{"id":1486,"date":"2001-04-15T14:55:00","date_gmt":"2001-04-15T14:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/?p=1486"},"modified":"2020-12-03T07:49:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T07:49:18","slug":"thy-kingdom-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/thy-kingdom-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Thy Kingdom Come"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John 20:1-18<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 15, 2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead End<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

When Joy and I purchased our first home in the Bay Area in 1975 when housing was still affordable, we lived on Tallwood Drive, off Hillside in Daly City. We liked the little house and how close it was to BART and the city. But before we could finalize the deal, we had to tell my mother that the house was on a \u201cDead End\u201d street!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most of us, we have an uneasiness with anything that reminds us of death. For my mother, she worried that it may bring misfortune and bad luck. Signs warning of dead end streets apparently are too depressing for some people that the City Council of Longmont in Colorado voted to replace them with less offensive signs that read, \u201cno outlet.\u201d One resident who favored the change said, \u201cWe just moved into a condo and right outside there\u2019s a dead-end sign\u2026Every time you come, you have to go by this sign, and it just isn\u2019t very pleasant.\u201d We rather say, \u201ccul-de-sac\u201d than dead-end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happily Ever After<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Death is such an unpleasant part of life that we would rather believe that everyone lives happily ever after. The finality of death has been upstaged by a new vision of the afterlife. The afterlife we would like to see is that the dearly departed can communicate with their loved ones, influence events, even come back to the mortal world for another go around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most popular movies in recent times have been those that depict everyone living happily ever after. I can remember Warren Beatty who died from a motorcycle accident in a tunnel but comes back as an angel in Heaven Can Wait<\/em>. Or how about Patrick Swayze who is killed by thieves but comes back to communicate with Demi Moore in Ghost<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most popular TV shows, Buffy and the Vampire Slayer<\/em>, features Buffy and her boyfriend, Angel, who just won\u2019t die. In What Dreams May Come<\/em>, Robin Williams is killed in a car crash but is incredibly reunited with his wife, kids, and the family dog in a sort of German Romantic landscape. The message is that love can survive death, that our mortality doesn\u2019t doom us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Titanic<\/em>, the most popular movie in China, took three hours for the passengers to die features Jack and Rose at the end of the movie happy after all, despite Jack\u2019s drowning, reunited on the grand staircase as if the whole iceberg thing was a joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Might it be that as a generation of baby-boomers that we are saying to ourselves, \u201cWait a minute; a generation as wonderful as ours can\u2019t die, maybe we won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Meryl Streep dared to die of cancer in One True Thing<\/em> and actually leave her daughter behind, the movie bombed at the box office. We don\u2019t want to see this kind of movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when we got to the end of Grouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon<\/em>, did Jen die or did she make a wish and just flew down the mountains to live forever? Or maybe there\u2019s a sequel in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some think this idea that death will be different for us began with the death of Princess Di for it is inconceivable that such a life could be cut so short. She is Elton John\u2019s \u201ccandle in the wind\u201d that goes on forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We just go on and on, immortal, like Jack Frost<\/em>\u2019s Michael Keaton this past Christmas in which a workaholic father, killed in a car crash, comes back as his son\u2019s snowman. Give me a break!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have one little thing to say about all this talk about immortality: none of it has anything to do with Easter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus Really Died<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

In the Scripture this morning, we read that Jesus really died. He did not appear to die. He was not asleep. He died a death more cruel and painful than you and I can imagine. He wasn\u2019t dead for a moment on the operating table having an out-of-body experience; he was dead, sealed in the grave for three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t show some \u201cimmortal soul,\u201d some \u201cdivine spark\u201d that lived on in him or in the hearts and minds of his disciples. Jesus was dead. The disciples did not deceive themselves about his death, did not have a sense that, though he was crucified, \u201che will live on in their memories.\u201d The one whom they loved, in whom they had hope in, was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that first Easter, there was great grief. When they saw that the tomb was empty, they didn\u2019t think, \u201cJesus is alive.\u201d They thought, \u201cSomebody stole his body.\u201d There\u2019s a lot of weeping of real grief in the story that John tells in John 20<\/a>. The disciples and the women were really crying because tears are the appropriate response when it comes in the face of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, within a few days, Jesus\u2019 followers began to understand what that happened to Jesus was \u201caccording to the Scriptures.\u201d That is, Israel believed that one day, God was going to solve the problem of Israel\u2019s suffering and oppression and, while God was at it, God would solve the problem of evil and injustice in the world. The Scriptures of old promised such a day of divine victory\u2014that God\u2019s kingdom will come and his will be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Easter, the disciples discovered that day came in the resurrection of Jesus. The cross, which they had thought was the end, the death of their relationship with Jesus, was really just the beginning. Easter was God\u2019s answer to the question, What shall be done about the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life After Death<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The answer to that question is that we have much to do because the world is good. And that for you and me, life in its fullness is worth living for and dying for. What happened<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on that first Easter morning is that God\u2019s will was being done and that his kingdom is coming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first disciples arrived at the grave, it was empty. Jesus\u2019 dead body was not there. It was not like Jesus\u2019 body was still tightly wrapped with linen lying in the tomb and there was this ghost of Jesus talking with Mary. John reports that when \u201cSimon Peter went into the tomb, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus\u2019 head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.\u201d John reported such details because he wants us to know that what happened on Easter morning really happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely Jesus\u2019 body has changed since Mary at first didn\u2019t recognize him but thought that he was the gardener. But when he spoke to her, \u201cMary,\u201d Jesus was not some kind of ghost, but in bodily form. Mary answers, \u201cRabbouni!\u2014Teacher\u201d and wanted to hug him, but Jesus told her that he had not ascended to the Father yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later Jesus the risen Christ would eat with his disciples and be touched by them in his resurrected body. Thomas didn\u2019t put his finger on the hand and side of Jesus the ghost but on his real body\u2014flesh and bones. And he exclaims, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter is resurrection, not the immortality of the soul as how Hollywood portrays; not the resuscitation from a near-death event. Life after death is not what we would like to think of as a divine spark that goes on living despite our death. Life after death is like what happened to Jesus Christ. By raising Jesus, our loving God defeated death and evil forever. For it is God\u2019s kingdom that is coming. We believe that God will raise us as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the resurrection of Christ, God has decisively acted, defeated death, thus fulfilling the Scriptures. This is better than any Hollywood movie! The resurrection of the body, Jesus\u2019 or yours or mine, means that this world matters, now. We may not know exactly how all this can happen, how our resurrected bodies will look. As Paul says 1 Corinthians 15<\/a>, \u201cIt does not yet appear what we shall be.\u201d But we do believe that just as Jesus\u2019 body was raised, so shall ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thy Kingdom Come<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

When God resurrected Jesus\u2019 dead body and he is alive right now, God is saying to us that this world matters. We are not to be dreaming about some spiritual never, never-ending land where just the spirits live on and that this physical and earthly world doesn\u2019t matter. Resurrection is about God getting at last what God wants here, now, on earth, in this physical world that we know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the reason why we pray Sunday after Sunday, \u201cThy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d It\u2019s not just that there\u2019s a cushy afterlife in store for us who make the grade, someday. Christianity is not some sort of pie-in-the-sky religion rather it is thy-kingdom-come-on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven religion that it is. If Easter is just about Jesus exiting the tomb in some spiritual sense, leaving a body in the tomb to rot, leaving the world to die on its own time, than what hope is there for us? Nor is Easter just about Christ leaving us having some warm feeling in your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is about kingdom-on-earth-as-it- is-in-heaven. It isn\u2019t just about warmed hearts. Easter is ultimately about transforming the world into a new heaven and a new earth first hinted at in the resurrection of the body of Jesus. And one day to come in the fullness of God\u2019s plan, the power of Easter will be transforming the whole of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God faced evil and death on Good Friday, then on Easter God triumphed. Now God intends to do for the whole world, through us Easter people, what was done first for Jesus on Easter. For it is God\u2019s kingdom that is coming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter People<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

In Hollywood, after people died in a movie, everything tends to get fuzzy, vaporous, and pink. Here in church, we do Easter with the real things of this world\u2014flowers and new clothes, sunrise service and pancake breakfasts, and great music. It\u2019s like a world in tune with God\u2019s will and out of tune with the Good Friday definition of death. And finally when we get back in tune with God, the whole creation that was destined for death, now soars in song having been healed and reclaimed by a God who is determined not to leave us to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the disciples and the women witnessed the first Easter, they knew full well that something, something really happened to them. Their world had been entered, encountered, transformed, reformed. Easter wasn\u2019t God saying, Let me get you out of this terrible, deadly, tearful world and swoosh you to someplace else. Easter was God saying, Let me show you what I am doing to you and your world. For it is God\u2019s kingdom that is coming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Easter is today, millions of Christian people don\u2019t really believe that the resurrection really happened. It\u2019s merely an idle tale. We get more excited about what the Easter bunny might bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when we take the resurrection of the body seriously as it happened with Jesus, we have a great responsibility laid upon our shoulders. When we sing, \u201cChrist the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!\u201d then we are saying that Jesus Christ really is lord and all other would-be lords, kings, queens, and princesses of this world are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we sing, \u201cThe strife is o\u2019er, the battle won,\u201d it means that we must join in the mopping up actions wherever evil still dares to challenge the reign of a good and loving God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we sing, \u201cThine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,\u201d it means that we praise God by giving him credit for all of creation and that it\u2019s our responsibility to be good stewards of this beautiful and natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we sing, \u201cHe lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!\u201d it means that we are Easter people, no more Good Friday people who are destined to death, but Easter people with the faith and hope that we too will be raised for God is so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you believe that today is the \u201cDay of resurrection,\u201d then get ready to witness to that the next time someone by their hate, or cruelty, or lust act as if they believe death is in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you believe that \u201cUp from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph o\u2019er his foes,\u201d then get ready when God\u2019s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven, and you are there in the name of Jesus Christ to say to all the powers and evil in the world that \u201cHallelujah! Christ arose!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the raising of Jesus, a great battle has been fought and won. And the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our Christ and he shall rule forever and ever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O God, on this day you burst the bonds of death and defeated the power of evil forever. As Easter people, call us to the responsibility of proclaiming that \u201cChrist is Risen\u201d and that your kingdom comes and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For \u201cThine be the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the victory thou o\u2019er death hast won!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 20:1-18 April 15, 2001 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco. Dead End When Joy and I purchased our first homeContinue readingThy Kingdom Come<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[57,11,13],"class_list":["post-1486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-ng-sermons","tag-easter","tag-fcbc","tag-john"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1486"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2550,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1486\/revisions\/2550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}