EASTER MESSAGE
April 20, 2014
I want to start with a bit of an experiment today. I am going to need a couple of volunteers.
I am not going to embarrass you or make you look dumb. I am not going to quiz you about
the Bible or church history. Here is what I need: I need one person who is able to say the
word “toast” and one person who is able to say the word “duck sauce.”
(Have one person repeat the word “toast” over and over again for 30 seconds to a minute.)
(Have one person repeat the word “duck sauce” over and over again for 30 seconds.)
Thank you to our brave volunteers. Did things start to get blurry for you there at the end?
Toast might have become toads or toes. Duck sauce might have become Doug’s saw. But
what can really start to happen is the words can begin to sound like nothing. A word as
normal as toast or as delicious as duck sauce can become meaningless; it’s just a series of
guttural noises. No different than a baby’s gibberish. No different than a foreign language
that you don’t understand. When you repeat a phrase over and over again, it can lose it’s
meaning. It can become like white noise. Gibberish.
Dr. Leon James, a professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, wrote his
dissertation in 1962 on this phenomenon, and he coined the phrase semantic satiation. It
means semantic of or relating to words and satiation meaning saturation or being filled.
Dr. Leon James did a scientific study around linguistics and psychology, and he made the
case that most words, when repeated ad nauseam, become meaningless. Phrases or words
that are uttered over and over on a regular basis can quickly become meaningless.
Around this time of year, every year, it becomes easy to suffer from semantic satiation
around Easter. For those of you who regularly worship with us at SFC you have been
hearing about Easter and the Resurrection for weeks. Many of you have been hearing about
the Resurrection and Easter for decades. Even if you aren’t a regular worshipper, around
this time of year, Easter is hard to miss. Time and Newsweek usually run a cover story
around Easter exploring the claims of Jesus. News stories are everywhere about Easter
bunnies and egg hunts. You are probably getting emails, mail or invitations from your
friends to come hear about the risen Jesus.
In all of these instances, semantic satiation might have taken its toll on you. The story of a
risen Jesus might have become meaningless. It might have become like white noise. I want
to read you the story of the Resurrection today, and I want you to hear it as if it was the
first time.
John 20: 1-4
These stories can quickly become sterile and colorless. Imagine with me, that these people
have just followed, listened and watched a man from Nazareth, a carpenter, for three years.
He did miracles. He loved people. He went to parties. He included people. He confronted
religious authorities. He fed people. He made people feel connected to God. I am fond of
saying that we should forget about the Dos Equis man; Jesus is the most interesting man in
the world. Drop your preconceived notions. Forget that picture of Jesus where he is
glowing and holding a lamb like Colin Kapernick holds a football. Forget that picture where
he is pretty and angelic-looking as he gazes off to the side. In fact, forget any picture of
Jesus that looks like he is glowing, angelic or floating. This was a real guy, an interesting
and exciting guy. He was the most interesting man in the world. He spoke about God in a
way no one ever had. He was fun to be around. He was challenging. He cared about people.
Now then, that guy died. Let’s not forget that. Imagine the defeat and the hopelessness of it
all. This loveable leader, this powerful prophet, this guy you loved being around is dead. In
that moment of time, there could be nothing more horrible. In addition, you will miss him
horribly, you will miss his laugh and the conversations you used to have. You are also
devastated because it seemed like he was starting a movement. He was going to change
things. And now? Dead. No more. Over.
We have two experiences here; one is Mary Magdalene’s. She went that day fully intending
to visit the tomb, maybe to cry, maybe to leave flowers, but probably to mourn and show
her respect. And the tomb is empty. So she goes to tell Peter and John. Here is what I want
you to see. In both stories they run. Mary takes off in a sprint. Peter and John take off in a
sprint.
In that moment, resurrection was still a new idea. Just a week or so earlier, Lazarus had
risen from the dead. Or more appropriately, Jesus raised him from the dead. But Jesus was
the one doing the raising and Jesus was dead. Although Jesus talked about his death often,
they didn’t expect it. And although he talked about his resurrection often, they didn’t expect
it, but when it happened, they ran. They responded like it meant something.
But today, the resurrection of Jesus is almost a semantic satiation. I sometimes ask people,
“Why are you a Christian or why do you think you are going to Heaven?” The answer is
“Because I believe Jesus died for my sins, and he rose again on the third day.” That is the
correct answer. But you would be surprised how easily that rolls off of people’s tongues. In
the same tone and with the same awe as if I asked them, “Why are you a U.S. citizen or how
do you know that you won’t go to prison?” They answer, “Because I believe that I
completed my taxes last week and I got them postmarked by the 15th.” Again, this is the
correct answer. But it is amazing to me that you could roll out your citizenship in heaven
and in the United States with the same gusto. That the same tone you use for taxes could be
used for Jesus. And I am no better. I often give the knowing nod after someone tells me that
they believe Jesus died and rose again on their behalf. As if they just old me that it is
Monday and it is 73 degrees outside.
The resurrection of Jesus has lost its luster. It has reached a semantic satiation for some of
us. Now, resurrection hasn’t lost its luster. The Resurrection is still amazing. Walter
Williams died on March 1st in Holmes County, Mississippi. His doctor declared him dead.
His family saw him dead. The coroner declared him dead. They put him in a body bag and
transported him to the morgue. They loaded his body bag up on the embalming table and
then they got a surprise. Someone started to kick around inside the bag. After being dead
for hours, Walter Williams came back to life. True story.
This story was going around news sites and Facebook like crazy. People were amazed. A
dead man came back to life. Let me say that again. A guy who was dead came back to life.
The core confession of the Christian faith is that a dead guy came back to life. That
shouldn’t roll off our tongues like a conversation about taxes. The most interesting man in
the world died, and he came back to life because as it turns out, he was more than a man.
He was the Son of God. He was the long awaited King. He was the Messiah.
Messiah is the Hebrew word for “anointed one.” The Greek rendering of that word is Christ.
That is one you are probably more familiar with. We often say, “Jesus Christ.” Its funny,
semantic satiation often comes up with last names too. I am sure many of you in this room
are aware that etymology of most surnames is rooted in an occupation. Think about it,
Archer, Baker, Carpenter, Draper, Fisher, Gardner, Hunter, Knight, Miller, Plummer,
Shepherd, Tanner and Weaver. Those names have reached their semantic satiation for
many of you. But they’re not names. They are jobs. Christ isn’t a name. It is a job. The
Chosen One. The lone Savior. The Messiah. The King. He has been given that title and that
job because of that singular thing he did. He rose. He rose from the dead.
His heart stopped. His lungs stopped. He died. And not for a few hours like Walter Williams
but for three days. That should shock and amaze you today especially if you believe it. You
believe a dead man came back to life. I don’t know if you know this, but for some pastors,
Easter is a problem because they have to tell the old story again. They have to tell the story
that has been told and heard a thousand times before. Some pastors get creative and try to
tell the story from a different vantage point. Some try and act it out, or find untold portions
of the story. For me that was a problem until I realized it shouldn’t be.
Today, I have mind-blowing news for you, Jesus, the Christ, a carpenter from Nazareth, the
most interesting man in the world, died, and that same man came back from the dead. If it’s
true, this is an amazing, insane and wild story. It defies physiology and the laws of nature.
It’s a story that doesn’t need to be dressed up or spruced up. A dead man came back to life.
And he stayed that way. The sad part about Walter William’s story is that after coming back
from the dead, he died again two weeks later. This is sad because it was so close to his
resurrection. But the truth is, even in the Bible, there are a few resurrections. But only one
stayed that way. Jairus’ daughter died again. Lazarus died again. Walter Williams died
again. Jesus didn’t. Jesus, the Christ, didn’t die again.
The question for you today then is simple: what do you do with that? If a dead man came
back to life and earned the name Christ, what should I do? For those of you in this room
who know Jesus but maybe he has become a bit familiar and you have become a bit
semantically satiated, you might need to be shocked by him again. He isn’t the president of
a religious organization. He isn’t the creator of a set of religious tenants. He is a dead man
who came back to life and commanded you to follow him. Several parts of that should
shock you.
For those of you who aren’t believers, you too must consider this dead man who came back
to life. For some of you, that is a non-starter because we don’t even agree on that premise. I
don’t have time today, but the Resurrection is trustworthy and verifiable from an extrabiblical perspective. I would be happy to discuss that with you one-on-one if you would
like. But…but if it is true, then you have to do something with it. Mary ran. Peter and John
ran. They had an instant response. The dead man was no longer dead. And in the case of
Jesus, he would never die again and because of that; he was given a name above every other
name. He is King Jesus, Christ Jesus. We aren’t discussing campfire tales today. If this really
happened and a dead man came back to life, what should you do?
For some of you today, you need to shake off the haze you have been walking in. You need
to be shocked by Jesus anew and ask him, “What do you want from me?” You might need to
talk to him like he is alive, and he loves you and he has plans for you. Some of you today
need to be reminded that this dead man came back to life for you. He went to a heinous
death and God raised him from the dead to make a way for us back into God’s presence. If
this miracle makes sense to you today, reach out to the Father, the creator of miracles.
You can say something simple, “Christ Jesus, save me.” Leon Jones not only came up with
the idea of semantic satiation, he also coined an idea called semantic generation. He said,
“Most of the time, a word or phrase can become meaningless when repeated but sometimes
if the phrase is already meaningful to you, that repetition can give it greater meaning.”
Christ Jesus, save me. That phrase can start your relationship with Jesus but it can also
sustain it. For those of you who have known him for 20 or 30 years, try saying the phrase
this week, “Christ Jesus save me.” That phrase is loaded with meaning but it has two main
reminders. Jesus is the Christ because he rose from the dead, and you are in need of a
savior. That is a good reminder for each new day. Christ Jesus, save me. A dead man came
back to life. What are you going to do about it?