Scripture reading: Psalm 16.

Sermon text: Acts 2:14-32.

Our area was hit by a massive tornado outbreak on Wednesday, 27 April 2011. At the time of writing this sermon, 39  people are confirmed dead in Tuscaloosa, including 5 students at the University of Alabama, 1 student from Stillman College, and 1 student from Shelton State Community College. Hundreds more remain missing or unaccounted for, while the number of injured will easily top 1,000. Statewide, at least 250 people are confirmed dead.

The storms touched our own congregation as well. One family here lost their home, while another family suffered damage to their home. Most of us here today spent several days without power. And, as we learned the enormity of the catastrophe, most of us probably felt as we did in the days following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City.

Today, only 1 week later, we meet here wondering how life will go on from here. Given the numbers and the stories, what can we say today that can comfort us? Only last week, we rejoiced in this sanctuary as we remembered the resurrection of Jesus, the greatest event in the history of humanity. We celebrated His victory over sin and death. As we celebrated Holy Communion, we remembered anew that Jesus’ resurrection assures us of our eternal salvation and our life in a new heaven and a new earth.

Pondering the lectionary text today, praying about what I would say, led me to one answer. As I prayed about what to say in today’s sermon, I heard a simple answer:

“Proclaim the gospel. Proclaim what St. Peter proclaimed in Jerusalem on Pentecost, A.D. 33: ‘This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.’”

Some here will wonder what’s so important about the Easter message in days such as we face. What can the gospel say to us today that will help us?

For one thing, St. Peter’s sermon today reminds us that God wasn’t surprised by Wednesday’s events. Look at St. Peter’s words in this passage; they resound with God’s foreknowledge. Jesus’ death and resurrection both happened as foretold in the Scriptures: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, [David] foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.” The descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost happened as foretold: “this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.”

I’ll not delve into the mysteries of the foreknowledge of God and how catastrophes such as hit us Wednesday fit into that foreknowledge. Some out there will, with far less restraint, proclaim loudly that God caused this death and destruction as punishment for the wicked and a warning to everyone else. I’ll leave those foolish statements for the fools that spout them. Instead, I’ll simply say that God knew this event would happen, and He prepared our way for victory in this event just as He prepared the Roman world for the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This brings me to another major, unforgettable fact: We celebrate victory today. Just as He turned Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection into victory, God will work in some way to bring victory in the midst of our present sorrows. The disciples thought that Jesus’ death brought the end of their hopes of victory over their enemies. The disciples thought that Jesus’ death meant the end of God’s kingdom and the prophecies it would fulfill. Instead, Jesus overwhelmed death and hell, leaving them both sputtering in utter defeat. I know it looks now as if death won on Wednesday; I know that, as many wounded succumb to their injuries, it will seem as if death continues to win. Christians, we meet today in victory! “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” Every born-again believer in Jesus Christ bears testimony to His resurrection. We stand as witnesses to the world that death does not end our existence. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” Jesus lives, and in spite of our sorrow, in spite of the primal fear of death that events such as Wednesday may bring, we know we, too, shall live eternally.

I also believe the world needs to see and hear the gospel in times such as ours today. The world needs to see Christians working in relief efforts, in rescue and recovery, and in ministry to the survivors. The world needs to see us neck deep in this tragedy, helping others and ministering to them. The world also needs to see us, in the midst of our own suffering, living godly lives of love in fulfillment of Jesus’ command to love others as ourselves. In their suffering, many people will listen and respond to the gospel if Christians will help them in their time of need.

In spite of what we’ve suffered this week, we remain an Easter people in the Easter season.  As the Right Rev. N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, wrote in Surprised by Hope, we must proclaim, “God is God, that Jesus is Lord, that the powers of evil, corruption, and death itself have been defeated, and that God’s new world has begun” (p. 227). We are witnesses to the greatest victory in humanity’s long history. This tragedy can destroy us, or it can help us proclaim the gospel: Christ is come, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. As we leave this sanctuary — this place of safety — to go back into a suffering world, take the message with you that Jesus lives. Take the message into a suffering area that Jesus’ victory means victory for us and for all who believe in His name.