Christ Has Overcome — Homily by Rev. Drew Ibach

May I speak to you in the name of the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may be seated.

Hallelujah. Christ is risen. Lord is

risen indeed. HALLELUJAH.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for he

is victorious.

The one in whom we place all our faith,

the one in whom we put all our trust,

has triumphed.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has

overcome. He has overcome everything.

>> Amen.

He has overcome the schemes of the

religious leaders of the Pharisees and

high priests of those who could not

stand to have their religious power

threatened. He has overcome them and has

shown us that true religion is not about

a prideful struggle to maintain power

but is about humbly accepting the grace

of God.

Praise the Lord. Jesus Christ has

overcome.

>> He has overcome the wrath of the Roman

Empire, the most dominant empire the

world had ever seen. An empire that used

violence and coercion to accomplish its

goals.

An empire where the wealthy and the

politically powerful reign supreme. He

has overcome it and shows us that true

power is not found in politics, wealth,

violence or coercion. True power is not

found in empire.

Rather, it is found in the

selfsacrificial

love of the cross. A love that is so

powerful that not even death can defeat

it.

Praise God. Christ our Lord has

overcome.

He has overcome the violence of the

bloodthirsty mob of those who in their

rage demand the death of the poor and

the innocent.

He has overcome them not by resorting to

violence himself,

not by exacting revenge. No, he has

overcome the bloodthirsty mob by showing

us that the kingdom of heaven is made up

of a love that is so radical, so

farreaching that it extends to everyone,

even to one's own enemies, even to those

who would demand that God be killed.

Praise God. Jesus Christ has overcome.

Amen.

>> He has overcome the unfaithfulness of

his disciples,

of those who claim to follow him, but

through greed or cowardice betray him

and abandon him.

He has overcome their betrayal and shows

us that even those who deny him three

times are not outside the scope of

redemption.

>> Praise God.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has

overcome.

He has overcome the sin that is in you

and me. He has overcome our pride, our

violence, our bloodlush, blood lust, our

coercion, our greed, our unfaithfulness,

and our betrayal.

He has defeated our sin and has

demonstrated God's own love for us in

this that while we were still sinners,

Jesus Christ died for us. He died for us

and raised from the dead, making a way

for us to be reconciled to God.

Praise God. Jesus Christ is risen

and he has overcome.

He has overcome the grave,

showing us that there is nothing, no

nothing, not even death itself that can

separate us from the all-encompassing,

neverending

love of God. Rejoice,

rejoice, and be glad.

Jesus Christ has indeed overcome through

his death and resurrection. And it is

his death and resurrection that we, the

church, bear witness to. It is his death

and resurrection that we that you

have been baptized into.

And as Paul explains in Romans chapter 6

Romans 6 · chapter mention

that we read tonight in verse in verses

uh four and six, he says, "We were

buried therefore with him by baptism

into death

in order that just as Christ was raised

from the dead by the glory of the

Father, we too might walk in newness of

life. For if we have been united with

him in a death like his, we shall

certainly be united with him in a

resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified

with him in order that the body of sin

might be brought to nothing

so that we would no longer be enslaved

to sin.

Friends, this is the truest thing about

us. We have been baptized into Christ's

victorious death and resurrection.

We have been to united to him.

Therefore, we are free from our old

self, from our sinful self. We are free

from the bondage of sin and can walk in

resurrection.

and Christ we have eternal life not only

in the next life but right now

we are united with Christ right now.

Therefore,

we can live lives that would not be

possible if it wasn't for our baptism

into the death and resurrection of Jesus

Christ.

So go forth into the world. Remember

Christ's death and resurrection.

Remember your baptism.

Remember that you are free from the

bondage of sin and have been united with

Christ.

Remember and live in defiance of the

world, the flesh, and the devil.

In defiance of sin by being people who

are transformed by Christ. Go forth and

live in defiance of darkness

by being people of light.

When the world celebrates the prideful

and the elites, remember that you have

been saved by a poor rabbi from

Nazareth.

When the world demands that you bend the

knee to the power of empire, remember

that Jesus Christ is Lord and no one

else is.

When you feel tempted

to indulge the hatred and blood lust

that lives in each and every one of us,

remember that in your baptism, you have

been united to the prince of peace who

took on the hatred and the violence of

the world and defeated it in his

resurrection.

And when you inevitably fail,

when you find yourself unfaithful and

feel

that you have betrayed our Lord,

remember that no matter what you have

done, no matter how many times you have

failed,

no one is outside the scope of Jesus

Christ's love.

There is no one who cannot be redeemed.

And when you find yourself surrounded by

death, by sickness, tragedy, and war,

remember that there is nothing to fear.

For death

has been swallowed up by the

resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

Even if it seems like the Pharisees of

our day are winning. Even if it feels

like the power of empire is too

overwhelming. Even if it feels as though

violence and hatred rule the day. Even

if it seems like our unfaithfulness is

too significant to be redeemed. And even

though death surrounds us, rejoice and

be glad.

For Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,

is victorious.

Jesus Christ has triumphed.

Rejoice and remember your baptism and

that you have been made new.

Remember and live in defiance of the

world, the flesh, and the devil.

Remember

that you have been buried and raised

with Christ and are united with him.

Remember that you have been set free

from sin and death. Rejoice and be glad.

And never ever ever forget that on this

night Jesus Christ has overcome.

Amen. Amen.