith that sustains us no matter what events we pass through in our lives. To believe the resurrection…

It is more important than your choice of a career Or your choice of a spouse Or your choice of a house.

Experiencing Resurrection power in your life has more consequences than:

Your choice to be a Republican or a Democrat Or your decision to live in Springfield or somewhere else Even far more than your decision to be a Catholic or a Baptist or something else.

Now I know that for many of us it does not feel that way. What we believe about the Resurrection seems to be a distant philosophical or theological issue, far removed from the weighty matters of our everyday lives. I know I will have to do some pretty inspired talking or should I say that God will have to do powerful convincing to move everyone here to the position of being either:

Witnesses to the Resurrection

or

Wonderers about the Resurrection.

But none the less, I feel that is my task.

A STORY "THE RIVER REALLY RUNS"

Let me continue with a story. I have written this story simply as a tool to help us to look at resurrection faith from a different point of view. As you listen, it will be obvious that this is not a true story, it never really happened. And, as it goes with any parable, it is true at unimagined depths.

As might be expected, this story begins…

Once upon a time, in a land both far away and as near as our breath, there dwelt a people both very different from and very much the same as you and I.

Some were rich and some were poor.
Some were happy and some were sad.
Some were at peace and some were at war.
Some loved and some hated and most did both some of the time.

Through this land flowed a river. The river had its source in distant mountains. The mountains were too far away for the eye to see. And no one had ever traveled there. The mountains were a vast unknown. Some wise persons in the land had theories about the existence of the mountains based simply on the fact that the river that ran through the land never went dry. Summer and Winter, Spring and Fall, the River Always Ran. So the wise thinkers guessed that the river had its source in mountains where during the dry season of summer the continuing melt off from the winter snows kept the river filled and flowing.

Now as you may have guessed, the river was the source of life for this far away, but very near land. From the river were cut irrigation channels that carried water to every home, farm and village. It seldom rained, especially during the summer when crops were growing. So the river was a lifeline for everyone. And those near the river used it as a vast resource for recreation. Sailboats glided across the waters. Fisherman gathered from its depths a bounty of food. Others just sat by its banks and thrilled at its beauty. Few, except the wise thinkers of the land, ever troubled themselves over the river's source. The river had always been and always would be.

I have not mentioned that this land was vast. The irrigation channels that connected every part of the land to the source of life giving water were long. Some wound their way for many miles across wide plains, through rolling hills, or across dry and dusty deserts. Many persons, over decades of living in this land, had moved further and further away from the river, not for a shortage of space but simply out of a desire for a change or a sense of adventure. And it happened that a generation grew up, in many of the furthest reaches of the land, who had never seen the river. They heard stories of the river. Grandfathers told of swimming in it during the hottest days of summer and skating on it in the coldest days of winter. And they continued to receive water from the river through the complex irrigation system. But for themselves they knew nothing of the river except what they had heard.

And it happened that for unknown reasons the climate began, very gradually, to undergo a change. The winters became shorter. The amount of snow and rain decreased, and the summers became hotter. In no way did this affect the river because it had its source in distant mountains. And those closest to the river, to the life source of water and recreation and beauty, were scarcely affected by the changes. But as you moved further out in the land, and as years past in which the land became dryer and hotter, you eventually came to a year and a place where the irrigation channels stopped functioning. The changes happened so gradually that most people hardly noticed. They simply, over a few decades, became used to living in a dry and dusty land. Crop failures became more and more common. Life began to lose it's bounty and zest. But many people, caught up in the struggle to survive, did not even know what was happening. And above all, almost no one was around to tell stories of the river. Eventually a generation grew up in which everyone alive just assumed that life, with all its barrenness, was the way life had to be. As far as they were concerned, there was no river. There existed no source of abundant life. Life was harsh and demanding. There was no joy and very little hope.

And the communities in the barren parts of the land developed oppressive systems of government. The powerful controlled the limited resources and most of the people became nothing more than slaves.

Until one day, a young man who had grown up near the river, came wandering into one of these villages searching for adventure. He had traveled many days over many miles. And as he had traveled he had noticed the decrease of water in the irrigation channels. He saw the land getting more and more barren until there were almost no signs of life. He could not believe what he saw, especially since he knew there was plenty of water and plenty of land for everyone near the river. "I must tell them of the river", he said.

And so he told them of the river, and of the lush gardens, and the abundant styles of life, and of the sailboats gliding and the children swimming, and the people laughing. But they would not believe him. They could not believe the young man. Instead they mocked him and tried to drive him away. But he would not go. He could not abide with the suffering of the people. He must tell them again. He must make them listen. "The River Really Runs", he cried out again and again. "The River Really Runs!"

With such passion did he tell his story that some of the poorest of the poor folk of the village finally began to take some hope. "Could it be true?" they wondered. "Could it be true?" And a few of the bravest began to make plans to follow the dry irrigation ditches and seek their source. "Could there really be a river for us? Could their be a place for us beside the river?"

But those who were powerful were threatened by this possibility. These “lies” of a river, these rumors of a source of abundant life, would draw all of the laborers away. Their power would be eroded. The young man must be stopped. It is better that one man die than that our system be disrupted. And so they plotted and schemed and in short order turned the crowd against the adventurous young man and his deluded stories about a river. And they dragged him down to the irrigation channel and in that dried up ditch staked out the young man to die in the scorching sun. It did not take long. But taking in his last breath, the young man cried out one final time, "The River Really Runs". And he died.

And, in the distance, almost to the horizon, could be seen two figures who in the drama and confusion of the moment had managed to slip out of the village. They were walking along the irrigation channel, in search of abundant life, wondering as they walked, "Does the river really run?"

THE APPLICATION OF THE STORY

The contention of Scripture, the proclamation of every witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, including the witness of present day Christians who experience over and over again the power of Jesus Christ to bring life out of every experience of death, is that "The River Really Runs." This is no idle tale or fanciful rumor. It is not a hoax, and it is not a myth that is only symbolically true. The river really runs. There flows through all of human life a river of God's power and love, a river that has its eternal source in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is simply the way it is. You can deny the existence of the river and continue in spiritual poverty. Or, like the two persons headed down the irrigation channel, you can go forth wondering, in search of the source of abundant and eternal life.

Let me get very specific and practical.

Two women are on their way to work and are caught in the same Interstate 70 traffic jam. Construction delays have resulted in a 45 minute backup during rush hour and both women are late for work. And both are angry. The first woman feels her blood boiling over and knows it's not good for her health. But that just makes her madder and she is stuck with her rage. Her whole day is ruined. The second woman, in very much the same emotional predicament, in her anger offers a prayer. "God help me with this anger!" And by the power of her faith, she knows there is a loving God who is greater than all negative emotions. And she knows the anger will pass and relaxes and allows the tasks of the day to rest with God.

Or, two people sit opposite one another at McDonalds, both eating a quarter pounder, and both anxious about some life problems. (I know this may sound trivial, but I want us to understand that what we think about Resurrection makes a difference in every aspect of our lives.) One thinks of the bread in that quarter pounder as only that which surrounds a burger so you don't get ketchup on your fingers. And the other, looking at the same break knows that this meal and every meal is symbolic of the living bread of Jesus Christ, who is the source of abundant life. One person goes off continuing to worry about the problems of life. The other leaves reminded again of the power of God to care for us in every circumstance of life.

Two fathers of large families are busy paying the bills. Both are anxious because the money that has to go out is once again larger than the money that has come in. One worrys without ceasing. The only way out, the first father feels, is to work even harder and spend even less time with the family. After a brief struggle the other ceases to worry because he has begun to learn to trust in the power of God to provide and knows God will show him the way.

Two college students are approaching graduation without jobs, without even knowing what kind of job is wanted. One is sure there is no place for her. The other, though she wishes God would hurry up, is equally sure that she will find God's place in God's time.

Two families experience a tragic death. Both grieve profoundly. For both it will take years for the pain of their loss to subside. But the first family believes neither in a God who can carry them through this darkness, nor in a God who can offer eternal rest to the loved one who has died. The other family knows that God is with them, possibly more deeply than they have ever known God, and they have even less worry about the one who has died because they know he is held safely in the loving arms of God.

The source of all of this hope is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Christ God won the decisive victory over every force that:

demeans life
diminishes abundant life
destroys life

In Christ, the victory over death belongs to all of us. By faith we receive that victory into our lives and it changes the way we live. And our world, today, and we ourselves, today, desperately need to receive that victory of life over death.

Many lives are demeaned by poverty, hunger and homelessness. We need the victory of Jesus Christ.

Potentially abundant lives are diminished by materialism, anger, fear and despair. We need the victory of Jesus Christ.

Countless lives are destroyed by domestic violence, others by government sanctioned oppression and torture and international wars. We need the victory of Jesus Christ.

What you really believe about the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes all the difference in the world, and to the world.

CONCLUSION

To be completely honest with myself and with you I have to say that in the early years of my ministry I was a “wonderer" about the resurrection. For many years it was an amazing story to me, but one I could not quite believe. I've always had a lot in common with Peter and Thomas. Knowing my questions and doubts and failures I have taken great comfort in knowing these Apostles could serve God even when they were a long ways from having their spiritual acts together. Peter and Thomas were wonderers before they became witnesses.

I too was a wonderer before I became a witness. But I am a witness now. And like the women who ran from the empty tomb to confront the disciples in hiding with the Good News, "Jesus is risen", I too stand before you this morning to proclaim Good News that I have personally witnessed in my own life. "Jesus is risen!" And I am hoping beyond hope that you will believe me, or at least, if you can not yet believe, that you will wonder about what has been said; that you will ask yourself, "can this be true for me?"; "does God have a more abundant life in mind for me?"; "Does the river really run?"

And I pray that you will go out from this place this morning either:

Witnessing to what you know

Or wondering about what you do not yet know but which you suspect may be too important a truth for you to any longer ignore.

It will make all the difference in the world and to the world what you decide. Like the young man staked out to die in a dry irrigation ditch, if there was only one thing I could tell you it would be this, "The River Really Runs!"

Jesus Christ is Risen!

So be it!

Amen!