“WHEN WINNING REALLY IS EVERYTHING”

MATTHEW 28:1-10

[28:1] Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

[2] And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

[3] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

[4] And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

[5] But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

[6] He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

[7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

[8] So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

[9] And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

[10] Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

I believe it was Vince Lombardi who said, “It isn’t whether you win or whether you loose.  It’s whether you win.”  He also said, “Winning isn’t everything.  It’s the only thing.”  Words like that resonate today because we live in a very competitive society.  People like to win. How about you?  You like to win don’t you?  I know I like to win.   That’s actually how I got my nickname.   You see when I was in seminary I was a tennis addict.  Every Saturday morning you would find me on the tennis courts for three, sometimes four hours and because I liked to win my friends used to call me the sinister minister.

If you’re like most people you like to win.  It could be a chess game or a blue ribbon for an apple pie, a promotion at work or the lottery.  A little over a week ago we learned that three lucky lottery winners are going to be sharing a $656 million jackpot.  Of course, it might not be all sunshine and roses for them. That’s because winning can also bring headaches and problems.  Just ask the man who won a $200 million lottery. The man’s wife was the first to discover that he’d won the lottery but instead of celebrating she immediately began to worry.  That’s because her husband had a bad heart and she was afraid that the news might be too much for him.  So, the wife called their minister and asked him to break the news to her husband gently.  The minister decided on a subtle approach.  So, after a few minutes of meaningless chitchat the minister said, “So Ralph, what would you do if you ever won a $200 million dollar lottery?”  “Oh, that’s easy,” Ralph said.  “I’d start by giving half of it to the church,” whereupon the minister promptly dropped dead.

Now I want you to know that my cholesterol is 126 and my blood pressure is 110 over 70.  I also do cardio everyday.   So, if you ever decide to give the church $100 million dollars don’t worry. My heart can take it!

Yes…winning can be wonderful and if you like to win I’ve got some good news for you.  You’re in good company alone.  I say that that because the Easter story makes it very clear that God also likes to win.  The empty tomb, the stone that was rolled

away and the angel who announced that Christ had risen from the dead; they all tell us that God doesn’t like to loose.

On Good Friday the powers of death and destruction took their best shot.   The greedy money changers, the haughty high priest and the power hungry Romans all conspired to drive those nails into the handles and feet of God’s only begotten Son.   Hate had its say on Good Friday but then on Easter morning God had His say.  First there was the earthquake and the guards became like dead men.   Then God rolled the stone away from the tomb and freed Jesus Christ from the cold cruel clutches of death.  On that glorious morning God’s love won the day by raising Jesus Christ from the grave to everlasting glory.

Yes, make no mistake about it God doesn’t like to lose!  That’s something to remember when you’re feeling lost and alone.   That’s something to remember when you’re struggling with a problem that seems like it’s too big to handle.  The God who doesn’t like to loose will always be there to help you.  And most of all when you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death remember this.   The God who doesn’t like to lose will be there to see you through to everlasting life - the ultimate victory.

That’s why those words that the Apostle Paul wrote to those Christians back in the first century are also for us today.  

 “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?…thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”                                                                                            (I Corinthians 15:51-57)

Someone once put the victory this way.  What death did to Jesus on Good Friday is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death on Easter morning!  Everlasting life! Victory!

Yes, God doesn’t like to lose.  The thing to remember though is that God’s way of winning is often different from our way of winning.   That’s was obvious one day to a crowd of people who watched a Special Olympics race.  As soon as the gun sounded the competitors were off and running.  They didn’t get very far though before one of the children fell and began to cry.  Now the other “challenged” runners apparently didn’t understand what it means to win or maybe they did.  I say that because one by one they all stopped running and went back to their fallen comrade.  A little girl with Down’s Syndrome kissed him and brushed the dirt off his knees.  Then the children helped him up and together they ran arm in arm across the finish line.  As they did everyone in the crowd stood and started to cheer.

God’s way of winning is different.  God’s way of winning always leads to reconciliation…healing…hope…justice…love….and the peace that passes all understanding.

Here’s something else to remember.   Because God doesn’t like to lose the last thing God wants is for you to go home today and go back to business as usual.   The God who doesn’t like to lose doesn’t want YOU to lose the joy of the empty tomb as you rush here and there to do this and that. God doesn’t want you to end up like the little boy who was sitting in church one day watching an Easter pageant.  When Jesus entered the sanctuary one of the actors in the pageant shouted “The king is coming!  The king is coming!”  At that point the little boy stood up and with a puzzled look on his face said, “So that’s Elvis?”

God who doesn’t like to lose loves you too much to be satisfied with a casual relationship where you really don’t know each other.   That’s why the incarnate God came to dwell among us in the Bethlehem stable.  That’s why the incarnate God went to the Cross and let hate have it’s say on Good Friday.  But it’s also why the tomb was empty on Easter morning.  It was empty because when the time comes the God who loves you wants to spend eternity with you.   So, keep coming back to the empty tomb.  Keep coming back to be embraced by the God who loves you in the joyful songs that we sing and in your moments of prayer.  Keep coming back when you’re feeling down and when you’re standing on top of the world.   Keep coming back to the tomb because this I know with absolute certainty.  The God who doesn’t like to lose doesn’t want to lose you.   Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

April 8, 2012 – Easter Sunday