The Languages of Easter
Sycamore Creek Church
April 8, 2012
Tom Arthur
John 20:1-29

Jesus is risen, Friends! Happy Easter!

Today I’d like to explore the way that God talks to us at Easter.  Are you familiar with the idea of love languages?  Gary Chapman, a psychologist and marriage counselor, wrote a very influential book several years ago called The Five Love Languages.  The basic idea of this book is that each of us speaks one of five love languages.  It’s our natural way of showing and hearing love.  They are: 

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

If you try to speak love in a language they don’t speak, then they won’t hear it, and your relationship love tank will be depleted over time.  If you learn what love language your loved one speaks and speak it, then you will fill up their love tank and your relationship will be full of warmth and joy.  That’s the basic idea of The Five Love Languages.

As I was reading the Easter story this year, I began to notice a similar thing going on with each of the characters in the story: John, Mary, the Disciples, and Thomas.  Each one seemed to believe in a different way.  Could each one of them have a different “faith language”?  As I studied and reflected more, I began to see that not only do each of them have a different faith language, but amazingly, God spoke to each person in language that they could understand.  While I didn’t find five faith languages, I did find four.  I’d like to look at them one by one this morning and see how God gives to each person exactly what they need to have faith that Jesus really was resurrected from the dead.  So let’s dive into the story and hear how God speaks different languages at Easter.

Simple Faith – The Beloved Disciple (John)

John 20:1-10 NLT
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side. Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed —  for until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. Then they went home.

We see three different characters in this story and they all experience the same thing: an empty tomb.  Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb and thinks that his body has been stolen.  We don’t really get what Peter thinks when he sees the empty tomb.  But “the other disciple” which is John’s way of talking about himself has a very distinct response.  We read:

Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw [the empty tomb] and believed.
John 20:8 NLT

What? John sees an empty tomb and believes? Why not have Mary’s response: they’ve stolen the body?  Why not ask a million questions about what could have happened?  Why does he simply believe?  The answer is: because John speaks the language of simple faith.  He doesn’t need a lot of explanation.  He simply believes.

We all know people like this.  We may even be a person like this.  The person who speaks simple faith simply believes.  Questions about this or that don’t get under their skin.  They’re content trusting that God knows the answer even if they don’t.  The person who speaks the language of simple faith is often said to have the faith of a child.  In this moment, God speaks a language in the empty tomb that some of us with simple faith can clearly hear.

Simple Faith – Today

Two examples come to mind of people more recently who have this kind of faith.  One is Corrie and Betsy ten Boom.  OK, the ten Booms aren’t exactly alive today, but they lived during the Nazi invasion of Netherlands.  They were Dutch Christians, and they hid Jews in their home.  Eventually they were raided and the two sisters were carted off to a concentration camp.  Betsy died in the camp, but Corrie lived and ended up traveling the world telling their story and sharing their faith.

Another example of this kind of faith today is Bethany Hamilton.  Bethany has become known through the book and movie Soul Surfer.  Let’s let her speak for herself:

[This video can’t be embedded so go check it out and come back to the message.]

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/bethany-hamilton/

Personal Faith – Mary

John 20:11-18 NLT
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”  

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” 

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

Mary initially sees the empty tomb and thinks that Jesus’ body has been stolen. Unlike John, she does not simply believe.  Then as the story unfolds, she runs into some angels and still doesn’t believe.  Next she runs into “the gardener”, or that’s who she thinks she’s talking to.  She is completely confused about what’s going on until Jesus says her name:

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”
John 20:16 NLT

Mary speaks the language of personal faith.  Personal faith needs a personal encounter with Jesus to believe.  Mary needs to hear her very own name spoken.  It is not enough to  know that God knows the name of every star in the universe, the one who speaks the language of personal faith needs to hear their name spoken personally to them by the God of that universe.  In the Easter story, we see that God speaks this language to Mary.

Personal Faith – Today

Two people who jump out at me today that have this kind of faith are Louis Zamporini and Brian Welch.  Zamporini has become well known lately by the book titled Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Hillenbrand also wrote Seabiscuit.  In Unbroken, Hillenbrand tells of how Zamporini was an Olympic runner ready for the 1938 Olympics when WWII broke out.  Instead of going to the Olympics, he joins the United States Air Force, ends up going down in the Pacific Ocean, sets a new record for surviving in the ocean, is picked up by the Japanese Navy, is tortured in a POW camp, eventually is set free when the Allies win the war, comes back to the states, becomes an alcoholic, attends a Billy Graham crusade, and encounters Jesus.  Following this personal encounter, he throws out all his alcohol and his life is completely transformed.  Like Corrie ten Boom, he begins traveling to tell his story and share his faith in Jesus.

A similar story to Zamporini’s is Brian Welch, the former lead guitarist for the nu metal band, Korn.  After an exceptionally successful run with Korn, Welch finds his life hitting rock bottom.  Let’s hear how he tells the story:

[This video can’t be embedded so go check it out and come back to the message.]

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/brian-welch/

Communal Faith – Upper Room

John 20:19-23 NLT
That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!  He spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

So after all this craziness the disciples, the closest followers of Jesus, are out proclaiming Jesus, right?  No.  They’ve locked themselves in a room because they’re scared.  They are circling the wagons.  All of a sudden as they are gathered together in community, Jesus shows up among them:

Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
John 20:19 NLT

It isn’t until they are together that Jesus shows up and they believe.  Some of us hear God most fully in the voice of others in small groups or as we gather together in worship.  Something about the community gathered attunes the person who speaks the language of communal faith to hear God’s voice clearly.

Communal Faith – Today

One example of this kind of faith today is Enuma Okoro.  Enuma is a friend of Sarah and me and has recently written a book titled Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert’s Search for Spiritual Community.  Listen to her and some others speak about their experience with God:

Did you hear how she choked up talking about experiencing God in the Eucharist or communion?  These moments of worship with others “confirms that God is real.”  Some of you really get that.  You experience God in that way too, communally.  In another telling of the Easter story, Luke shares how some disciples are walking on the road to the village, Emmaus.  Jesus shows up and walks with them, but like Mary, they don’t recognize him.  They only recognize him when they sit down for a meal, for the breaking of bread:

As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it, then gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
Luke 24:30-31 NLT

Another modern-day person who has aspects of this kind of faith is Anne Rice.  She is best known for her Vampire Chronicles.  Rice grew up in the Catholic Church but became an atheist later in life.  After many decades as an atheist, Rice began an intellectual exploration of ancient Judiasm that eventually led her to ask some questions about Jesus.  She began attending mass again, but not taking the Eucharist.  In her spiritual autobiography, Called Out of Darkness, she tells the story of how in the midst of celebrating the Mass, she felt “united to God again” (pg. 198).  Rice has since wrestled with this community of Christians, but the experience remains, she heard God again through the community gathered for worship.

Reasoned Faith – Thomas

John 20:24-29 NLT
One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”

Thomas is my favorite character in this story.  Probably because we speak the same faith language.  Thomas is a skeptic.  He isn’t going to go for any of this wishy-washy simple, personal, or communal faith.  He wants evidence that he can see and touch.  He won’t believe until Jesus shows up and lets him put his fingers in his wounds and poke around a little to make sure he really was dead and really is alive.  While you’re at it, let’s hook him up to an EKG, run him through an MRI, and get some blood samples for DNA testing.  Let’s make sure this guy really is alive and really is the same guy.

So one day when the disciples were gathered again, Thomas was with them and Jesus shows up:

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”  “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
John 20:27-28 NLT

Thomas needs reasons to believe, and here in the moment, Jesus gives him real reasons to believe.  Thomas speaks the language of reasoned faith.

Reasoned Faith – Today

If you’re this kind of person, like me, I’d like to recommend a couple of people to you.  The first is C.S. Lewis and especially his book, Mere Christianity.  Lewis was an Oxford Don and an atheist.  Through the reasoned encouragement of his friends, including J.R.R. Tolkien, he eventually came to believe that Jesus was who he claimed to be: the Son of God.  Mere Christianity provides a step by step argument for the basics of Christianity that all Christians hold.  Lewis’ children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia, were instrumental in my own faith journey during a time of crisis when I let of go of my faith and was wandering around in the darkness of life without God.

Another person today who follows in the footsteps of Lewis is Francis Collins.  Collins was the director of the Human Genome Project and is now the director of the National Institutes of Health.  In his book, The Language of God, he describes how science and scientific exploration uncover a kind of language that God speaks to us about himself and who we are.

Now we’re to the rub for the person of reason.  Aren’t faith and science contradictory?  Isn’t faith built on blind trust and science built on hard evidence?  You can’t be a scientist and a Christian.  Or can you?

If you are a person who speaks the language of reasoned faith, you need reasons and evidence to believe, I want to encourage you to come back and join us for our next series: Big Bang Faith.  We’re going to be exploring how faith and science intersect in many different ways.  I’m going to interview different scientists each week throughout this series who are also members of our church.  We’ll see what they have to say about God and science.  On the final week of the series, we’ll be showing a video after worship called Test of Faith and inviting these scientists and you to respond to the video.  Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

The Most Important Questions

So which language do you speak?  Simple, personal, communal, or reasoned faith?  There’s one more answer to this question: some of us simply aren’t even listening for God.  Some of us have our ears plugged up. No matter what language God speaks, you won’t hear it if you’re not listening.  There are two basic questions that are the most important questions in all of our lives:

1. Is there a God?
2. Does God love us?

God speaks different languages at Easter, but gives one answer to these questions.  It is Easter’s answer.  Paul, one of the writers of the Bible, answered those two questions this way:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 KJV

Are your ears open?  Are you listening for God’s voice, for Easter’s answer to the most important questions of life?  If you listen the Easter story shows us that God will speak in a language that you can hear and have faith.  Have you heard your faith language spoken today?

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