I think everybody comes to church on Easter Sunday because everybody knows that what this day is about is the most important, most urgent, most compelling matter in the world. We get dressed up and come to church today because on the agenda today is a matter, literally, of life and death…

Personally, the big question is: Does it ultimately matter? Is it all worthwhile? Does it matter how I live, how I love, how I give my life away? Are the struggles worth anything finally? It’s the oldest, most urgent question anybody ever asked. Do you ever find yourself wondering: Does it matter, ultimately, whether or not I live with a sense of purpose and a commitment to making the world a better place? Are the struggles to make the world more Christlike—struggles which take the mundane form of attending meetings, and raising money and lobbying for legislation; hard work of building communities that honor the young and old, and provide for education and health and public safety for all people. . . does it all matter in the end? The strong message of this day is yes, it matters. Nothing is lost of love and passion and commitment. Nothing is wasted. Your life lived in the freedom of love, the freedom given to you this day by Christ’s victory over death, matters forever…

So, good friends. Sing the triumphant music, and enjoy the flowers, and allow yourself to love life, to embrace life a little more passionately, and be a little more extravagant with your love and with your life.

Give it away. Give it to what matters most—to the people God has given you to love, to the good causes that honor all of God’s children, to God’s church.

Live with abandon. Live in freedom.

Easter Sunday Excerpts

April 4, 1999

https://www.fourthchurch.org/sermons/1999/040499.html