This is the last in my sermon series on the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My first sermon was entitled “Repent while there is still time,” and three weeks ago my sermon was entitled “Your lusts will do you in.” In my third sermon I spoke about the value of a good name. Last week I talked about the price that must be paid for sin. All of these sermons can be found on our website saint-annes.org.

      For those who don’t know the story of the Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Four young children have been sent to live in the house of a kindly professor during the war. During their stay in the house they begin to play a game of hide and seek. One of the children, the youngest, Lucy, hides in an upstairs spare room Wardrobe. As she goes to the back of the wardrobe she enters into a magical land called Narnia. After she returns she tries to tell her siblings about it, but they don’t believe. Edmund, the youngest boy, also goes into the Wardrobe and he enters this enchanted land. He however is taken in by the evil White Witch who represents herself as the queen of Narnia. Edmund is soon under her influence and he betrays the other children in order to gain power and a candy Turkish Delight for himself. The other children soon enter into Narnia and begin to search for Edmund, but they hear the report that he has turned traitor. 
 Edmund is held captive by the forces of the White Witch, but after a daring raid by the Lion Aslan's forces frees Edmund. Edmund’s freedom is not without a cost. Aslan agrees to be the sacrifice to save Edmund from the White Witch. The Witch kills Aslan and it seems all is lost, Narnia is surely to be taken over by the Witch, and the cold winter that has been in Narnia for so long is destined to continue forever. 
 Morning is coming. Lucy and Susan (Lucy’s older sister) have spent the night crying over the dead body of Aslan -- the Great Lion -- who sacrificed himself so that their brother, Edmund, might live. 
 As the dawn begins to break, Lucy notices mice on Aslan's body. Susan reacts with revulsion, but Lucy sees that the mice are gnawing at the ropes with which the White Witch bound Aslan. Eventually they cut through the ropes and they fall away.

Finally, when they can weep no more, Susan tells Lucy that they should go. Lucy says, "I'm so cold." 
 They get up and walk away, but suddenly there is an earthquake and a terrible cracking sound. The girls turn around and see the Stone Table broken in two and Aslan's body nowhere to be seen. They are confused. They want to know what has happened. As the sun rises in the east, they look up, and suddenly, with the rays of the rising sun glittering in his mane, Aslan emerges -- resurrected. 
 The girls are overcome with joy, they shout out his name. Aslan comes down to greet them -- all are laughing. But practical Susan has to ask, "But we saw the knife, the Witch..." But Aslan interrupts, "If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she may have interpreted the Deep Magic differently. When a willing victim, who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Stone Table will crack and even death, itself, will turn backwards." 
 Susan tells Aslan that they had sent word of his death to Peter and Edmund who have gone to war. Aslan says he will help, but that they will not go alone. He has the girls climb on his back -- they will have to ride. And just before he leaps into action, he tells them to cover their ears and he lets out a tremendous roar.  
 Sorrow is on the land of Narnia. The Great Lion, Aslan, has been slain to save the life of a young boy, Edmund, who had been a traitor. It seemed so unfair that Aslan, the innocent, had to die for Edmund, the guilty. But death could not hold the Lion, and here he is, back to life and ready to take the battle to the enemy. 
           The title of this sermon is “Resurrection brings hope.” It seems strange to talk about resurrection at the beginning of Lent. It is almost as if we don’t want to think about it yet. For some the idea of the resurrection of Jesus is difficult to get their minds around. They are like the Sadducees of Jesus’ day who were very religious, but did not believe in the idea of resurrection. Perhaps that is why they were “Sad you see.” There are others who believe in the idea of resurrection, but are just not ready to deal with that right now.

 John went on a vacation to the Middle East with most of his family, including his mother-in-law. During their vacation and while they were visiting Jerusalem, John's mother-in-law died.

 With death certificate in hand, John went to the American Consulate to make arrangements to send the body back to the States for proper burial. The Consul, after hearing of the death of the mother-in-law, told John that sending a body back to the States for burial is very, very expensive. It could cost as much as $5,000 he told John, and in most cases the persons responsible for the remains of their loved ones decide to bury the body in Israel, which would only cost $150.

 John thought for some time and answered, "I don't care how much it will cost to send the body back; that's what I want to do." The Consul, after hearing John's reply, said, "You must have loved your mother-in-law very much, considering the difference in price."

 "No, it's not that," says John. "You see, I know of a case many years ago of a person buried here in Jerusalem. On the third day he arose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

      The idea of resurrection can be troubling for some, but for those who have come to experience the reality of the risen Jesus who has shown himself to be alive by coming to live inside of the believer through his Holy Spirit, this reality has brought a whole new life and dimension to life to the Christian. That is why we are celebrating the resurrection today.

 What we don’t often remember is that even during Lent the Sunday celebration is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. It is weekly reminder, in the midst of our reflection regarding our sins and failures – and when we take stock of our spiritual lives, that there is ultimate victory through our risen Lord Jesus. 
 Easter or Resurrection Sunday, which we will celebrate in seven weeks, is the most important day in the year -- a celebration of the day the Son of God rose from the dead. Out of what appeared to be certain defeat, God revealed His victory over the power of sin by the resurrection of His Son. Listen to how St. Paul described what happened as a result of the resurrection of Jesus. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with hi so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

      During this Lenten season let us count ourselves dead to sin by choosing to turn away from sinful desires that lead us to do things that are not God wants us to do. Let us reflect the new life within us by choosing to live in obedience to the Word of God.

      We are often tempted, like Lucy and Susan, to live in the sadness and depression of this world of death in which we live. We can become so focused on the suffering, sin and death all around us that forget that Jesus has risen. We have hope instead of despair, we have inner joy rather than a sad hopelessness, and we have a reason to live than simply trying to live to try to find a reason.

      When you keep in mind the resurrection of Jesus you have hope and a reason to live. A number of years ago there was an eight-year-old boy named Stephen. It was obvious that Stephen’s mental retardation was becoming even more severe. His Sunday school teacher did her best to include Stephen in the classroom activities and to avoid situations which might prompt his classmates to make fun of him.

      In April, she gave each of the eight children in the class an empty L’eggs pantyhose container which at that time was actually in the form of a big egg. The teacher instructed them to place inside the container an object that represented new life in spring. Fearing that Stephen might not have caught on, and not wanting to embarrass him, the teacher had the children place all the containers on the desk so that she could open them.

      The first one had a tiny flower in it. “What a lovely sign of new life,” said the teacher. One of the students couldn’t help but erupt, “I brought that one!”

      Next came a rock. The teacher assumed this must be Stephen’s, since rocks don’t symbolize new life. But Billy shouted that his rock had moss on it, and moss represented new life. “Very good, Billy,” agreed the teacher.

      A butterfly flew from the third container and another child bragged that her choice was best of all.

      The fourth container was empty. This must be Stephen’s, thought the teacher, quickly reaching for a different one. “Teacher, please don’t skip mine,” interrupted Stephen. “But it’s empty, Stephen,” said the teacher gently.

      “That’s right,” said Stephen.” “The tomb of Jesus was empty, and that represents new life for everyone.

      Later that summer, Stephen’s condition worsened and he died. At his funeral on his casket, mourners found eight L’eggs pantyhose containers, all of them empty.

      As the cold and darkness of winter begins to fade take time each day to remind yourself, if you are a believer in Jesus, of the new life that he has given you. When hope seems to fade and it seems like your trials will never end remember the story of Aslan and his resurrection which will remind you of Jesus and his resurrection. 

      We can’t stop there, by just focusing on ourselves. Now, through His empowerment, we are to join Him in taking the battle to the enemy, that we might make disciples of all nations and extend the Kingdom of God until He returns. There are so many who are walking around in darkness, who have no hope. We have hope to share. That hope is in the resurrection of Jesus. That is not just a message for Easter Sunday, but rather it is a message that can bring new life to anyone on any day. 

      I want to close with a quotation from 1 Peter 1:3 in which St. Peter speaks of hope and blessings that come with believing in and trusting that Jesus is alive and that He is our savior

      “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead., and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”