Saturday, April 4, 2015

1 Corinthians 15:3-8
3

I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in
line with the scriptures, 4 he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the
scriptures. 5 He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, 6 and then he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at oncemost of them are still alive to this day,
though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of
all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time. (CEB)

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It is often pointed out that Paul makes little reference to the life of Jesus and no reference to his
birth. For Paul everything boils down to the three days that run from Good Friday to Easter, and perhaps
a little beyond. What is most important for Paul to share with the churches is a message that connects
cross with resurrection. We see this in Romans 6 where Paul links our baptism to Jesus death, burial
and resurrection.
In this passage Paul links Christs death with a remedy for our sins. The question iswhat kind of sin is
Paul talking about? Paul doesnt elaborate, but we do know from the Torah or Law that sin is relational.
It involves our relationship with God and with neighbor. It would seem that for Paul, the Cross and the
Resurrection serve to restore broken relationships with both God and neighbor. Paul doesnt tell us how
this happens. He doesnt develop an atonement theory. He simply reminds us that in this moment that
runs from Good Friday to Easter, healing of brokenness is provided.
The message of Easter is truly one of reconciliation, and it has both vertical and horizontal dimensions.
When we think about the horizontal dimension, then we need to pay attention to the public
implications. As for himself, Paul can point out how he had expressed h is own relationship with God
and neighbor through harassment of the Christians. Still, Jesus chose to reveal himself to Paul, and
through this act of divine grace, changed Pauls life. Grace, it seems, emerges out of resurrection, even if
Pauls visitation was of a different order from the others.
The point in this, of course, is that experiencing or encountering Jesus changes lives. And if our lives are
transformed as a result of these encounters with divine grace, then should we not share the news? Pauls
transformation was so dramatic that he was determined to work harder than anyone else to make this
message known to the world. As we gather on Easter morning, we shall do so because of Gods grace.
And as we gather we will proclaim that which has been passed on as of first importance. Although we
have been imperfect vessels and our interpretations of this message have often been errant, the message
continues to be passed on and celebrated. We continue to proclaim that Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
Pastor Bob Cornwall