Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Iglesia Luterana del Buen Pastor.

Paseo de las Palmas 1910. Mxico, D.F. c.p: 11000

Sermon
April 22, 2012 3 Sunday of Easter
buenpastor.iglesialuterana@gmail.com www.iglesialuteranademexico.org.mx

English
Rev. Luke Roske-Metcalfe The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd Acts 3:12-26; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:13-48 April 22, 2012 3 Sunday of Easter In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, Amen. Brothers and Sisters, Christ has risen! He has risen, indeed! Alleluia! By now this refrain might sound like a faint echo, in comparison to how loudly we proclaimed it two Sundays ago. We may have moved on from Easterturning our attention to the next long weekend, but this morning we are still in the Easter season. In fact, the Easter season continues through the end of May. During the next several Sundays, well have a chance to remember, celebrate, and explore more deeply what the resurrection means for us. In the lesson from First John, we read about the meaning of Christs resurrection for usand this is where we find the good news for today. In First John, the good news we hear is that, through the resurrection, we are now undoubtedly children of God! We dont just proclaim Christs resurrection because we know that death does not have the last wordbut because, through Christs resurrection, God affirms Jesus lifes work. All of this Jesus life, death, and resurrection leads to us becoming Gods children. We are now Gods children and nothing can ever change that. And that is good news. Its almost as if we can breathe a sigh of relief. God is good. We have new life. And in some Christian streams of thought, once you become a child of God through Christ, that is the end of the story. Thats it. There is little left to do in terms of ones faith journey except to be good and wait. In fact, First John was written to people who thought Christs second coming was imminentit was days awaynot decades, or centuries, or millennia. Thus, there was a sense of urgency and finality in becoming part of Gods family. Today this sentiment has, in many ways, become the goal. While I believe that we should celebrate and cherish Gods gracious embrace as members of the divine family, I cant help but wonder if its really the goal. I cant help but wonder if this should be our goalI cant help but wonder if this is really even Gods goal for us. I wonder about this because I just cant shake the words in First John that follow the proclamation that we are children of God. They read, what we will be has not been made known. Its open ended. We are no doubt Gods beloved childrenbut thats just the beginningthats Gods invitation. We are invited to proclaim that Christ is risen and that we are Gods children. But the invitation doesnt stop there. God has not only graciously invited us to be part of

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Iglesia Luterana del Buen Pastor.
Paseo de las Palmas 1910. Mxico, D.F. c.p: 11000

Sermon
April 22, 2012 3 Sunday of Easter
buenpastor.iglesialuterana@gmail.com www.iglesialuteranademexico.org.mx

the divine family, but also to participate in what we ourselves, this church, and the world around us, will become. The moment God came to us in the flesh, God invited us to participate in this story We are not to stop and simply celebrate the fact that we are Gods children. We are invited to go into the world with the certitude that God loves us and that we are part of Gods family. We are invited to go into the world to share and bear witness to how God has graciously loved us. We are invited to go and love othersjust like Jesus once did. Through Jesus life God loved us in such a new way. God joined us and taught us ways to live that might lead to wholeness, justice, peace, dignity, respect, and new life. And now, as Gods children, we are invited to go into the world to love others just the same. Brothers and Sisters, we are Gods childrenand this is just the beginning. This is just one of the many Easter promises. And so, let us take this Easter promise and freely go about our daily lives as Gods children and seek to love others in ways that lead to wholeness, justice, peace, dignity, respect, and maybejust maybenew life.