The Anandamide of Easter, April 5, 2015

The Anandamide of Easter

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, John 20:1-18

April 5, 2015

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

 

Christmas Promises and Easter Proofs  As you know, the two biggest celebrations in our church year are Christmas and Easter. Christmas is all about promises that center around Jesus. In Matthew, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” [1:20-21] And in John, we hear this promise: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” [3:16] So there you have it. The promise that Jesus would save his people from their sins and give them eternal life.

This morning we celebrate Easter, the proof of the Christmas promises. We celebrate and rejoice because the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ fulfilled the Christmas promises. And the question that each of us must ask ourselves each day is, “What do the Easter proofs of  the Christmas promises mean to me?

Knowing the Easter Story  When we were small children, it’s likely that Easter chiefly meant colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, or a delightful break from school.  Or maybe Easter meant seeing family or dressing in your best clothes, going to church and singing Easter hymns.

 

 

 

The story is told of a grandfather who wanted to know how much his four-year-old granddaughter, Julie, knew about the Easter story. When he saw little Julie playing in the backyard with her friends, he went out and asked, ““Who knows why we celebrate Easter every year?”” One of Julie’’s friends quickly spoke up and said: “Oh, that’’s when you go to the mall and sit on the big bunny rabbit’s lap and tell him what you want in your Easter basket.” Julie’s second friend said: “No, no, no! Easter is when you get a tree and hang eggs on it - and you wake up on Sunday and there are presents underneath it.”

Then Julie said, “You’re both wrong! Easter is when Jesus was crucified. He died, and His disciples put his body in a cave. They rolled a big stone in front of the opening. And the guards went to sleep. On the third day, there was a big earthquake and the stone rolled away.”

At this point, Grandpa was really proud that Julie knew so much of the Easter story. But then Julie continued, “When the stone was rolled away by the earthquake, the entire town came by the grave to watch. If Jesus came out and saw his shadow, they knew there would be six more weeks of winter!” (Family Life, February, 1995).

What Does Easter Mean to You  Although Easter certainly includes traditions of Easter bunnies, gaily colored Easter eggs, getting together with family, and church services, the question still remains. “What does Easter mean to you? To your life during the week?” What does the fact that Jesus rose from the dead mean to you at work, or when you’re with your family? Unless we have a good answer to such questions, Easter will never be anything more than a once-a-year, “feel good” religious observance that quickly fades away.

Anandamide  A once-a-year, “feel good” Easter is a lot like anandamide. If you’ve ever eaten a piece of chocolate, you’ve consumed anandamide because in addition to cocoa, sugar, vanilla, soy lecithin, and cocoa butter, chocolate has anandamide . What’s anandamide? It is a chemical compound that serves as a physical neurotransmitter that imparts to the eater a feeling of pure bliss.

Anandamide comes from the Sanskrit word for “bliss and happiness” All of you chocoholics can vouch for that, can’t you? However, the problem with anandamide is that the blissful feeling it gives you doesn’t last. And so when the feeling wears off, you obviously have to have another piece of chocolate right? A few years ago, I was part of a tour that visited a chocolate factory in Switzerland. As we walked through the production area, we were invited to eat the broken pieces of chocolate that were laying at the end of each assembly line. Believe me, the anandamides were flying all over the place!

Jesus This morning I suggest that we have another source of pure bliss and joy - our Lord Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is our spiritual neurotransmitter that imparts to us an inner joy which lasts and lasts and lasts, longer than the Energizer Bunny.

Joy in the Bible  In the Bible, joy and rejoice are found in 565 verses. On the other hand, sad, sadness and sorrow are found in only 133 verses.

The angel came to the shepherds and said, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” [Luke 210]. And Jesus was born. At the resurrection, an angel appeared again to Mary Magdalene and said, Jesus “is not here; for he has been raised, as he said,” And Mary left the tomb with great joy and ran to tell the disciples.

The Apostle Paul wrote: “My brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.” [Philippians 3:1]  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.” [Philippians 4:4] Yes, the overwhelming theme in the Bible is joy.

Joy that fills our hearts, minds and souls.

Joy that fills us when we pray and meditate.

Joy that is constantly renewed by the Spirit.

Joy is Natural Since joy is a gift from God, it should come quite naturally to us. As one person wrote, “Joy is the echo of God’s life within us. ” [Joseph Marmion]

In Psalm 16:11, we read, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures evermore.”

 

 

 

Sam Storms wrote “God built into us an undeniable, inescapable hunger for joy and satisfaction and delight. God built us to be fascinated, to be intrigued, to be exhilarated, to be stunned. Our desire for these experiences will never let up.” [ “Pleasures Evermore,” pp. 42-43]  Yes, God created us with the desire to seek and find joy in all that we do.

Difference Between Joy and Happiness Dwight Moody suggests that there is a distinct difference between joy and happiness. He wrote, “ Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the day; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about. The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him.”

Joy with Christ Like Mary, we know that the resurrection of Christ is no temporary anandamide fix. This is a joy which fills our lives forever! This forever joy fills our lives because Christ is our Lord and Savior. This forever joy fills our lives because our sins are forgiven. This forever joy fills our lives because there is life beyond the grave. This forever joy fills our lives because God is always with us no matter what. This forever joy fills our lives because we are loved - loved fully and completely.

Victor Hugo said, " The supreme joy of life is the conviction that we are loved;  loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves ." God loves us in spite of our sins, not because of our good works. What an amazing reason for joy that is.  

Joy in midst of Sorrow Resurrection joy is ours forever. Jesus, speaking of the joy of the resurrection, said “No one will take your joy from you.” [John 16:22]

Even in the midst of tears at the death of a loved one, knowing that the grave is not the end of life brings us inward joy. We do not grieve at death in the same manner as those who don’t know Christ because God is with us both in life and in death. It has been written that “joy is not the absence of trouble and sorrow, but the presence of Christ. ” [William Van der Hoven]

You’ve heard it said that when you die you can’t take it with you. Whoever coined that phrase forgot about the joy that is ours in Christ for you can take that joy with you.

The Father, His Son and the Bee  I close with the story of a little boy and his father who were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified. But the father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic again as it buzzed by him. His father saw his panic-stricken face. Once again the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand. There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. "Do you see this?" he asked. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. I've taken the sting for you."

Message of Easter   This is the message of Easter. We do not need to be afraid of death anymore. Christ conquered the power of death for us. And by His victory, we are saved from sin. Christ has taken the stinger for us.  As Paul says, "Where, O death, is your sting?" [1 Cor 15:55b]. 

He has risen! Fear is gone. Our new life, filled with the miracles of thanksgiving, hope and new life is ours. And we can join the psalmists in saying, “Praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! [Psalm 150]

It has been said that: “ Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God .” [Leon Bloy] As we go forth into the future, how can we express our joy in Christ?

Preaching I suggest we do it by preaching every day. Oh, you thought I was the only preacher you had? Wrong. By our words and actions, each of us preaches a sermon that is seen and heard every day by someone.

We preach the Gospel of joy by acts of service to others.

We preach the Gospel of joy by leading lives of high moral and Christian character.

We preach the Gospel of joy by forgiving one another.

We preach the Gospel of joy by the language we use

And we preach the Gospel of joy by building a family life that glorifies God.

One person put it this way: “ Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary .”

Yes, our very lives are living sermons that people read, hear and experience. What kind of sermon our life is preaching is up to us. But believe me, someone is listening and watching. Someone is being influenced by what we do and what we say, or by what we don’t do or don’t say. Is our life preaching the Gospel of Christ or not? If it is, then we are expressing our joy in Christ. And that joy flows through the sermons of our lives to elevate and bring joy to the hearts and souls of those around us.

It has been said that “The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy .” [Samuel Moor Shoemaker]

 

 God is in the Joy Business The fact that we sometimes forget is that God is in the Joy Business. Through his son, Jesus, God established a business called, “Joys R Us”. God has outlets all over the world - they are called congregations of believers, just like us, who are commissioned to tell the community about the Joy that is theirs in Christ.

We are the voices and strings in the concert of God’s joy. Let us sing and play well and Invite others to join us in God’s Ode to Joy. Help them to experience God’s joy, ecstasy and delight and that “ Christmas was the promise, Easter is the proof.” Amen.

John 20:1-18 NRSV

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.  So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."  Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.  The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  Then the disciples returned to their homes.  But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.  They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."  When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."  Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).  

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.  
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

   his steadfast love endures for ever!

 

Let Israel say,

   ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

 

The Lord is my strength and my might;

   he has become my salvation.

 

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

   the right hand of the Lord is exalted;

   the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’

I shall not die, but I shall live,

   and recount the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord has punished me severely,

   but he did not give me over to death.

 

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

   that I may enter through them

   and give thanks to the Lord.

 

This is the gate of the Lord;

   the righteous shall enter through it.

 

I thank you that you have answered me

   and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected

   has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

   it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made;

   let us rejoice and be glad in it.