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Pastor Ruppenthal retired on June 30, 2010. Trinity's Call Committee is working on our "Ministry Site Survey" in preparation for considering replacement pastoral candidates, and the congregation awaits the the arrival of Interim Pastor Jeffery Tomberlin to serve during the call process. Something New in the Cemetery

An Easter Sermon by Pastor John E. Ruppenthal

Trinity Lutheran Church

April 4, 2010

They're right, you know, these new atheists who've burst upon us in recent years.

There was a time when it wasn't very fashionable to be an atheist. Every village had one, but then every village had an idiot, but they weren't popular. It took a certain courage to stand up the village square, and not be counted among the faithful.

Clarence Darrow did it, the famous lawyer in the Scopes Monkey Trial. He dared to doubt God publically. Friedrich Nietzsche built a philosophy on the cry "God is dead", and they said he was crazy. Sigmund Freud said God was a delusion of an unhappy child-hood, and we are all unhappy children. What the heck, as long as we all love our mothers. There were some examples, but out-and-out atheism was kind of rare.

Even today, most people, if they're atheists at all, are merely practicing atheists, who live in the world as if there were no God…without making any great claims about it. Most public people in our country acknowledge some sort of God in their public rhetoric…and then advice us to do things that must make God shiver.

It's all changed. In recent years atheism has become the rage. Now we have this gaggle of outspoken atheists, publishing books about the not-existing God, hitting the talk show circuits.

The most popular have had best sellers: Political commentator Sam Harris, wrote The End of Faith. Scientist, geneticist, evolutionist Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion. And historian and social critic Christopher Hitchens, wrote God Is NOT Great.

These people all come to the God question from different disciplines, but they share at least two things in common.

The first is they're mainly anti-Christian in their atheism. Perhaps it's because they live in a culture they perceive as dangerously intolerant and dangerously Christian culture. Though they must admit, this culture tolerates them well…and rewards them by buying their books.

These modern atheist may throw a little anti-Muslim extremism in the mix they oppose…but it has to be extremism. There's rarely any anti-Judaism, thank God. That's just too much like old fashioned anti-Semitism to be civilized.

So mostly their rants are just anti-Christian…and the form of Christianity they uniformly oppose is American right-wing fundamentalism, as if that were the only sort of Christians out there. Their complaints always come back to a church they view as filled with people with narrow minds, foolish ideas, and hateful and intolerant attitudes. It's like the old joke, "If there's one thing I just can't tolerate it's intolerant people."

I actually share a lot of their reservations and critiques of fundamentalism…but I do resent being lumped in by them with the Bible thumpers…

The other thing these new atheists seem to have in common is a shared core statement of faith. They all say it, and it's tied in with their anti-Christian emphasis. The statement is this: We all know that no one has ever come back from the dead. And this is a statement of faith. They simply present it as a self-evident fact: any reasonable person knows when you're dead, you're dead. It's as clear as the nose of your face - there are no two-way tickets to the cemetery.

That's why the story of Jesus for them is so fantastic: How could anyone possibly believe that Jesus is risen from the dead? We all know it impossible. It's a given!

And you know, in one way, they're absolutely right! Death is a one-way street. We have to be honest about that, no waffling, no pretending, no euphemizing. Of all the places you go, the one you least expect to come back from is the cemetery.

The great 20th century philosopher, Martin Heidegger, put it this way: Death is the possibility of having no further possibilities. Death is when you run out of options.

So in a sense these modern day atheists are right! If it is just up to us, if there is no God, then death is it. There is no future beyond. Those who look for surprises in the cemetery are in for a big disappointment.

So they're right…as far as it goes…

But before you join the Freedom from Religion Foundation, there's this one problem: He is risen! Christ is risen! Jesus of Nazareth, one-time-dead guy, one-time-corpse, is risen! That's the report we have heard, the witness, the word.

They went to the cemetery that morning, that group of women, ready for the usual. They brought the spices, the herbs, the wrappings for the body. Jesus was dead, dead, dead…that much was true. He'd been hauled from the cross, and he'd been left in grave before the Sabbath.

There is no reason - absolutely no reason - to expect to find anything but poor dead Jesus in the cemetery. We all know that no one has ever come back from the dead…

But there's a surprise in the cemetery, something new…he's not there! That's the word, the report! Instead, they find an empty tomb, and some messengers. And this astonishing word: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."

Well, yes, the reports vary a bit, from Gospel to Gospel, as to exactly what was said and what was heard and what was seen. But on this they agree…all of them, with Paul first: Christ has been raised from the dead! That's how Paul put it, and he wrote it down it first.

Many people over the centuries, including some Christians, have assumed that we Christian started with an idea, or an argument, or a theory. Something like this: There is a God. When we die, this God will raise us back up to life. Jesus died. God raised him up. We're next.

That's why we are here, on Easter, to confirm our reservation, and celebrate our wonderful insight into how the world and our theories works out so conveniently for us.

But that's not what happened! What happened first was the Deed! As Goethe put it: Im Anfang war die Tat…in the beginning was the Deed! What happened at Easter was not an idea, not a argument …but a happening, an event!

Call it a wonder, if you will, a miracle. Call it resurrection. That's what those first Christians did, those first witnesses.

They went to the cemetery, expecting nothing new. Surely, they believed in God. Almost everyone did. But they also believed Jesus was dead and would most certainly stay so. They didn't take the funeral gear along just in case.

But when they got to the cemetery…there was something new! Jesus not dead. Jesus was alive again. Jesus was risen, risen indeed!

And everything changed. The view of God changed and the view of the world and the future opened.

And Jesus, too…the view of him changed too. His words took on new weight! His acts became signs of the kingdom, of nothing less than the dawn of the coming reign of God! It was the future exploding in their faces.

Easter is not first of all the celebration a brave new idea about God or life or of a the future beyond death. Easter, as John Updike put it, is not first "metaphor, analogy …a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages". Easter did not start in the head or the heart or imagination or the mind's eye of a bunch of befuddled disciples.

Easter began in the eye of beholders, in the ear of witnesses. Easter happened!

And they, the women, the men, Peter, later Paul, bore witness.

So that's why we gather! Easter is a first of all a remembrance! Easter is the celebration of that first happening, the marking of that world-shattering event. Easter is our attention to the reporting of a never-before-seen something new in the cemetery! Easter is the eruption of life and of God and of hope where we least expect it!

Make no mistake, Updike says rightly, if this were not the case, then the church will fall. If Jesus is not risen, then we, as Paul said, are of all people most to be pitied.

If Jesus is not risen, then we would - if were very lucky - we would be celebrating Passover this week with our forebears in faith, still waiting. Or we would be burning a pinch in incense to some unknown god. Or maybe we'd be sitting at home, reading the papers, considering how the atheists might have a point after all.

But in fact, Paul says, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. And so we are here, with the wild claim, there is something new in the cemetery!

And he is risen, and we are delivered, and the world future is open.

And what can we say to it all, but hallelujah! He is risen! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Amen

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Pastor Ruppenthal retired on June 30, 2010. Trinity's Call Committee is working on our "Ministry Site Survey" in preparation for considering replacement pastoral candidates, and the congregation awaits the the arrival of Interim Pastor Jeffery Tomberlin to serve during the call process. Something New in the Cemetery An Easter Sermon by Pastor John E. Ruppenthal Trinity Lutheran Church April 4, 2010 They're right, you know, these new atheists who've burst upon us in recent years. There was a time when it wasn't very fashionable to be an atheist. Every village had one, but then every village had an idiot, but they weren't popular. It took a certain courage to stand up the village square, and not be counted among the faithful. Clarence Darrow did it, the famous lawyer in the Scopes Monkey Trial. He dared to doubt God publically. Friedrich Nietzsche built a philosophy on the cry "God is dead", and they said he was crazy. Sigmund Freud said God was a delusion of an unhappy child-hood, and we are all unhappy children. What the heck, as long as we all love our mothers. There were some examples, but out-and-out atheism was kind of rare. Even today, most people, if they're atheists at all, are merely practicing atheists, who live in the world as if there were no God…without making any great claims about it. Most public people in our country acknowledge some sort of God in their public rhetoric…and then advice us to do things that must make God shiver. It's all changed. In recent years atheism has become the rage. Now we have this gaggle of outspoken atheists, publishing books about the not-existing God, hitting the talk show circuits. The most popular have had best sellers: Political commentator Sam Harris, wrote The End of Faith. Scientist, geneticist, evolutionist Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion. And historian and social critic Christopher Hitchens, wrote God Is NOT Great. These people all come to the God question from different disciplines, but they share at least two things in common. The first is they're mainly anti-Christian in their atheism. Perhaps it's because they live in a culture they perceive as dangerously intolerant and dangerously Christian culture. Though they must admit, this culture tolerates them well…and rewards them by buying their books. These modern atheist may throw a little anti-Muslim extremism in the mix they oppose…but it has to be extremism. There's rarely any anti-Judaism, thank God. That's just too much like old fashioned anti-Semitism to be civilized. So mostly their rants are just anti-Christian…and the form of Christianity they uniformly oppose is American right-wing fundamentalism, as if that were the only sort of Christians out there. Their complaints always come back to a church they view as filled with people with narrow minds, foolish ideas, and hateful and intolerant attitudes. It's like the old joke, "If there's one thing I just can't tolerate it's intolerant people." I actually share a lot of their reservations and critiques of fundamentalism…but I do resent being lumped in by them with the Bible thumpers… The other thing these new atheists seem to have in common is a shared core statement of faith. They all say it, and it's tied in with their anti-Christian emphasis. The statement is this: We all know that no one has ever come back from the dead. And this is a statement of faith. They simply present it as a self-evident fact: any reasonable person knows when you're dead, you're dead. It's as clear as the nose of your face - there are no two-way tickets to the cemetery. That's why the story of Jesus for them is so fantastic: How could anyone possibly believe that Jesus is risen from the dead? We all know it impossible. It's a given! And you know, in one way, they're absolutely right! Death is a one-way street. We have to be honest about that, no waffling, no pretending, no euphemizing. Of all the places you go, the one you least expect to come back from is the cemetery. The great 20th century philosopher, Martin Heidegger, put it this way: Death is the possibility of having no further possibilities. Death is when you run out of options. So in a sense these modern day atheists are right! If it is just up to us, if there is no God, then death is it. There is no future beyond. Those who look for surprises in the cemetery are in for a big disappointment. So they're right…as far as it goes… But before you join the Freedom from Religion Foundation, there's this one problem: He is risen! Christ is risen! Jesus of Nazareth, one-time-dead guy, one-time-corpse, is risen! That's the report we have heard, the witness, the word. They went to the cemetery that morning, that group of women, ready for the usual. They brought the spices, the herbs, the wrappings for the body. Jesus was dead, dead, dead…that much was true. He'd been hauled from the cross, and he'd been left in grave before the Sabbath. There is no reason - absolutely no reason - to expect to find anything but poor dead Jesus in the cemetery. We all know that no one has ever come back from the dead… But there's a surprise in the cemetery, something new…he's not there! That's the word, the report! Instead, they find an empty tomb, and some messengers. And this astonishing word: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." Well, yes, the reports vary a bit, from Gospel to Gospel, as to exactly what was said and what was heard and what was seen. But on this they agree…all of them, with Paul first: Christ has been raised from the dead! That's how Paul put it, and he wrote it down it first. Many people over the centuries, including some Christians, have assumed that we Christian started with an idea, or an argument, or a theory. Something like this: There is a God. When we die, this God will raise us back up to life. Jesus died. God raised him up. We're next. That's why we are here, on Easter, to confirm our reservation, and celebrate our wonderful insight into how the world and our theories works out so conveniently for us. But that's not what happened! What happened first was the Deed! As Goethe put it: Im Anfang war die Tat…in the beginning was the Deed! What happened at Easter was not an idea, not a argument …but a happening, an event! Call it a wonder, if you will, a miracle. Call it resurrection. That's what those first Christians did, those first witnesses. They went to the cemetery, expecting nothing new. Surely, they believed in God. Almost everyone did. But they also believed Jesus was dead and would most certainly stay so. They didn't take the funeral gear along just in case. But when they got to the cemetery…there was something new! Jesus not dead. Jesus was alive again. Jesus was risen, risen indeed! And everything changed. The view of God changed and the view of the world and the future opened. And Jesus, too…the view of him changed too. His words took on new weight! His acts became signs of the kingdom, of nothing less than the dawn of the coming reign of God! It was the future exploding in their faces. Easter is not first of all the celebration a brave new idea about God or life or of a the future beyond death. Easter, as John Updike put it, is not first "metaphor, analogy …a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages". Easter did not start in the head or the heart or imagination or the mind's eye of a bunch of befuddled disciples. Easter began in the eye of beholders, in the ear of witnesses. Easter happened! And they, the women, the men, Peter, later Paul, bore witness. So that's why we gather! Easter is a first of all a remembrance! Easter is the celebration of that first happening, the marking of that world-shattering event. Easter is our attention to the reporting of a never-before-seen something new in the cemetery! Easter is the eruption of life and of God and of hope where we least expect it! Make no mistake, Updike says rightly, if this were not the case, then the church will fall. If Jesus is not risen, then we, as Paul said, are of all people most to be pitied. If Jesus is not risen, then we would - if were very lucky - we would be celebrating Passover this week with our forebears in faith, still waiting. Or we would be burning a pinch in incense to some unknown god. Or maybe we'd be sitting at home, reading the papers, considering how the atheists might have a point after all. But in fact, Paul says, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. And so we are here, with the wild claim, there is something new in the cemetery! And he is risen, and we are delivered, and the world future is open. And what can we say to it all, but hallelujah! He is risen! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen

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