Rise and Shine! Ephesians 5:8-14

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our message is based on our epistle, Ephesians 5:8-14, especially verse 14, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

“Awake, O Sleeper”, or “Rise and Shine”.

Morning is a wonderful time of day in many ways. It’s fresh and new; in the summer the birds are singing, it’s cool before the heat of mid-afternoon; energy levels are high.

But it might take a little while to get to that happy place. For some people when they first wake, they’re still partly or mostly asleep. They need something to shine on them, so to speak, to wake them up.

For some that’s caffeine; a morning cup of coffee. How many of us make a cup of coffee first thing in the morning?

When it comes to our spiritual waking up, we need something much more powerful than caffeine; because we don’t just need to be perked up, we need made alive.

Verse 8 of our epistle says, for at one time you were in darkness.

Ephesians 2:1-2 says, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.

Before we were awakened to spiritual life, our souls were trapped in the darkness of a spiritual death. But a miracle changed all that; a miracle based on a miracle.

The miracle was our spiritual regeneration in baptism; based on the spiritual miracle of Christ’s regeneration in the tomb, his resurrection.

Had Jesus not risen, there would be no reason to believe; no reason for God to give faith to the world.

Had Jesus not risen, and ascended to the right hand of God, He couldn’t have sent His Spirit to live in us though Baptism, and give us the power to believe.

And without faith, there’s no regeneration of the heart, and no renewal of the mind.

So that we might wake up and shine, with faith and love, first, Jesus died for our forgiveness, and then, he miraculously rose for our spiritual renewal.

To make our renewal and regeneration happen, He miraculously sent His Spirit, and gave us the gift of Baptism, which makes us spiritually alive.

So we have all these miracles based on each other to give us the miracle of spiritual life; to work a kind of resurrection in us.

Romans 6 tells us that in Baptism by faith, God works in us a dying to sin and rising to new life: Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

This isn’t speaking of our physical death and resurrection, but of what happens in our hearts. When we’re given faith in Christ and his forgiveness, it’s like it crucifies the power of sin in us; that’s the dying part Baptism. It also gives us a new life of faith and love; that’s the resurrection in us, a new kind of life that’s raised up in us.

Our epistle says this in a single verse, which was probably a part of an early baptism liturgy, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Rise and Shine!

This reminds me of a line in a children’s movie (book) called “Charlotte’s Web.”. Children have you ever seen that movie, or the play?  It was just presented last weekend at Lutheran High.

The movie is set on a farm in the 1920s. A girl is up early in the morning, collecting eggs for breakfast. (Do you know her name?) Fern is awake early, and she sees her father about to carry out an unpleasant task.

A sow has given birth overnight to a litter of piglets, and one is a runt; too small to compete with its brothers and sisters, so it won’t survive on its own. Fern’s father is going to mercifully end its life. But Fern, not understanding that, is outraged at the injustice of it. So her father gives the baby pig to her to take care of and raise.

Do you remember what she name of the baby pig? Wilbur. Charlotte is the spider who comes along later in the story.

When Fern’s brother (remember his name? Avery) wakes up later, and finds out that his sister has been given a pig, he asks his father if he can have a pig, too. His father tells him, “I only dispense pigs to early risers. Fern has been up since dawn, ridding the world of injustice.” 

Back to our theme verse: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Christ dispenses gifts and shines his glory on the early risers, so to speak.

Spiritually speaking, in Baptism we’re early risers. Here’s what I mean by that.

In Revelation 19 it speaks of two resurrections. The first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection we’ve been talking about, this rising up of faith in the heart. It happens when the Holy Spirit come to us in our Baptism.

The second resurrection is a physical resurrection; it hasn’t happened yet. It’ll happen when Jesus comes again on the Last Day, and our bodies are resurrected, raised from the grave.

Only those who believe in Jesus take part in that first resurrection, the raising up of faith within.

Everybody takes part in the second resurrection, the resurrection of the body. On the Last Day all people will be raised.

Those who have had a spiritual resurrection in Baptism, faith has risen up in them, we might call the early risers.   

For them, the resurrection of their bodies on the Last Day will be a resurrection of glory and joy. They will wake from their graves, and Christ will dispense his gifts on them, shine on them with his glory forever.  

For those who didn’t believe in Jesus, and have that first resurrection o faith while they lived, the resurrection of their bodies will not be one of joy. Christ will not dispense his glory on them; he won’t shine on them for eternity.  

Not because he doesn’t want to, but because He doesn’t force anyone to believe and receive his spiritual blessings.

But He wants to shine on all people, and so Jesus invites all to be early risers, to believe in Him and have a part in this internal resurrection of faith now, and to have an external, physical resurrection into glory on the Last Day.

Since we’re early risers; since we’ve already had a resurrection within, Christ doesn’t have to wait to until the Last Day, to shine on us. He can shine on us today, and He does. It’s his Baptism gift to us.

It’s why we end the Divine service with His blessing; The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you.

Sunshine brightens the day and gives life, and that makes it a terrible thing to waste. Even more, the shining of the glory of God on you is a terrible thing to waste.

When we live in the darkness of sin, as if we have no light shining on us and in us, then we waste God’s glory.

Our epistle says, Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. Instead, walk as children of light, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Christ shines on you, not so you can live in sin and selfishness, but so that you can shine on others with goodness and love, and so you honor God.

So rise and shine! Be an early riser, if you will. Live in this resurrection of the heart, and shine all day long with the love of Christ.

May Christ forever shine on you, and may He give to you the peace of God to shine in you, and to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.