FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner Oregon Wednesday, Apr# 11, 2001
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Hope Lutheran, Valby Lutheran
All Saints Episcopal
Nazarene Church
The Eulogy and Burial o f Jesus
Rolling Stones
The woman who came to the tomb on the first Easter morning were
there to bring spices for the body of Jesus Christ, their Lord, who had
been crucified the previous Friday evening. It was the custom, the right
thing to do, among the Jewish people, to prepare the body of a deceased
4 loved one in this way.
But as the women walked to the tomb, they were concerned. They knew
that a large stone was blocking the entrance to the tomb. "How will we
roll the stone away? Is there anyone who can roll it away for us?," they
wondered. "If we cant roll away the stone, how will we prepare the body
of our Lord?"
All of us, from time to time, have something that blocks our access to
Christ, like the stone that blocked the way for those women on Easter
morning. For some o f us the stone is a lack of faith in Christ, or
skepticism about the possibility o f resurrection. For others their stone
might be a mistrust o f organized religion or the lack o f a connection to a
church. Drug addiction, alcoholism, unemployment, guilty conscience,
misfortune, family problems, the list goes on and on. Many things can act
as a stone that blocks our access to Christ.
The women on Easter morning knew that they would not be able to roll
the stone away. We often try to roll our own stones ourselves. We may
be able to move them a little bit, or think we have, but eventually we often
realize that we have failed.
When the women arrived at the tomb, they were amazed to see that the
stone had been moved away, and that the Lord is risen from the dead.
Eventually they realized that both of these problems had been resolved by
the power o f God.
Whatever stone that blocks our access to Christ can only be finally
moved by the power of God. God uses many tools in moving the stone:
the bible, the Church, our friends, our family, and other people, we are
also quite capable o f moving the stone back into blocking position, if
that's what we want!
I pray that during this Easter season you will reflect on your life to see
where there may be a blocking stone. I pray that you will also pray that
God will open your eyes to see how God is beginning to move that stone.
I pray that you will look for help in the Bible, the Church, your friends,
your family, and other people. I pray that you will have a blessed Easter
season.
The Lord is reason! He is risen indeed!
Pastor Tom Hill
Christian Life Center
The Empty Tomb
The angel told the women coming to anoint Jesus body, "Don't be
alarmed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He
has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."
The empty tomb is the central theme o f the Bible and Christianity.
After sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, god began His plan of
redemption. He planned that His Son, Jesus Christ, would die in our
place* for our sim. few that wcfalfan't be the enidofthe story. Jesus would
rise from the dead, victorious over sin and death.
W h h tw tin emfity tomb* ©dNfves would be without hope. There would
be no way to rid our souls of the guilt o f sin. there would be no way for
us to gain eternal life in heaven. But praise God, Jesus did rise from the
dead and now we can experience His resurrection life in our lives. We can
have a personal relationship with the Father because of the empty tomb
We often hear the phrases, "all roads lead to heaven," or "many roads
lead to God." However, Jesus Himself stated that he is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life. Man can only gain access to God through His Son,
Jesus Christ.
Most people in our community believe in God. Many go to church, talk
about god, and do good deeds. But I ask you, "Do you know Jesus
personally?" The bible says that knowing about Him is not enough.
Belief in Jesus Christ means placing one's trust in Him and becoming His
follower.
Are you following Him? have you experienced Him? The empty tomb
is more that just a good story; it is God reaching out to man, offering hope
for the forgiveness of sin, and hope for eternal life in Heaven. The empty
tomb is God's love manifested to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Have a Blessed Easter!
Tim Van Cleave, pastor
St. Patrick's Church
Let us nourish our souls
Many people have a favorite restaurant where they like to eat h seems
that when they go there they receive the food they want, cooked the way
they want it, and served in an appealing way. Even for those of us who do
not have such a place, we make sure that in our own homes that we have
an abundance o f the food we like. Our natural appetite gives that
inclination to partake frequently. When we do so our bodies are nourished
adequately.
Perhaps it is only natural that we would ask ourselves what we do to
adequately nurture our soul. Do we attend church, read the bible, learn
from writers of spirituality, spend time in prayer? Yet all o f these are only
a means of gening to know Our Lord, Jesus Christ During these last days
of Lent the church portrays vividly his sufferings and death. It brings to
our attention how he was betrayed, beaten, crowned with thorns, forced to
cany his cross to Calvary, and there died by crucifixion. The church helps
us to know what he did for our salvation, helps us to understand the
infinite love he has for each of us.
Recently I underwent surgery. Following the surgery there was a period
of total dependence on others. At first it was doctor, nurses, technicians,
helpers, then friends and acquaintances. As time went by I was gradually
It was about mid-day, when Jesus bowed His head and died. At that
very moment several things happened. 1) the veil in the temple was tom
in two from the top down to the bottom. 2) the sun stopped shining,
literally the sun failed. Interestingly, the Greek word for "fail" is the
equivalent to the English word "eclipse". However, this could not have
been a natural eclipse. Because by Mosaic Law the celebration of'Pass-
over' must occur during a full moon. Thus the moon would have been on
the opposite side o f the earth from the sun. so this would have been an
unnatural darkness. Matthew, Mark and Luke each mentioned this
phenomenon with no attempt at explanation. 3) The Earth convulsed
(earthquake) and rocks cracked, just as terrorizing then as it is for us
today. 4) Graves broke open and the bodies o f many holy people were
raised to life.
We could make a sermon or write a book about any one of these
events. Yet something even more profound happened following the
moment Jesus bowed His head and died. The Roman Centurion in charge
of the execution, standing in front o f Jesus, exclaimed: "Surely this man
was the son of God".
These are the only recorded words in Scripture spoken over the body
of Jesus. Ironically, these words were not spoken by one of his trusted
disciples, or a priestly leader. Rather a hardened, pagan Roman soldier
spoke them, a centurion, the same centurion who ordered the nails to be
driven into the hands and feet of Jesus.
Traditional church history claims this centurion's name was Longinus.
Tradition says that Longinus accepted Jesus Christ that day as his
personal Savior. On that day he acknowledged Christ as being the Son of
God. Ultimately, later in life he too was put to death for being a herald of
the resurrection o f Christ.
We can leam something from Longinus by how he responded to the
goodness of Jesus. First, He saw the goodness o f Jesus' reaction to his
persecutors, how it must have touched his heart when Jesus proclaimed
from the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
<Luke 23:34 (KJV)>
Second, he witnessed the living evidence o f Jesus' righteousness as
recorded in scripture: "Now when the centurion saw what was done, he
glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man*. <Luke 23:47
(KJV)>
Third, he saw the contrast between the values of Jesus as compared to
the world. Longinus saw that Jesus' concern for others was greater than
His concern for Himself. He saw Jesus' innocence through the purity o f
Christ's human nature. He saw Him as faultless, perfect, blameless,
sinless and guiltless
Longinus responded to the God-likeness o f Jesus. Jesus was God made
visible to the world. The Love o f God was made evident through Jesus
that day. Illustration: A small boy stood with his older brother looking
at a portrait o f their father, who had died when the boy was only a baby.
The youngster asked his brother Henry, "what was father like"? Henry
tried his best to describe their father, he was a good man, strong, kind,
honest, and handsome. However the small lad had difficulty visualizing
his father's characteristics. Interrupting his big brother he asked, "Tell me
one thing, Henry, was dad anything like you?" "Well", Henry admitted,
"Friends o f our family who knew him best say I'm the living image o f
dad". With his heart aglow and a smile lighting his face the small boy
walked away saying, "Now, I know exactly What my dad was like;.)» win
just like my brother Henry*. Jesus was Gocl made visible to our world,.
In Him we see God the Father, For they are exactly alike: "Surely this
Man Was The Son O f God!"
The laws of Rome allowed for the execution of Jesus. Yet, Jewish law
forbids that a body could be left hanging over night Especially when the
next day was the Sabbath. Considering that the Sabbath begins at
Sundown on Friday, time was running o ut "If a man guilty of a capital
offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave
his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day..."
<Deut 21:22-23>
It was not unusual for bodies o f criminals to not be claimed. Those
bodies were dumped unceremoniously into the ground. This was not case
for Jesus. An unknown Jewish leader came forward. His name was,
Joseph (of Arimathea).
At great personal risk he could lose everything including his life, Joseph
acknowledged that he was a secret disciple o f Jesus. So after acquiring
permission from Pilate he removed the body o f Christ from the cross.
Along with his friend Nicodemus they prepared the body for burial and
placed it in an unused tomb. Illustration: along many coastlines buoys are
anchored, they float high in the water so when waves hit them a bell is
caused to ring, thus giving an audio warning to passing ships. When the
waters are calm the buoys are silent.
Joseph o f Arimathea was a buoy. He was one o f those good men who
remains silent when everything was calm. But when the storms come
they will speak out loud and clear.
Joseph o f Arimathea revealed his true-self that afternoon. He and
Nicodemus did not hesitate to admit the truth. In the stormy political
climate they sounded an alarm the world could hear.
We too, should be firm in our faith and sound an alarm that a storm is
coming. All Christians must stand-up for Jesus. Don’t live your life in
darkness, confusion and shame. When Jesus calls you, stand up and
declare: "I am for Jesus, I choose to follow Him."
Come out o f hiding if you love Jesus and you'll find that you are not
alone. First Joseph stepped-out; then his friend Nicodemus stepped-out.
Now, this week, will you step-out for Jesus? Someone is waiting to follow
you. Someone is watching for your actions. Someone will be influenced
by your decision and they will gain courage to join you in step-out for
Jesus. William Gladstone said: "One example is worth a thousand
arguments."
Joseph and Nicodemus, believing it was too late to join Jesus, lost their
opportunity. Still they acted. Jesus was dead. As far as they could see,
this was a conclusion to a very sad story. Yet, they still dared to believe
in Him. It seemed their hope had died, the last glimmer of light had
flickered o u t So, they rolled a large stone over the entrance to the grave
then they departed broken hearted.
To them and everyone else the last chapter had been written, Jesus was
dead. The final two words in this saga has been penned. The end.
Well that's what they believed. What they did not know was that God
is the final author. He has the last word. And God had already written in
the book.... "To be continued"
able to do more an more things for myself. Yet, in fact, there will always
be some dependence on others. Being dependent on others, and
experiencing their response helps me to know how much more I can
I and excerpts tafcda (torn Marti Ckapaar IS and I
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depend on Jesus. By way o f comparison, we are all dependent on the
salvation won for us by Our Savior. From His cross pours out His infinite
Rev. Duane Jones
love. He does not force us to respond, but invites each o f us to come to
him. Yet if the Gospel accounts had ended with his death, we might be
hesitant to respond. In fact, they continue and tell of his resurrection. The
apostles gave their very lives for that faith, a further assurance o f the
veracity of the gospels.
Consequently, each of us can face the fact that we are dependent on him,
and that he will give us abundant chances to achieve the eternal goal he
has offered us. Let us nourish our souls with the inspiration the church
offers us, the knowledge given us in the Gospels, and experience strength
of faith because of the example o f the apostles. May the Lord bless each
The celebration o f Easter and all o f its significance has arrived. We
o f us in our efforts to serve him.
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, an event we read bout
in the Gospels. I was contemplating the significance o f this remarkable
Fr. G*rry Condon
event in which the remarkable man-God rose from the grave. Then a
thought occurred to me, "Why not? Why is it so remarkable that the
Heppner First Christian Church
The Mark o f A Remarkable God
i
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Creator God of this universe, who is before all things, and in him all
things hold together (Col. 1:17), raised from the dead? There is nothing
remarkable about God doing what only God can do and rising from the
dead, unless...."
Unless you consider why Jesus did what he did. Be honest with
yourself. We all think we are good. OK! Not so bad! Even with that
perspective we know that our world has big problems. Whether you are
coming from the right or the left, liberal or conservative, Christian,
Atheist, Buddhist, etc... You pick the group and ask them how the world
is. If they are honest, they will admit that things are not so good. We are
not so good. We humans have some problems. If we are honest, we have
some major problems.
What does this have to do with a remarkable God? God did a very
easy thing for God to do, raise himself from the dead. It is not that
remarkable until you understand that he did it to give us, very
unremarkable humans with our major problems and all our character
flaws, a chance. A chance to live in a perfect place with God even after
we destroyed his first perfect creation with our sin. Romans 5:8 says,
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: "While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us." God died for you and for me. He being good,
perfect, righteous, just, holy, pure died for us of the world who are bad,
guilty, unjust, unholy, dirty. The mark that makes God remarkable is that
he cares for those who are so unremarkable. Insignificant! Imperfect!
This year we come again to the celebration of the cross and the celebration
o f the resurrection. Two remarkable events that make the merely
unremarkable remarkable for the remarkable God. My friend, may you
find in him that, which you can find nowhere else.
Andrew Johnson, Minister
Heppner United Methodist
Church
Beyondfinitude, boundedness
I begin this Easter message with a confession: 1 am a "Star Trek" fan.
Yes, a Trekkie. It is about the only show my wife and I watch with any
regularity. Just the other day, there was an episode of "Star Trek:
Voyager" that we had never seen. In that show Tom Paris, the pilot of
voyager, succeeded at piloting a shuttle craft at what had been thought to
be an impossible speed, Warp 10. (If you aren't familiar with the Star
Trek lingo, dontwony. It is just very, very, very fast. Faster than you or
1 will ever travel, thank heavens.) In this episode, it was explained to us
that at Warp 10 a person can break through a time-space barrier of
finitude and achieve a state in which one is simultaneously present
everywhere in the universe.
Wow. Simultaneously present everywhere. That is beyond the
comprehension o f most of us. We as humans are used to our
boundedness, our finitude. We experience reality as only right here, right
now, where our bodies are. Yes, our minds may go out and wander
around the universe a bit, but our basic experience o f the universe is
circumscribed closely by our physical existence. We are bom, we live and
we die, and our bodies molder and return to natural elements. At least,
that is what we see with our eyes. Is there anything more?
But nearly 2000 years ago something happened that begs the question
of our finitude and boundedness. A man known as Yeshua bar Yosef, or
Jesus the son of Joseph rose from the dead. He was executed by the
Roman government by being impaled with nails and hung upon a large
wooden cross until he died. It was gruesome. But he was dead. They
even speared his side to be sure. He was then buried. He had been bom,
had lived and had died. But something happened that has forever changed
the way we understand the human condition: he rose again from the dead,
f r jo p u jif m p r e w p p c tly ^ h q ,) ^ ^
By God. by the
One witl>. whom he wps sq intimately irV touch that he called that One
How has this changed forever the way we understand human finitude
and boundedness? Consider it like this. Picture an oyster lying on the bed
o f the ocean. If a small grain o f sand gets inside the oyster, it slowly
wraps an excretion around the grain which becomes a pearl. Now imagine
that instead o f a grain of sand a small diamond makes its way inside the
oyster, and that a pearl forms around it. The pearl is magnificent and
beautiful, but deep within it is something far more precious, far more
valuable. We are like that pearl. Our life here is glorious and wonderful
for a brief span of time, and we marvel at all that we can do and
accomplish. We are like that pearl, magnificent and beautiful, but not
really conscious of the far more precious diamond at the center of our
being. Wrapped deeply within the "mortal coil" of this life (as Hamlet
puts it) is the Divine Spirit, a diamond-gift of the Infinite.
In Jesus, God worked (and still works to this day) to show us that we are
much more than simply our material and physical existence. We carry
within us the Divine Imprint, like a diamond at the center of our being.
But we have covered over that imprint with all the glory and sorrows, the
pain and the achievements of our life, and marveled at this pearly wonder.
Resurrection is when that pearl is broken open to reveal the Divine
Diamond within. Resurrection is when God breaks into the midst of our
human conceits and vainglorious devices to show us who we really are,
who we have been created to be, and gives us the power to become that
person. Resurrection happens because god is Infinite and Unbounded, but
has chosen to make a home within our hearts.
So come join us in Church this Sunday, and every Sunday. Come not
because you are a polished pearl, but because there is something far
greater within you, and God is waiting to show it to you. You won't travel
at Warp 10, but the bounds of who you are will get opened. And that's a
promise.
The Rev. Craig S. Strobe!
Behavioral Health Dept,
receives state honor
The
Morrow-Wheeler
Behavioral Health Department
was selected as the Oregon State
Police Department DUII treatment
provider o f the year.
"This award is presented
to an alcohol and/or drug
treatment provider who was
instrumental
in
providing,
supervising or developing a unique
and highly effective treatment
program," according to an OSP
news release. "Based in eastern
Oregon in Heppner, this provider
established
a
motivational
interviewing approach to treament,
including cross-training of all their
counselors in both mental health
and alcohol dependency. This
organization also has an Hispanic
counselor and has had a major
impact in their region," continued
the release.
Awards were presented
during a special luncheon in Salem
as police officers, prosecutors,
treatment providers and traffic
safety advocates wrapped up an
annual
two-day
training
conference aimed at reducing the
impact o f impaired driving.
J-CeeC Tain?
Dr. Donald J. Carlson, Foot Specialist
will be at the Pioneer Memorial Clinic
on April 18th for the diagnosis
of this and other foot problems.
Call 6 7 6 -5 5 0 4 - H eppner
or 567-8750 - Hermiston