The Undoing of Death: Sermons for Holy Week and EasterHeralded as one of today's finest preachers by such figures as Thomas Long, Ellen Charry, Annie Dillard, and Peter J. Gomes, Fleming Rutledge has repeatedly turned out collections of sermons that not only become best-sellers but also touch readers deeply. With The Undoing of Death Rutledge has done it once more. Representing twenty-five years of Holy Week and Easter preaching, this volume offers a wide-ranging vision of the cross and resurrection that incorporates the biblical themes of sacrifice for sin, vicarious suffering, victory over evil and death, and the new creation arising out of eternal love. Divided into seven sections that move readers through Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Good Friday to Easter and on through Eastertide, these well-crafted sermons consistently display Rutledge's unique ability to bridge the message of the ancient biblical texts with the distinct needs of our contemporary world. Whether read by preachers or by general readers seeking soul-nourishing wisdom on the central event of the Christian faith, The Undoing of Death will be a volume to turn to again and again. |
Contents
The Tears of Palm Sunday | 3 |
The New World Order | 11 |
Lead Us to Calvary | 18 |
A Procession of Fools | 26 |
The Kings Ransom | 39 |
The Messiah Comes to His Temple | 48 |
The Lamb of God | 58 |
Lord Not My Feet Only | 69 |
The Stealth Bomber | 167 |
Darkness at Noonday | 177 |
The Temple Veil | 183 |
The Open Tombs | 188 |
The Hour of Glory | 197 |
The Great Exchange | 205 |
The Crucifixion of SelfHelp | 215 |
A Cross at Ground Zero | 225 |
Night of Shame Night of Glory | 78 |
The Lord Looked at Peter | 87 |
The Man with No Trousers | 101 |
Shame and Spitting | 107 |
Scapegoat and Sacrifice | 112 |
The Common Criminal | 116 |
Somebody Has Got to Pay | 121 |
The Accursed Messiah | 126 |
The Heart That Broke | 133 |
Despised and Rejected | 141 |
God Made Jesus to Be Sin | 148 |
Outside the Camp | 153 |
Not Bad But Good | 157 |
The Curse and the Substitution | 162 |
Midnight in the Kingdom of Death | 235 |
Face to Face Hand in Hand | 241 |
Beyond Possibility | 251 |
Recognizing Jesus | 260 |
The Undoing of Death | 271 |
Out of Our Control | 280 |
Refreshment Time | 289 |
Low Sunday or High Sunday? | 299 |
My Taste Was Me | 307 |
The Peace from Somewhere Else | 314 |
It Aint Necessarily So | 322 |
The Hidden Pathway to Joy | 329 |
Endnotes | 337 |