Easter Sunrise Message - 4/20/14
There are those who are calling the times
that we live in a new golden age of television.
Their claim is based on the number of TV shows that are breaking viewing
records and the fact that many of these shows cannot be found on the major
networks but on cable and pay channels.
These were once the poor step sisters of the big networks that have
turned into Cinderella.
But don’t confuse this new golden age of TV
with the Golden age that most of us grew up in.
For in our golden age, the good guys always won! The Lone Ranger never lost his hat. Marshal Dillon always got the bad guy. Beaver’s
parents always had the right answer. And although Gilligan always managed to
foul up every plan to get off the island, we still loved him. I could go on,
but you get the idea.
In today’s golden age, this is not the
case. If you are a fan of such shows as
The Walking Dead on AMC, the Game of Thrones on HBO, Sherlock on PBS Mystery
Theater, or Hell on Wheels also on AMC; (just
to name a few), then you know that not only does the good guy, one of the stars of the
show, not always win, but can also be killed off. Yes, today’s drama writers have no hesitation
to do what was unheard of in the past; killing off some of the most beloved
characters and people still turn in to watch what will happen next.
Now in the past, we have seen great characters
killed off. But those events were caused
by necessity; an actor’s decision to leave a show, or through a contract
dispute with the producers, or because the actor becomes ill or dies. Today’s sudden demises are part of the story
line and are often kept as a tight secret until the show actually airs. Due to
the success of these shows one can expect this to become more prevalent, even
on the traditionally big network shows.
But this is really not a new concept,
because what these writers and producers have found is a variation of what took
place in the life and death of Jesus.
Jesus was a great teacher that drew throngs to hear him. Jesus was a great healer that drew even more
people looking for relief. Jesus was a
great advocate for the poor and the outcast and that won him the love and
admiration of those who felt put down by the establishment. Jesus was the hero of God’s story. But God, the writer and producer, had a plan
that would mean that the hero would have to be killed off. And so Jesus walked the path from the raising
of Lazarus in Bethany, to the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to the temple, to
the upper room and the garden of Gethsemane, to the trial, to the beating, to Golgotha, to the cross, to the grave.
And all those viewing this drama were
speechless and bewildered by these turns of events. The Hero, their hope, was dead. What happens now? How does the story go on? Where do we go from here? It was the same emotions that many feel when
their hero goes in their favorite TV show. Except for those in Jerusalem that
day were not just watching a TV show.
This was their life. This was
their Master, Teacher, Healer, and last hope.
Today we can move on and look forward to a new hero taking the place of
the one we lost or waiting for retribution for our loss. For the poor, the sick and the hungering for
the word, they had nothing to look forward too.
As far as they knew there would be no second season for this drama. They lost their master. They lost their
teacher. They lost their healer. They lost hope.
But the reason we gather here so early this
morning is because God is also the creator of the plot twist and no one, not
even the best read fiction writers in history can hold a candle to. And this particular plot twist is the
greatest of all time.
Early in the morning on Sunday, the women
went to the tomb to continue the burial process. They were going that Sunday morning to mourn.
They expected to find a guarded, stone blocked tomb. They worried about how they would get in. They expected a dead body, already starting
to stink. They expected to use the
perfumes they carried to help cover up the smell of death. They had expectations. They were going to mourn one who had
performed so many miracles before them, but they did not expect a miracle this
time. They were trapped in despair. They were stuck in the mud of sorrow. They never expected what would happen next.
What they found was an open tomb and no
guards to be found. They found no body
in the tomb, just the cloth that had been hastily wrapped around the dead body
of Jesus just days before.
Now to be sure, this finding did not
immediately change their outlook, instead it brought even more questions. Who has taken the body of our Lord? Where have they taken Him? They still could not grasp the great plot
twist of God. It took a visitation from
an angel with commands to go and tell the others that Jesus was raised from the
dead and will be with them soon. And
still they could not grasp what was happening.
What had happened was this: their master,
their teacher, their healer had become their Savior and in doing so brought
hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless and light to the darkness.
It was too big for their minds to
comprehend. It is too big for our minds
to comprehend.
We thank God for the gift, but the mystery
remains.
Many here may be in a “Good Friday” place
in your life. It is dark and
gloomy. Your heart is breaking. Your body is aching. You are alone and feel like no one knows how
bad you feel.
The good news for you this morning is that
God has a plot twist in your story. A
Risen Savior. And even if we cannot
possibly see it coming, God’s plot twists always work in our favor.
So we trust in God. We believe that God will turn our mourning into
dancing. We can believe it because God
has done it before. Good Friday is not
the end! The greatest plot twist in history is still being written in the lives of you and me. So stay tuned! Who knows what will happen next.
Amen!
Comments