Good Friday Sermon: "Sound and Silence"

+ Good Friday – April 3^rd, 2015 +

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

Isaiah 53; John 18-19

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Moments of silence are nearly impossible to find in this life. Even at night you hear sirens in the distance or the creek of an oil derrick. And every parent knows that when the kids are silent, something is going on.

And so compared to the din of the world around us, Good Friday is a quiet enigma. You won’t find Good Friday cards on the shelf at Hallmark. And you won’t find Good Friday bargains at Target. The world simply doesn’t know what to do with Good Friday. But then again, neither did Jesus’ disciples, at least not until after Jesus’ resurrection. Good Friday is a blessed paradox of sound and silence.

Even our actions reflect the nature of this holy day. We enter in silence. We’ll leave in silence. And yet we pray, praise, and sing…

A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,

The guilt of sinners bearing

And laden with the sins of earth,

None else the burden sharing;

Goes patient on, grows weak and faint,

To slaughter led without complaint,

That spotless life to offer,

He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies,

The mockery, and still replies,

“All this I gladly suffer” (LSB 438:1)

And as we sing and hear the Scriptures, we do so knowing all the while that the muteness of Good Friday will be replaced by jubilant shouts on Easter. Our mourning be will turned into dancing on the grave of Death itself.

The sounds and silence of Good Friday proclaim Jesus’ salvation for you.

Holy Week began with the glad shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

Jesus declared a new Passover in his body and blood. Take; eat. This is my body given for you. Take; drink. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you.

Jesus fills the stillness of Gethsemane with his fervent prayer: Father if it be your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.

The sounds of Holy Week lead us to the sound and silence of Good Friday. The betrayal. The trials. The lies. The mockery.

The crowds were not silent: “Crucify him.”

The soldiers were not silent: “Hail, king of the Jews.”

Pontius Pilate was not silent: “Behold the man.”

The thief crucified next to Jesus was not silent: “This man is innocent.”

Jesus’ disciples were not silent: “I do not know the man”, says Peter.

Even God’s creation cannot remain silent. The rooster crowed three times. The earth trembled.

And along with Peter, our constant denial of Jesus pangs us. The clamor of our sin shouts in our hearts, minds, and all our members: you are guilty. The Law closes our mouths. Stops our excuses. Our sin is a constant chatter of lawlessness. Our iniquity causes a hammer to strike the nails that pierce Jesus. Our transgression cracks the whip upon his back. We clamor and clang for ourselves, while Jesus goes to the cross for you. That is where the sound and silence of Good Friday point us, not to the agony and pain, but to Jesus’ free and loving desire to bear our sins in his own body on the cross.

He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

Yes, Jesus speaks, but not in his own defense. In the Garden, during his arrest, before the high priest and Pilate, even on the cross – anytime Jesus speaks it is to teach and speak his Word. Even in death, especially in his death, Jesus’ word gives life.

This is the same Word and messenger the Pharisees and Sadducees tried so hard for so many years to silence. Yet, even in death the Word made flesh cannot be silenced.

Good Friday is a day where the clamor of our sin is silenced. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Jesus goes without complaint to suffer every one of our complaints. Jesus who knew no sin becomes our every sinful, thought, word, or deed. Jesus fills the silence of Good Friday with a word of promise: Father forgiven them, for they know not what they do.

Good Friday also silences Satan. His forked tongue is muzzled. His head is crushed. Your accuser is dead. His threats are hollow.

Death is dead. The grave is silenced. And soon it will be empty. Soon its narrow chamber will be filled with shouts of victory and the voices of angels, women, disciples and all the faithful. Sin, death and hell are shut up. And in three short days we will break the silence of the tomb with a resounding, joyous refrain. Christ is risen!

Even as today we look on the cross where all is silent, as the women beat their chests in silent agony; as the disciples weep in silent fear and guilt, even the Father is silent on Good Friday, as Jesus is forsaken. Everything is silenced by the cross, except Jesus.

Jesus would not open his own mouth to save himself, but he does open it to save you.

Into the deathly silence of Good Friday, three triumphant, saving words are spoken for you…

It is finished.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Maundy Thursday Sermon: "What is the Sacrament of the Altar?"

+ Maundy Thursday – April 2^nd, 2015

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

Series B: Exodus 24:3-11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; Mark 14:12-26

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

Answer: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

These words are no symbol. For whatever Christ’s lips speak, so it is. He cannot lie or deceive. What Christ declares and promises, he gives and feeds us.

“Take, eat; this is My body. “Take, drink; this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”

The bread Jesus gives us is his sacrificial body, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, nailed to a cross, dead, buried, and raised from the tomb.

The cup Jesus gives us is his sacrificial blood, fruit of the true Vine that brings joy and gladness to men’s hearts, atones for your sins, and overflows with Jesus’ life-blood for you.

On this holy night, like Moses, Aaron, and Israel, we behold God, and eat and drink in the Sacrament of the Altar.

For the Lord’s Supper is not mere bread and wine, but bread and wine combined with God’s word and promise.

Where is this written?

Answer: The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also, He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

The Sacrament is founded – not upon our words – but upon Christ’s holy Word.

Do we believe that this thin wafer of bread is Jesus’ body? Do we believe that this cup of wine is His blood? Do we hunger and thirst of this Supper as for Christ Himself? Not as we ought to. And if we think we have, we’ve deceived ourselves. Repent and believe in Christ’s Words. For his Words are greater than our doubt, pride, and sin.

this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

Christ is the Vine. You are his branches. Jesus is your living Vine and you abide in Him who feeds you with the fruit of his crucified and risen body. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?

Answer: That is shown us in these words, “Given for you” and “shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” This means that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

Rejoice in the verbs of your salvation. Given. Shed. Jesus gives a new and fulfilled Passover; all of the old and more. On the night in which Jesus was betrayed he gives the same body and blood to us, that he would the very next day shed for us.

Just as God gives daily bread to provide energy and vitality to our bodies, so too, Jesus feeds us with his body and blood for our eternal life and salvation. All other bread we eat to our death. This bread of Jesus’ body we eat to our life. All other wine we drink for temporary gladness. This wine of Jesus’ blood gives us eternal joy.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?

Answer: It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words, which are given here, “Given … and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” These words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, the chief thing in the Sacrament. The person who believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

On this holy night, the Word made flesh gives his holy flesh as bread to eat and his sacred blood as wine to drink, for you for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ Word accomplishes great things. By his Word, Jesus calmed the storm, healed the paralyzed man, and raised Lazarus from the dead. By his Word, Jesus promises…

In the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, you are reconciled with God.

In the Eucharist we give thanks for receiving forgiveness of sins.

In the Lord’s Supper Jesus is our host, the waiter, and meal.

In Holy Communion Jesus gives us his body and blood uniting us in fellowship with God and one another.

In the Sacrament of the Altar our Great High Priest brings the sacrifice of his cross in this sacred meal.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?

Answer: Fasting and bodily preparation are, indeed, fine outward training. But a person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, “Given … and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” But anyone who does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit. For the words “for you” require hearts that truly believe.

The more we focus upon ourselves and our worthiness the more we see our unworthiness and the less we hear Christ’s Word. And so we go to the Lord’s Supper precisely because we are unworthy, poor, miserable sinners.

Our worthiness rests in Jesus Word and promise. And so tonight – and every time you hear Jesus’ words “For You,” - read your own name in that place.

Jesus crucified for you. Jesus risen for you. Jesus’ body for you. Jesus’ blood for you.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Funeral Sermon for Thomas Legerton: "God's Gift"

+ In Memoriam – Thomas Legerton, May 29, 1956 – March 8, 2015 +

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

Isaiah 25:6-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 14:1-7

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Easter was Tom’s favorite season of the church year. And for good reason. Trumpets blaring. Joyous singing. Shouting loud Alleluias! Everything about Easter proclaims God’s gift to us: Jesus Crucified and risen for you. Christmas gets all the attention for gift-giving. But let’s not forget Easter. The Father gave us his Son, wrapped in our humanity. The Son gave his life for us, wrapped in our sin, to save us from death.  And on that first Easter Sunday, the stone was rolled away, unwrapped like a great big present, revealing an empty tomb. Christ is risen for you! 

Therefore, let not your hearts be troubled. Death could not hold Jesus in the grave, and it won’t hold Tom either. Today, even amidst our grief and tears, God’s gift of Easter gives us joy beyond the grave.

For giving is what God does best.

God gave Tom many gifts in his earthly life, in fact far more than we could recount. Wherever God called him to serve – whether in his daily vocation as a rocket scientist, serving his country or community, or at home – his loyalty, kindness, and compassion were instantly known and not soon forgotten.

Tom was a gift to many of us as well. Certainly at work, but especially at home with Wendy,  – reading Scripture together, praying, and caring for his family as a head of house is called to do. When people asked about their marriage, Tom and Wendy simply replied, “It’s not that we had the perfect marriage, but that we’re perfect in Christ.” No wonder they repeatedly told each other: “You were God’s gift to me.”

Tom gave to others as he received from Christ. He heard God’s Word. He spoke God’s Word. Tom’s sin was washed away in Baptism. He made sure Wendy and his children received Christ’s gift of washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Tom received free remission of sins in the Lord’s Supper faithfully, and rejoiced that his family did too. God gave and Tom received.

And that’s pretty much the Christian life in a nutshell. God gives. We receive. God saves. We thank, praise, and serve. God gives us free forgiveness. And we freely forgive and love others.

As good as God’s gifts to Tom in his earthly life were, God abounds all the more in giving his gifts of life and salvation to all.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Faith, life, and salvation in Christ – these are all God’s gracious gifts. They have to be given, for there is no other way. We confess, as Tom did weekly, that St. Paul’s words are true of all us: we are dead in trespasses and sin. And apart from Christ, we seek only our own way, our own truth, and our own life. The wages of our sin is death.

But Tom also knew that the God’s gifts to us in Christ Crucified and risen are greater than our sin. For Jesus’ death on the cross is a greater payment that cancels out the wages of our sin. And though we were dead in trespasses and sin, God made us alive together in Christ – by grace you are saved. Tom knew that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for you. And by grace, Jesus will raise us from the dead too as well.

For the greatest gifts of all are the ones Christ freely gives to each of us.

The gift of faith in Jesus who died in our place, who paid the penalty of sin – Tom’s, yours, and mine, who destroyed the power of death, and who rose again three days later.

The gift of holy Baptism where Jesus unites you with his death and resurrection. Where Jesus goes, you go. Jesus died in our place so that in Baptism, Tom and all who are baptized, die with Jesus. Jesus rose from the grave so that in Baptism, Tom and all the baptized, rise with Jesus too.

The gift of the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus brings his crucified and risen body and blood, places it in bread and wine and forgives our sin. Where Jesus brings heaven on earth as we worship with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.

So today, even in the face of death, we look forward to the day of resurrection. We look forward to seeing the lids of our graves shoot in the air like a rocket. We look forward to God’s gift of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. The grave could not hold Jesus. And because of Christ’s death in your place, death cannot hold Tom or you either.

And that’s God’s greatest gift of all, for all: eternal life in Christ, which, to Tom’s delight, and ours, is one blessed eternal Easter service. An endless Easter season. Trumpets blaring. Joyous Singing. Alleluias without end. No more death. No more tears. Only God’s gifts. For the Lord Jesus has swallowed up death forever, for Tom and for you, and for all.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent 5 Sermon: "Greatness and Glory in the Cross"

+ Lent 5 – March 22^nd, 2015 +

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

Series B: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:32-45

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent is a journey.

For the disciples it’s a journey that begins in fear, but ends in joy and boldness. For now, all they can think about is the destination - Jerusalem. “Why go there, Jesus? Everyone wants you dead. Jerusalem is nothing but trouble.” They’re so concerned about glory, greatness, and God’s kingdom that they misunderstand that God’s glory, greatness, and kingdom are found in the death of His Son.

Lent is a journey for each of us too. And many of us, like the disciples, are
afraid. Fear of the world we live in. Demonic hordes brutally murdering
Christians. Disease and disasters which strike without rhyme or reason. And if fear of the sinful world around you doesn’t cause you to pray, “Lord, have mercy,” then the fear of your own sin should. On this Lenten journey we also carry the burden of despair over our sin. Guilt over wrong we’ve done. Sorrow over death – of loved ones or our own inevitable
death.

Lent is a journey. Not an aimless wandering. Not an evening walk down the beach. The road goes ever on to Good Friday. Jesus sets his face. There’s no delay. No time for site-seeing or recreation. Jesus must go.

Jesus journeyed in life to serve you.

Jesus journeyed to death to serve you.

Lent is Jesus’ journey for you.

They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, St. Mark records Jesus’ death and resurrection predictions like signposts along the highway. Three times in Mark’s Gospel –before Jesus’ transfiguration, after his transfiguration, and here in Mark 10, before entering Jerusalem – Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. And each time Jesus reveals more about his brutal crucifixion which awaits him.

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.
And the third day He will rise again.

Lent is a journey. But the disciples weren’t alone on the road. Jesus was walking ahead of them.

Jesus was with his disciples – amazed and afraid though they were. He knew in short
time his dying and rising would change them. Jesus went before them, as he goes
before us, to carry our burdens of fear, guilt, and death to the cross.

You are not alone either. Not in Lent. And not in your fear, sorrow, or death.
Jesus has gone ahead of you on the road. Jesus has gone there and back again,
through the grave – yours and mine – to life. Jesus is with you, afraid and
sinful though you are. His dying and rising changes you too.

And like any journey, conversation breaks out along the way. James and John came up
to Jesus. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.

You have to appreciate just how awkward this conversation is. One moment Jesus describes his death in chilling detail, and the next James and John are after glory and greatness. Clueless. Blind. They don’t get it. They think it’s a march to greatness, like the road
to the Final Four. They think Jesus’ glory will finally be unleashed and God’s
kingdom will be established in Jerusalem.

Of course, it’s easy to read the Gospels, knowing the end of the journey, and wag
our fingers at James and John. “What’s with these guys? How thick can they be?
Come, on James and John; yeah, come on; get with the program.”

But notice who else is wagging their fingers in this story. It’s not Jesus. Sure,
he corrects them, but patiently. No, the accusatory fingers come from the other
10 disciples. They were indignant. Probably because James and John asked Jesus
what they wanted to first.

James and John, however, had no idea what they were asking Jesus. And that’s where
we’re in the same boat. Clueless in sin. Blind to our own blindness. We don’t
know what to pray for as we ought. And even when we do, we don’t do it very
well. Our problem – like James and John – goes deeper.

We want greatness. Glory. God’s kingdom. But we want it all on our own terms, not God’s. My will be done. My kingdom come. Our self-serving sinful nature wants nothing to do with the cross but everything to do with glory and looking out for number one. “What I get out of this,” we ask – at work, at home, even at church. “What’s in it for me?” Such is the self-centeredness of our sin.

You do not know what you are asking.

“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized,” Jesus asks them. “We are,”. They still have no idea what they were saying or what Jesus was talking about. Jesus’ cup and baptism are his death. Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath and the poison of our sin, down to the last drop. Jesus’ cross is a baptism of judgment. Jesus is drowned in the flood of God’s wrath. Jesus is immersed in our sin and death.

The disciples will share in the cup and baptism of Jesus’ suffering and death. All but one will be martyred for the faith. Indeed, all who are called Christians share in the cup and baptism of Jesus’ suffering and death. For some, it comes in the form of persecution and death.

 

 

And yet for all in Christ, Jesus shares his suffering and death with us. Jesus drank the cup of
wrath so that we may drink His cup of forgiveness. Jesus drank the curse down to the dregs so that you might drink the cup of blessing. Jesus hides his crucified and risen flesh in the greatness and glory of bread and wine. God’s kingdom comes to you in Jesus’ body and blood. So it is in your baptism. Jesus is baptized into our death so in Baptism you are united with Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We have no idea who will sit at Jesus’ right and left in the heavenly kingdom. That’s not for us to know. But we do know who was granted to sit on Jesus’ right and left when He came into His glory on earth. Not James and John. Not us. But two nameless thieves. One mocked Him to His death. But the other spoke truthfully. This man has done nothing wrong.

What a picture of the kingdom! God’s greatness and glory is shown by his suffering and death for you. And that Kingdom – God’s kingdom in the Crucified King -  comes in
the cup and baptism for you.

Greatness in the kingdom of God isn’t about power or achievement but forgiveness and mercy. It’s not measured in numbers, growth charts, or visions of men, but in Jesus’ cup
and baptism given to you in the Supper and the Font. It’s not about getting a good word in with Jesus, but hearing God’s good Word to us in Jesus. It’s not about prestige and who gets the honored seat, but about trust in the One took the lowest seat of the grave to seat you in the heavenly places.

For whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

The highest form of greatness, then, isn’t found in man’s glory or greatness, but in being a servant, in sacrificial love. That’s how the kingdom of God looks in this world. That’s how your life in Christ looks. Humble, self-giving servants of the Servant of all, who endured the baptism of His cross and drank the cup of God’s wrath in order to save you, me and the world.

  

Jesus came as a suffering Servant to serve. And you, His baptized believers, share His cup and serve. Take up our cross. Lay down our lives. That’s greatness in His kingdom. Not power, but sacrifice.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.

Jesus lives to serve you. Jesus dies to serve you. Jesus erased our curse by becoming the curse for us. Jesus triumphed over death by dying in our place. Jesus  became the last one to make us the first in line. Jesus gave his life, to give you life.

This is where Jesus leads us during our Lenten journey, just as he did the disciples. To Jerusalem for you. To the cross for you. Jesus journeyed in life to serve you. Jesus journeyed to death to serve you.

Lent is Jesus’ journey for you.

Lent leads us to Palm Sunday and shouts of Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest.

Lent leads us to Holy Thursday: This cup that is poured out for you is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

Lent leads us to Jesus’ hour of glory - Good Friday. It is finished. Fulfilled. Accomplished. For you.

Lent leads us to Easter: to unrestrained rejoicing. Christ is risen for you.

That’s the destination. But first the journey.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The Bible According to The Walking Dead

I’d like to take a brief moment to write something positive about the entertainment industry. I know what you’re thinking, can anything good come from Hollywood? Believe me; I know. I live in Southern California. We know crazy (Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and the beat goes on). Hardly a week goes by without some kind of celebrity shenanigans (serious or just plain silly) making headline news. After all, we’re still talking about Harrison Ford’s Kessel Run into a local golf course.

But once in a while the entertainment industry surprises you and gets it right. Perhaps it’s even more shocking when the “it” happens to be Christianity.

I mentioned in a previous article (Sundays are for the Walking Dead) that I enjoy watching The Walking Dead because it is a good story, and frequently draws on Christian themes or influences. For instance, in a recent episode (March 8^th, 2015) Away in A Manger was playing in the background during a dinner party in Alexandria.

But more seriously, this is a survival story. And one of the things that helps people survive in this world of guilt, fear, and death is religion. Now, I would argue that the most convincing, confident, and comforting answer to humanity’s problems of guilt, fear, and death is Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ death and resurrection is a well-told story, beautiful in its meaning, sublime in its consolation, and yet it is also true, verifiable, and veracious. Jesus died in a particular place at a particular time with reliable eyewitnesses that testify to his dying and rising. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Jesus’ death and resurrection is history, but the event does not cease to be a good story.

Jesus did not die and rise in a post-apocalyptic television show. But can his factual death and resurrection be found in such fictional places? I think so. We shouldn’t be surprised to find Christian themes in a show that deals largely with fear, guilt, and death in every episode. In fact I think the opposite is true; I would be surprised if shows like The Walking Dead contained no themes or echoes of Christianity at all.

But in fact, many shows and movies like The Walking Dead do. Earlier in the season, the band of survivors spent several episodes in an abandoned Episcopalian church. On the interior wall of the nave, just to the right of the chancel was a hymn board. Granted, a bit of ignorance is revealed in that the hymn board was used for Bible verses instead of actual hymns. And yet on the other hand, the writers revealed some intriguing biblical proof-texting skills. For upon this hymn board in the wilds of walker infested Georgia, were posted the following bible verses.

Romans 6:4

Ezekiel 37:7

Matthew 27:52

Revelation 9:6

Luke 24:5

This was no coincidence. Whomever it was that wrote these episodes, took time to think about what these verses meant and why they should be included on set. Someone on the writing staff knew that viewers (I can’t be the only one) would take the time to look these verses up and reflect upon them. Certainly, context can’t always be known in one verse. But read the verses and their context. It’s all about dying and rising.

I find it fascinating, and rather profound, that in a fictional show about death and survival, someone was thoughtful enough to find and display several key Scripture passages which, in reality, show how one can indeed survive death.

The answer to the tragedy in the world that is depicted in The Walking Dead is not found in the zombies rising from the dead, but in Christ’s death and resurrection. The answer to the fundamental problem that faces all of us in the real world - guilt, fear, and death - is found in Christ’s dying and rising for you, and in these words.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”