Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2003)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 16,2003 Church o f the Nazarene Finding Jesus Text: John 2 0 :1 -18 (N IV ) But any version will do... Mary Magdalene was the first to discover that the body o f Jesus \\ as m issing from the tomb. She had gone there with the other w om en v ery early on Sunday m orning. They went there to finish the em balm ing process on the body o f Jesus. W hen she arrived at the tomb, she saw that massive stone had been rolled away from the opening. The tom b w as w ide open. H er first thoughts w ere, “C ra v e R obbers", som eone had stolen the body o f Jesus. I hose w ere the first anguished w ords she shared w hen she ran back to tell the disciples, Peter and John. She proclaim ed to them , “They have taken the Lord out o f the tom b, and we d o n ’t know w here they have put H im !" M ary was already grief stricken, now this? first they crucified her Lord, now she w as having a panic attack. H is body w as gone. H er Jesus w as m issing. M ary's Jesus had a body and she w a sn 't going to rest from her running until she found His body. Now, Peter and John both ran to the tom b. John was a faster runner and arrived first. He takes a tentative peek inside the tomb. H e sees the strips o f burial linens but does not enter. Peter is braver than John, never one to hesitate w ith anything. 1 le heads directly into the tomb. He sees the strips o f burial linens also. I low ever, something is strange here, out o f the ordinary. Everything is neat and in order. The head w rapping cloth is folded up by itself, separate from the linen strips. W hoever did this w asn 't in m uch o f a hurry. The sheets have been folded, the bed is m ade, hardly the w ork o f grave robbers. John finally winds up enough courage to go inside the tom b to take a better look for him self. A nd he records this solem n sentence, “He saw and he believed" When John saw the empty tomb and the folded linens, w hat did he believe? He did not believe because o f w hat he saw. No. he believed the words o f Jesus, “ Destroy this temple, and 1 will raise it again in three days'j< John 2:19>. It was not ju st that John had seen something. Rather, it was what he had heard earlier. The w ords o f Jesus. N ow he believed. Seeing is not believ ing, and believ ing is not seeing. Seeing things places the ev idence before our eyes. Believing in Jesus is hav ing trust in the heart that — Jesus Is True To His Word. A postle Paul wrote in Rom ans 10:17: “ ... faith com es from hearing the m essage, and the m essage is heard through the word o f Christ.” F aith connects what is seen to the crucified and risen body o f Jesus. It is quite possible to see and not believe. The Pharisees saw the m iracles Jesus perform ed, but they did not believe. Peter saw the sam e things John did, but he did not believe. Mary saw not only the folded linens, she also saw two bright angels in the tom b. She even saw Jesus w ith her ow n tw o eyes, and still she did not believe. It w a sn ’t until Jesus spoke to her by nam e “ M ary" < V s l6 > that she heard His Voice, and then she believed. Later that sam e w eek even T hom as said, “ U nless I see His wounds and touch them, 1 will not believe.’’ Afterward "'ihfriftrt 20:27-28 When Jesus said to Thomas: “ Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Then upon hearing the words o fC hrist, Thom as said to Him, “ My Lord and my G od!” It was not w hat these people saw that caused them to believe. It w as the w ords, w hich Jesus had spoken that conv inced them. It is possible to not see and yet believe. W hat about us, you and me? We did not have the opportunity' to see any o f these things. In G alations 3:2, Paul asked, “ Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” A nd said in R om ans 10:17, “ faith com es from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word o f Christ.” W hat about Jesus him self, w hat did He say? He said in John 20:29: “ Blessed are those w ho have not seen and yet have believed.” TTiis applies to you and me. John did not direct our attention to the burial cloths, or the open tom b. R ather to the w ord ofC hrist. We do not see, we cannot see. There is nothing for us to see. We could take a field trip to Israel and see w hat som e believe to be the tom b where Jesus was buried. But could we be sure that w e were looking at the right one? And what would we see even if w e w ere sure? Som etim es we im agine that it must have been easier to believe all this back then, at the time o f Mary, Peter, and John and the first disciples, than it is for us to believe it today.T hey w ere eye-w itnesses to Je su s’ death and resurrection. T hey saw all o f this w ith their ow n eyes. H ow w e long for that opportunity-just a peek into the open, empty tomb, a glance at the carefully folded burial cloths, or a glim pse o f a bright angel or two. O r m aybe, how about a look at the face o f the resurrected Christ. W ould be easier for us to believe if only we could see? Scripture tells us differently. Seeing is not necessarily believing. M ary saw Jesus w ith her ow n eyes. At first she thought He was the gardener. The tw o disciples on the road to E m m aus saw Jesus. They w alked and talked w ith Him for seven miles, but their eyes did not recognize Him, until he broke the bread at the table with them and spoke. The elev en disciples saw the risen Jesus on the mountain in G alilee. They w orshipped and doubted at the sam e tim e. Seeing is not believing. In fact, seeing often frustrates the way o f believing w hen w e trust our eyes instead o f Jesus’ Word. O nly the w ord o f Jesus C hrist can w ork faith in our hearts so we may believe. Led by our eyes we will be mislead to look for Jesus in all the w rong places: in our hearts, in the beauty o f a sunrise, in the grandeur o f lofty m ountains, in our emotions, in our thoughts and meditations, in our devotions, in our w orks, or, in our learning and w isdom -instead o f in the Body o f Christ Follow ing our eyes w e will w ind-up running around like M ary and the disciples, racing from one tomb to the next, from one religion to the next, from one church to the next, from one preacher to the next, all the w hile chanting M ary’s ode o f despair and confusion: “They have taken m y Lord, and I d o n ’t know w here they have put Him.” Follow ing our eyes w e will be led to a Jesus other than the Jesus w ho hung on the cross for our sins. W ords o f Jesus Christ will strengthen our faith and His word is loyal and true. Listen to Jesus. His W O R D is truth and life. John 10:14, 27 says: “ I am the good shepherd; I know m y sheep and my sheep know m e...M y sheep listen to m y voice; 1 know them , and they follow m e.” Peter, John and M ary had found their Jesus. O r m ore precisely, Jesus had found them. We don’t seek Him, He seeks us and finds us. Yes w e must, listen w ith our eyes w ide open. He will be present wherever His Words are heard. Jesus Christ Has Risen. Trust Jesus, His W O R D is your life. -Rev. Duane Jones First Christian Church Setting The Captives Free T his m orning as I opened the paper, a headline o f “G ood N ew s” looked back at m e. I said a prayer o f thanks for the P O W ’s rescued in Iraq. I thought o f those soldiers who have given their life to free Iraq from oppression and my m ind turned tow ard Easter. In the Gospel o f John, Jesus is talking to the crow d in the 12 th chapter and says to them , “The Son o f M an m ust be lifted up.” The crow d naturally responds, “ W ho is this Son o f M an?” A nd Jesus replies, “You will only have the light for a little while longer, walk in the light before the darkness overtakes you.” Jesus is speaking o f h im se lf and w hat is about to take place in his immediate future. I’m sure some o f you have faced or will face the sam e thing at som e point in your life, DEATH. His w as death on a cross. Later as he is speaking with his disciples he tells them that he m ust go aw ay so in the future they will have a place prepared for them when they face the future we all face. Peter speaks up and says, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay m y life dow n for you.” O f course Jesus, know ing P eter’s heart, asks, “ Will you really?” The thought that com es to my m ind is that even if he had, w ould it have m ade a difference? No am ount o f peace marches w ould have pulled the fingers o f Saddam Hussein from around the country o f Iraq’s throat— it took our young m en and w om en in the m ilitary to free them from oppression and give them hope for a new life. It is a dark hour anytim e w e go to w ar, but som e battles m ust be faced. A s w e approach Easter understand that Jesus faced a dark hour and battle that had to be faced, not for himself, but for us. That first Easter morning the ladies made their w ay toward the tom b to prepare the body and discovered the first rays o f hope breaking through. As w e celebrate this Easter let us praise G od for the answ er to our prayers with the release o f the captive P O W ’s and also with the release o f our captive hearts w ith the death, burial, and resurrection o f our Lord Jesus Christ. He is risen, indeed! As the new s spread it is only natural that there w as som e confusion. N othing like this had ever happened before. At first, som e w ere puzzled. Som e doubted. Som e, like Thomas, simply refused to believe. They really had to consider the event as it was reported to them . Then, once they had the encounter with the risen Jesus, belief began to grow stronger. T heir eagerness began to rise. T heir Friend had overcom e death. Even though their faith and eagerness grew, yet som e fear lingered in their hearts. They were not yet ready to go out and face the hardships o f life. In due tim e that fear w as overcom e, and then they went forth and challenged the world. Even w ithout the m essage and truth o f Easter, the account o f the life o f Jesus would still be inspiring. Yet it would only be like a candle that was eventually extinguished. Darkness w ould have had the last w ord. H ow ever, because o f the re su rre c tio n , d a rk n e ss w ill n e v e r h av e th e last w ord. Consequently, St. John tells us in the first chapter ofhis gospel: “T he light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcom e it.” And at another time Jesus w ould claim to be the light o f the world. A s we celebrate this Easter, we are challenged to live by His truths, challenged to live in the light o f His life. Like the disciples, we also m ay have som e fear in or hearts, but He will give us the courage we need when we have faith in Him. Let us live in His light. -Fr. Gerry Condon lone United Church o f Christ Five Easter Lessons T he story is told briefly in the P a u l’s letter to the Phillipians: “He hum bled himself, and becam e obedient to the the point o f death— even death on a cross. T herefore G od also highly exalted him and gave him the nam e that is above every name, that at the name o f Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory o f G od the Father.” W hat lessons can w e draw from the Easter story? 1) G o d ’s essential attitude tow ard each o f us, and tow ard the world, is love. 2) Death is not the final word. Rather than being defined by our fear o f death, w e m ay live according to G o d ’s promise o f life. 3) G od breaks the p o w er o f sin. Evil can only be overcom e by good, hatred can only be overcom e by forgiveness, and hatred and rejection can only be overcom e by love. O u r ow n goodness, m ercy, and caring are important, but these cannot undo the damage done, or restore us so that w e can be blam eless before G od. In Jesus C hrist, G od has done for us w hat w e cannot do for ourselves. • 4) Jesus is worth our attention. We need to listen not only to w hat is said about him , but to w hat he said to his followers, “You shall love the Lord your G od with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength, and all your soul; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We need to take the tim e and effort to study the scriptures, and listen to good preaching, so that our hearts and m inds m ay know Jesus as clearly and accurately as possible. O ur w orld desperately needs courageous Christians who will. 5. Jesus is still available to us. We m ay still turn to Jesus in prayer. T he S pirit o f C hrist is still at w ork am ong us. We may still place our trust in Jesus, in life and death. We may still follow Him in his way. T he good new s is not only in the past tense, not ju st that Jesus died and then he lived again. The G ospel is forever in the present: Jesus lives! Alleluia! -Reverend Paul Clay, Pastor H ep p n er C h ristia n p lan s E aster service T he H eppner C hristian C hurch invites everyone to attend w orship on' E aster Sunday, A pril 20. B reakfast is planned for 9:30 a.m ., with w orship at 10:30 a.m. “C om e as you are and m eet Jesu s,” says P astor A ndrew Johnson, w ho prom ises “aw esom e w orship” and a “relevant message.” Son Rise service Easter morning -Pastor Andrew Johnson St. Patrick and St. William’s Catholic Churches A “Son Rise” service, sponsored by the South M orrow County M inisterial Association, will be held Easter, April 20, at 7 a.m. at the M orrow County Fairgrounds. Breakfast, sponsored by the Church o f the Nazarene, will be held at the church at 335 G ilm ore in Heppner. Early on that first Easter Sunday morning some o f His Everyone is invited to attend. follow ers discovered that the tom b, in w hich Jesus had been buried, was empty. There were som e wom en, there were Peter and John, there was M ary M agdalen. They had witnessed his death w ith their ow n eyes. N ow the tom b w as empty. They O n Holy Thursday, April 17, Even M ass o f the Lord’s began to believe that He w as alive. They cam e to recognize Supper, a solemn commemoration o f the institution o f the Holy the truth o f what Jesus had predicted about Himself. Now, He Eucharist, will begin at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church was truly risen from the dead. in Heppner. O n G ood Friday, April 18, Stations o f the C ross will be at 12:05 p.m., with a solemn com m em oration o f the Lord’s suffering and death planned for 7 p.m. An Easter M ass o f the Resurrection will be held at 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday, April 20. Victory of Light Over Darkness Holy Week events set at St. Patrick’s Heppner Christian Church ] Invites You To Come Worship With Us on Easter April 20th St. William’s plans Holy Week services Aw«som« Worship, Relevant Message, Friendly People, Child Care Jew elers/ ^ t ' Heppner 676-9200 i On G ood Friday, April 18, Stations o f the C ross has been planned at St. William Catholic Church in lone beginning at 5 p.m . Easter M ass o f the R esurrection will be at 8:45 a.m. on Easter Sunday, April 20. 9:30 e.m. breakfast 10:30 a.m. worship “Come As Vou Are and Meet Jesus* t i
