C, Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of our Lord - 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 "Jesus' Fruitful Rs"

1 Corinthians 15:19–26 (ESV) If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

If you were asked, “What are the three Rs?”  What would be your answer?  Once upon a time most would have said, “Reading, Writing, and arithmetic (or reckoning)”.  Even though the words don’t begin with “R” they all have that strong “R” sound in their first syllables.

To ask the question of Google, “What are the three Rs?” There is a surprising number of variations.

Another educationally based three Rs are to Read, Reason, and Recite.  In the economy one might look to financial Relief, economic Recovery, and then economic Reform.  These were the three Rs President Roosevelt sought to implement when he entered office.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle are the philosophical three Rs and they’re also the environmental three Rs. These three can be a climate change mantra or even just a commonsense economical use of earthly resources.

Motivationally one might give, Rewards, Recognition, and Reinforcement to move people and productivity in an organisation.

Community orderliness calls for Rhythm, Routines, and Relationships; and those relationships call for Respect, Restraint, and Responsibility.  Marriage calls for Resilience, Respect, and Responsiveness.  In early childhood learning the focus is on Relationships, Repetition, and Routines.

The three R focus for God toward humanity is to Ransom, to Redeem, and to Reconcile. These are the relational three Rs of God to restore the fellowship humanity lost when sin enter the world through Adam and Eve.   Three things led to their sin.  They turned from God’s Reliability, no longer Relishing God, therefore they Required to be like God. God was now less fruitful to them then the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

So, God set about restoring this broken relationship so humanity could come back into fellowship with him.

During the Lenten season we have been called in God’s Word to Reflect, Repent, and be Reconciled.  Lent is a penitential season in the church year.  It is a season of sorrowful reflection, where we’re called to look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word and see our sins.  But not just our sins, but also the fruitfulness of God in his giving of a perfect fruit, the first fruit Jesus Christ, through whom we have freedom to continually have our humanity cleansed. 

The Holy Spirit shows us our sin in God’s Word, or the Holy Spirit causes us to know our sin by sending a servant to show us our error.  Therefore, reflection of the self, directed by the Holy Spirit, sees the call to repentance, as a gift, so a child of God can freely repent.  After reflection and repentance occurs, a repentant person knows they have been reconciled to God, as a child of God.  There repentance is not a work to earn salvation, but rather a willing reception of what God has done, what he continues to do, and what he will continue to do as we live and die in him.

In Jesus’ death, the ransom for your sin has been paid in full.  In his sinless death, he was raised as our Redeemer.  And now we are reconciled to God as his children.

So as a child of God what are your three Rs?   Well, there are not just three Rs, there are many Rs that God gifts us with, now that we’re his children. From Jesus’ resurrection we receive, Rebirth, Renewal, Restoration, Regeneration, Righteousness, Reconciliation, Respite, Relief, Rest, Re-creation and Holy Recreation.

Jesus himself is the new fruit of the resurrection.  The old tree of good and evil no longer grows in God’s Garden.  It has no place next to the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, the fruitful tree of the Resurrection — the tree of Rebirth, Renewal, and Recreation.  The tree of knowledge of good and evil is dead to you in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  You know it because he shows you how good you must be to overcome your evil, and in that shows you your fruitlessness that leads to death.

In Christ’s resurrection Paul proclaims, “Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:19–26 ESV)

Paul explains we are made alive in Christ; his resurrection is the hope of our resurrection.  We bear the new fruit of the resurrection which is destroying all the fruits of good and evil, every rule, authority, and power, of and in ourselves, the world, and the devil.  Let your faith in good and evil die with the death of death!  True life is living in the fruit of Jesus Christ.

As you tarry between the death of eternal death in baptism and your human nature’s earthly death, the Holy Spirit wills you to live in the three Rs of God’s fruitful righteousness and faith in Jesus Christ – that is Renewal, Repentance, and Rest.  Amen.