Celebrating Easter at Faith Fusion

The words of the song “Alive” in the music video we watched today are symbolic of the beautiful promise or Easter, “Death has lost and love has won.” The lyrics continue, “Turn my darkness into dawn.” How does that happen? How does darkness become dawn in our lives? Today, I want to share the promise of Easter and the hope it offers to every human being. Easter is more than bunnies and Easter eggs, no matter how delicious!

Death has lost and love has won is the victory of the cross. However, it is not an unreasonable question to ask how one man’s life and death can change the world. The answer to that question begins long before Jesus ever walked the earth. It started with Adam.

Maybe the story of Adam feels more like a myth. Nevertheless, history did begin with one man and one woman. Scientists affectionately call the woman mitochondrial Eve and we are all related to her in some way. Unlike science, the Bible focuses on Adam as the point of reference.

In Romans 5:18-19 we learn “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

The ugly truth; life is not fair

The question is, is it fair that we are all condemned in Adam? I don’t know about you but it just doesn’t feel fair to me. As far as I am concerned I don’t have a lot to do with Adam! But the reality is we can’t avoid lineage.

It’s interesting that nowadays you can, with a simple swab on the inside of the cheek; determine your ancestry for generations upon generations with surprising results! I don’t think I have anything to do with the people that came out of Africa but there is a twist of fate in a DNA strand that says I do. And so I must humble myself and concede that just as my children reflect me with all my strengths and weaknesses, so I am a descendent of Adam and have inherited this element; call it sin, which must be plucked out.

For generations after Adam, humankind limped forward in various states of physical and spiritual evolution for the “death” of Adam did not completely snuff out all life from his descendants. Last night, as I read the Old Testament, I thanked God that I was not borne into that era as it seemed to know little of mercy! Or at least the parts I happened to be reading.

Jesus, an entirely different type of man

But after thousands of years one man was born that would change human history because of the quality of his heart. Jesus was an entirely different kind of man and is interestingly enough, labeled the second Adam. He lived beyond the conventions of his day. He spoke with authority. The Jewish religious leaders always referenced this rabbi or that, in order to shore up their point. They sounded like lawyers in debate proving an argument.

But Jesus swept in and instead of poring over the rabbinical texts he spoke the language of the people using parables that had incredible power, not only because they were relevant to matters of the heart, but because he spoke with a transcendent authority. His words had power and those in power felt threatened. Nevertheless, Jesus offered equal access in front of God to people, regardless of race, caste, or gender who were humble enough to simply believe.

God wanted to resurrect all mankind from the limitations cast upon them by Adam but this would mean turning their backs of the conventions of the day. Today, Jesus’ wisdom is known around the world and Christianity is the largest faith tradition, which is a miracle when you consider how few were at the foot of the cross on that bleak Friday. That itself is evidence of the victory of the cross.

A shocking piece of papyrus

Jesus bucked the system because he was about radical, total, 360 reform. This week the press reported that the business card size piece of papyrus known as the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife contains the controversial words “Jesus said to them, My wife . . . she is able to be my disciple . . .” While this is not a definitive statement of whether Jesus was actually married, this papyrus has now been deemed authentic.

Some say it borrows from the Gospel of Thomas which in itself was not an unusual practice in the early church. At minimum, this startling statement, whether true or not, suggests that the question of whether Jesus had a family was a topic of discussion in the decades and centuries following his death. Jesus’ treatment of women throughout the New Testament makes him a revolutionary. He understood and treated women in a very different way than his contemporaries.

He came to create a revolution of heart and that same revolution is still going on today. Jesus wanted us to caste out the sin of the first Adam and become new; become like our “Father in Heaven.” We all aspire to live in the Kingdom of Heaven or ideal world. The fact that we can dream of it, like Jesus, is testimony of the seed of God deep within our hearts. (Insert pic of papyrus)

“What is the resurrection of Jesus? It is not merely the issue of whether his body rose out of the tomb. That is but a small part. The most significant aspect is the resurrection of Jesus’ heavenly principle and his God centered love.” – Sun Myung Moon

To leave the traces of that first Adam behind and connect to the true Adam we need a certain humility of heart and that’s a challenge we all encounter.

Choosing to believe requires action

We cannot avoid the choice to believe – but belief is not easy. It requires that you buck convention, put aside your pride, relinquish your concepts, and let go of the things you want to hold onto. That was true throughout history and is still true today.

The Story of Naaman

Take the story in 2nd Kings of the healing of Naaman, a mighty warrior who was stricken with leprosy. Strangely, his kidnapped slave girl offered Naaman hope, if he would visit Israel and receive healing from the prophet Elisha. Not being from Israel this was a huge gamble but he was desperate and had the support of his King. Like so many of us caught in a bind, he decided to try. But once there he became offended by the prophet’s seemingly stupid request to “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.”

Sound familiar? We too think, “What God is asking of me is so stupid. It’s lame! Forget it, who needs religion anyway?” We have all visited that place. I know I have.
Fortunately, Naaman listened to the advice of his slave who pleaded with him, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? (In other words something that looked a little bit more important.) How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”

Luckily, Naaman wised up. We are not immune from such scenarios or choices. The details are a little different in 2014 but in the end it’s about whether we believe. This clip from “Intolerable Cruelty” exemplifies that we too get to choose.

Love is a choice

Jesus chose love when he made his seminal statement on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they do.”

In that moment our fate was sealed. Christ had done what Adam could not do. He was one in heart with our Heavenly Parent and reflects that love to those who choose to receive it. Because of love he won the right to vouch for us even though we are less. He testifies to what we will become and vouches for us in the meantime.

I was reminded of that this week. I was asked by a friend to be sponsor for her so that she can first become a permanent resident in the United States and ultimately a citizen. I had to go through gobs and gobs of federal paperwork that I affectionately called the “form of death,” as it referenced numerous times that the agreement between the parties doesn’t terminate until one of us dies or the immigrant is granted citizenship! I don’t intend to die.

The whole process made me reflect on the power of relationship. Because of my relationship with this person, she could inherit all the power and benefits of citizenship. I never thought of immigration quite like that before.

Through Adam we lost our connection to God and our ability to live in the Kingdom of Heaven but through Jesus we gain back that right. There isn’t paperwork but there is a process. It starts with simply responding to the invitation; believing in and accepting that grace. Just as I live in America and can extend an invitation to someone to come in, the Messiah, who is one with God, can invite each and every one of us back into God’s Kingdom or family. We regain our original lineage and that spiritual swab of our heart will testify that once more we are truly the sons and daughters of God.

In Ephesians it tells us, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.”

There is so much more to share of Jesus’ incredible story through the Divine Principle. It was 78 years ago this Easter that Rev. Moon, as a youth of 16 years, met Jesus while praying all night on a mountainside above his village. It’s a remarkable story you can read on page 49 of his autobiography, As A Peace Loving Global Citizen.

His experience led him to write this moving poem, Crown of Glory, sung by Lara DeOliviera

Ultimately, we are saved by love and that is why the song Alive goes, “Death has lost and love has won.”

Audio of this message is available on our Podcast page.