Adapted for the people of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Adell from a message included in the Concordia Publishing House Lenten Series For Us

For Us He Lives On High to Reign

Text: Romans 8:38-39

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.

Our text for this day, the Resurrection of Our Lord, is taken from Romans:

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

There’s nothing worse than separation. Separation means loss. Separation means that things aren’t as they’re supposed to be. God created us to be together, not apart. Just think back to Genesis 1. After God created Adam, He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” So, Eve was created from Adam shortly thereafter. They were, quite literally, made for each other.

But that making, that orientation toward one another, isn’t simply about marriage, husbands and wives, and families and such. It goes much beyond that. We’re made, we’re created to be in communion with one another and, ultimately, with God Himself.

But sin separates. It divides. It twists us and turns us inward so that we don’t look out for one another but look out for ourselves. That fundamental selfishness, that “me-ness” means that you’ve been torn away from the very life that God made you to have. God created you for a life in Him and with one another. Sin, death, and hell have all tried their best to tear that away from you.

But not anymore. God has sought you out, bought you back, and made you His own once again. That’s what happened on the cross on Good Friday. It’s what we meditated on just two days ago in this very place. We hear in the book of Jeremiah, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you.”

God’s faithfulness to you in life continues past death itself to a new life in His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus is triumphant from the grave. He is risen from the dead. And now, even now, He pleads before His heavenly Father on your behalf.

So, make no mistake, beloved. Jesus Christ, both God and Lord, has triumphed over all the forces arrayed against Him in this sinful and broken world. That’s what the empty tomb is all about. That’s why, even in the midst of the confusion and fear of the women on Easter morning, there is great joy in the proclamation that “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.” And His foes are your foes. Now that He has won the victory for us, He gives us the spoils of His victory. He gives us the feast of victory because Jesus’ triumph is our triumph. He gives us life because Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. His resurrection from the dead means that we will never be forsaken or separated from Him ever again.

This is the greatest love ever shown, and it reaches beyond the grave for all eternity. This love is the very nature and character of God. We don’t understand it; all we can do is rejoice in it and know that the God of our salvation has given His all to us because Jesus died and rose again for us out of love. It’s the rejoicing in His love that we just did as we stood and sang:

All glory to our Lord and God

For love so deep, so high, so broad;

The Trinity whom we adore

Forever and forevermore.

Who could imagine that His love for us would be so deep, so high, so broad that it encompasses the whole world? Who could believe that this love is for us?

Believe it because this love is for you. And it’s the miracle of miracles that we’re loved by God because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. It is not an afterthought or a secondary message. There is no “Yes, but . . .” God’s deep, high, broad love is for you.

So, what does that change for you? What’s different on this Easter side of the grave? What’s different now that we live in the glow of the resurrection?

The difference is that when you love, your love doesn’t simply come from you. Your love, your service to those around you, is shaped in you by the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now when you give and sacrifice and love and suffer, you can do so in freedom because Christ has freed you from the suffering of eternal death. Now that Christ is risen from the dead for us, we can live with eternity on the horizon.

But eternity is actually here and now. Indeed, you’re here today together with the whole church in heaven and on earth. That means the saints and angels, the prophets and priests, the women who found the empty tomb, the apostles, and all the Christians of all time are gathered here today with you. They’re all with us here around this altar. For where Jesus is, His Bride, the church, is there. And His Bride, the church, is always whole, always complete. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we’re not separated by sin, Satan, or death.

So, keep coming. Keep gathering. Come together as the church of God. Receive His gifts in Word and Sacrament. Be reminded regularly that Christ was sacrificed for us and that gives Himself for the forgiveness of sins, for life and salvation. Rejoice with all the heavenly host. Sing and rejoice, for your King has come. He has come for us. And because of that we can now celebrate the feast of victory, which has no end!

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.