I
love Easter and I appreciate all that God has done for us in Christ’s sacrifice
for our sins. It is a miracle and something we will never fully understand, yet
we can sense the importance of this day. When I began working on this message
for today I spent some time browsing some profound and humorous stories on the
internet…..one stuck in my head….and I knew what my topic would be for this
morning…. Anyways I have traveled quite a bit out west and on the Pacific
Coast. I read of a park in California
where there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large sign next to it.
The
sign says: Weather Station . And the
sign below it has these instructions: "Check the rock-
if
it’s wet it’s raining,
if
the rock is swinging it’s windy,
if
it’s dry it’s not raining,
if
you cannot see the rock it’s foggy,
if
the rock has been blown away look out for the tornado."
I
thought that was kind of clever. It’s like the sign Kat and I saw at the
restrooms in Yellow Stone Park back in 1998 when we went on a long vacation out
west. A sign just outside of the bathroom said “Beware of Buffalo” and I had to
laugh as it was at a place I would never have expected to see a buffalo. When I
came out of the bathroom, with Kat I literally almost came nose to nose with a
buffalo that was trying to get into the bathroom. So I guess we should take
signs seriously.
Anyway,
the swinging rock Weather Station has a bit of a serious side for us. It reminds
us to watch the rock to know what is going on in life – and I want to apply
this to our spiritual lives. There is something profound in checking the rock
to know what is going on.
Consider
the story that is told of Christ’s resurrection in these three readings:
•
So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and
posting the guard (Mat 27:66 NIV).
•(Read
Mat 28:1-15 NIV).
•
(Mark 16:1-4 NIV).
These
verses point out, the action of the rock was telling the story of Christ’s resurrection.
Those burying Jesus used the rock as the guarantee that he was not dead and
entombed. They rolled the rock in front of the tomb and put a seal on it. In
the next part of the story the rock is removed and an angel is sitting upon it.
He spoke to Mary, Jesus’ mother and Mary Magdalene, giving them the news that
Jesus was not longer in the tomb. In this account Matthew’s Gospel we learn
that the soldiers, upon hearing that Jesus was gone, bribed the guards to lie
about Christ’s resurrection, saying that his body was stolen. In the final
account from Mark we find the two Mary’s again with a question of how will they
get the stone rolled away so they could go an minister to Jesus’ body, and they
say that, “the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. The action of
the story is tied to the rock.
Today
all of us have come to this sunrise service with questions on our minds. I
believe the statement "Check the rock!" is a verbal instruction to
each of us with questions. It’s a statement giving us instruction on where to
get our questions answered. So this
morning….
•
If you wondering about how to receive eternal life?
Check
the Rock!
•
If you wondering what Easter is all about?
Check
the Rock!
•
If you wondering how to be set free from your fear of death?
Check
the Rock!
•
If you wondering how to be set free from your addictions?
Check
the Rock!
•
Are you wondering if Jesus is who he said he is?
Check
the Rock!
•
Are you wondering if Jesus really conquered death?
Check
the Rock!
•
Are you wondering if Jesus is alive today?
Check
the Rock!
•
Are you wondering if he keeps his promises?
Check
the Rock!
•
Are you wondering why we love him so?
Check
the Rock!
When
we feel like we are losing it, like the world is slipping into unreality, when
illness strikes or despair overtakes us, when our proverbial ship does not come
in or our plans work out exactly wrong, we need to check the rock. The stone is
gone….and so is He….He is alive….and We need to making sure we are in
fellowship with Jesus and that we are allowing Him to be a part of our life
this Easter morning.
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