Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 17, 2019 -- THREE
Messages of Easter hope from local pastors
When life is
overwhelming
Spring brings new life
I truly love spring, this
year just a bit more than
usual as the month and a
half of winter was a bit
brutal. We saw many of our
neighbors and friends suffer
through the loss of many of
their calves due to the snow
and cold, searching for and
having to buy more hay
as the cold weather lasted
well into March. Blessed
by all the snow and rain we
are now seeing flooding in
some areas and some farm
work not getting done.
But alas, spring is here.
The deer and elk are mov-
ing back to the high country
as the snow disappears
and the grass is turning
green. The winter wheat
is growing and the ground
around our communities is
turning green. Because of
the moisture, spring wheat
and barley are being planted
with expectation’s high as
there is plenty of moisture
in the ground.
We get to hear lawn-
mowers running, softball
and baseball games being
played and the golf course
is seeing a lot more use.
Just around the corner will
be graduations and the end
of the school year.
However, we cannot
look past Easter. It is at
Easter that we can focus
completely on the events
that spring brings to us –
New Life. It is at Easter,
that just as the trees bud
and leaf out that we are re-
minded that from the grave
came life. It is at Easter;
we once again are blessed
to be reminded that the one
who created us was and is
willing to do everything
possible to redeem us. It is
at Easter; we are reminded
that just as the earth comes
to life in the spring that we
too through Christ are given
new life.
I want to encourage
you to embrace spring and
the beauty of the world in
which we are privileged to
live. But most importantly
I want to encourage you to
embrace the one who gave
his life so that you may
have new life.
If you do not have a
church that you call home,
we invite you to come and
join us at 10:45 this Easter
morning as we celebrate the
one who gives us life.
Ray DeLoe
Heppner Christian
Church
Living the Alleluia
Every Sunday is a cele-
bration of the resurrection –
a “little Easter.” But during
the quieter, more reflec-
tive season of Lent many
Christians set aside the
“alleluias” to mark those
40 days as a time to pre-
pare themselves for what’s
coming. During Lent, there
is a deliberate effort to re-
examine our lives, clear out
the wreckage, make amends
and turn back toward God
more whole-heartedly. That
kind of disciplined prepara-
tion makes the good news
of Jesus’ resurrection even
more startling, powerful
and welcome. It reminds
us that we need fixing and
can’t fix ourselves. It gives
us time to notice how de-
pendent we are on the com-
passionate and uncondition-
al love of God, on display
most vividly in the life,
death and resurrection of
Jesus. And then, when we
reintroduce the alleluias on
Easter morning, it’s with a
joyful eruption of praise,
invigorated by a renewed
awareness that we have
been rescued from the con-
sequences of sin. We have
been set free and saved by
grace, that unearned gift.
In the garden, at the
empty tomb, in the upper
room, on the road to Em-
maus and Damascus, Mary,
Peter, John, Thomas, Paul
and countless others expe-
rienced the unexpected and
unexplainable: that God is
stronger than death; that
Jesus lives. But the Easter
story isn’t just a slice of
history---something that
happened long ago and far
away. It’s a mystery that is
still unfolding in our life-
times as God’s Spirit works
in us, in the world around
us, and among the faithful
people God has placed in
our lives. The resurrected
Jesus is still breaking into
the present through his
Spirit and through follow-
ers who live what could be
called an “alleluia life” – a
life that’s filled with praise
and reflects God’s love for
all of creation . . . a life that
can lead believers and skep-
tics alike to realize that the
mystery of resurrection joy
is not a puzzle to be solved
with tidy answers, but a gift
to be accepted, cherished
and shared.
If you have experienced
that gift, live the alleluia.
And if not, spend time with
someone who has. Their
resurrection joy just might
be contagious; you just
might discover how freeing
and life-changing God’s
love can be.
Rev. Katy Anderson
Hopeful Saints Min-
istry
(All Saints Episcopal
& Hope Lutheran)
What do you do when
your best plan falls flat?
How do you stay strong
when you have to watch
someone you love fall into
the grip of terminal disease?
What do you say to your
friend whose child is sick
and may never get better?
Is there anything that
can be said beyond the
standard, “Think positive,
praying for you, things will
get better?” Is there any
hope for a world bogged
down in so much tragedy?
The difficulty in an-
swering questions like
these is speaking plain-
ly, honestly and truthfully
without sounding curt or
insensitive. There is a great
temptation to answer every
question and calm every
fear, but some questions are
not for us to answer. Herein
lies the rub.
You have been given
by God a life filled with
uncertainty. You really have
no way of knowing what
awaits you when you get
out of the bed to face the
day. This is all very over-
whelming, frightening and
disturbing. What do you do
when you open your eyes
and see this is the way the
world is?
There are at least three
options. Option one is to
just not think about it be-
cause it is just too over-
whelming and depressing.
This may help you for a
little while, but eventually
it must be faced and can
only be avoided so long.
Option two is to give up
and just not care because it
is all meaningless anyway.
This is tempting, but it too
is insufficient and only ends
in despair, an end we are
trying to avoid.
This only leaves us
with one more option, op-
tion three. What if there
was a giant reset button that
could be pushed to reset the
world, erase every wrong,
cure every disease and put
everything back the way it
is supposed to be? Wouldn’t
you push that button? I
would. The problem is that
The verdict is reversed
this button would have to be
so large, only God himself
could push it.
I believe that such a
button exists, and that God
has pushed this button. He
did so by literally stepping
into history, stepping into
our world, this physical
world. When he came here,
he saw human suffering
with human eyes and he
responded with tears (John
11:35). He saw us in sick-
ness, in suffering, dealing
with loss, miserable, and
tormented. And being the
great, good God he is; he
did something about it.
What did he do?
He pushed the reset
button, and by pushing that
button, he killed death. He
who should have never died
(God can’t die), died. Yes,
you read that right, God
died a horrible, gruesome
death by being nailed to a
tree. Then after dying, he
was buried in a tomb and
came back to life again
three days later. He did
something you and I could
never do; he killed death,
which is really our biggest
problem. Suffering is just
the symptom of the disease.
The disease is death. Jesus
has cured death itself.
Sound made up? Sound
too fantastic to be true? You
could go back to options
one and two above. You
have that freedom, but what
if you stopped and consid-
ered that it is possible that
all this is true?
How would your life
and the way you saw life’s
sorrows change if you knew
that God is going to even-
tually set all things back
right again? Would it make
suffering, even the deepest
of tragedy, bearable, maybe
even palatable knowing that
God sees it; God knows it
and God will not allow it
to go on forever? What if
you knew that things won’t
just eventually get better,
but that they will end in
victory?
Tripp Finch
Willow Creek Baptist
Church
Christmas and Easter, spiritual
bookends
One of my early mem-
ories was leaving Pearl
Harbor on a ship, the MSTS
Lurline. It was an ocean
liner, turned troop carrier
in WW2, turned dependents
transport during the Korean
War.
I had just finished
second grade, and as we
left Pearl the band played
“Aloha Oe.” Yeah, yeah,
yeah…. adults had tears
in their eyes, but we kids
were excited and busy try-
ing on our kapok life pre-
servers. Almost a week
later, I remember arriving
in San Francisco, steaming
in under the Golden Gate
Bridge, and hearing the
band strike up “California,
Here I Come!” as we tied
up to the pier. Again, lots
of tears from the adults, and
lots of anticipation from us
kids wondering what the
future would hold. We lived
in hope for new adventures.
Those two songs were
a rite of passage for mili-
tary dependents plying the
seas between the Hawaiian
Islands and the US main-
land. Kind of a going out
and coming in for so many
of us who grew up as Navy
dependents: Musical book-
ends to a significant chapter
in our lives.
Christmas and Eas-
ter are the same sort of
spiritual bookends. From
“Silent Night, Holy Night”
to “Christ the Lord Is Ris-
en Today,” the significant
chapter of our lives we
call a liturgical year are
marked with music. And
I find that each of those
hymns bring tears to my
eyes just as “Aloha Oe” and
“California, Here I Come”
brought tears to the eyes of
my parents.
The Christian, or li-
turgical year, begins four
weeks before Christmas,
and comes to a significant
crescendo on Easter. Atten-
dance in church is higher
at Christmas and Easter
than any other time of year.
Those two events are the
high points – bookends – of
the Christian year for many
people. One represents new
life – the birth of the baby
Jesus – and the other rep-
resents NEW LIFE, an
absolute assurance of how
beloved we are in the eyes
of God. New life and NEW
LIFE!
And, in a sense, both
events bring out the child in
us. Some of us concentrate
on our faith at Christmas
and Easter, making sure we
get to the services as if they
are a life preserver that we
dare not fail to wear twice
a year. No problem. All are
welcome any time. And
some of us look to what
adventures lie ahead. What
does new life mean? What
does redemption look like
or feel like in our lives?
What place does salvation
take in our thoughts and
ponderings?
That is exactly what
Easter is: a time of mystery
and reflection. This is a sea-
son of new beginnings. This
is the day of resurrection. In
all our ups and downs in our
day-to-day-lives, Easter is
far more than a life preserv-
er or passage under a bridge
on the inbound passage to
safe harbor. Easter is the
ultimate symbol of new
life. Resurrection is hope.
The risen Christ is salvation
in this life and the next.
The empty grave means,
paradoxically, that we are
not alone.
So sing, this Easter,
“Aloha Oe” to the old,
and “California, Here We
Come!” to the new. We are
on the journey that Jesus
tells us to never fear; one
of adventure and new be-
ginnings. Thank God for the
journey! Celebrate Christ!
Live in Easter hope and joy!
Alleluia!
Rev. Jim Monroe
Heppner United
Methodist Church
Sir Nicholas Winton,
dubbed the British Schin-
dler, saved 669 children,
mostly Jewish from Nazi
death camps. On an inter-
net video, Winton is being
honored for his brave and
loving deeds.
It started in 1988 in
Maidenhead, Great Britain
when Winton’s wife Greta
found a scrapbook in an old
dusty trunk in their attic.
She opened the scrapbook,
became fascinated and yet
was puzzled by it all. This
was, of course, 50 years
after the events in the scrap-
book happened.
Now knowing the
scrapbook was discovered,
Nicky Winton told his wife
what he had kept secret all
those years. His wife Greta
went to London to try to
give the story to several
people, but nobody was
interested, that is, until
she contacted Dr. Eliza-
beth Maxwell, a holocaust
historian and the wife of
newspaper magnate, Robert
Maxwell. Maxwell then ar-
ranged for his newspaper to
publish articles on Winton’s
amazing deeds.
Winton’s story led to
his appearance on Esther
Rantzer’s BBC television
program, That’s Life. In
the studio, emotions ran
high as “Winton’s Children’
introduced themselves and
expressed their gratitude
for having their lives saved.
Letters came from all over
the world, and new faces
still appear at his door,
introducing themselves by
names that match the doc-
uments from 1939.
“They got me there
under false pretenses,” re-
members Winton. “They
sat me in a seat which was
focused on the camera, and
I didn’t know I was going
to meet for the first time the
children I brought over so
many years before.”
With the program now
live, the TV host began
to talk about the scrap-
book and the pictures and
the man they were about
to honor. Finally the host
brought attention to the list
at the back of the scrapbook
of the children whose lives
were spared.
One of the names, Vera
Gissing was pointed out.
She was identified in the
audience, and then turned
to a very surprised Nicho-
las Winton who was seated
right next to her. Vera em-
braced and thanked a very
tearful Nicholas Winton.
The TV host then
asked, “Is there anyone else
in our audience tonight who
owes their life to Nicholas
Winton? If so, could you
stand up, please?” There
are probably no words that
could capture the emotions
or the thoughts of Nicholas
as he also stood and turned
in amazement to see all the
people around him stand-
ing, acknowledging that he
had helped spare their lives.
This man, Sir Nicholas
Winton, reversed the ver-
dict on the lives of those he
saved and secured a future
for them. But as wonderful
and noble as the deeds of
Nicholas Winton are, they
pale in comparison to the
work of Jesus Christ on the
cross. Jesus reversed the
verdict on our lives.
Our whole faith, every-
thing we stand for, and our
plea for pardon, hinges on
the resurrection of Christ
and the empty tomb.
From the Scriptures,
we get a glimpse of the ev-
idence from the disciples of
the resurrection. Acts 2:22-
24 says, “Men of Israel,
hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a Man attested by
God…Him, being delivered
by the determined purpose
and foreknowledge of God,
you have taken by lawless
hands, have crucified, and
put to death; whom God
raised up, having loosed
the pains of death, because
it was not possible that He
should be held by it.”’
In Acts 4: 10, we read,
“Let it be known to you
all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom
God raised from the dead,
by Him this man stands here
before you whole.”
Acts 5: 30, 32 says,
“The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus whom you
murdered by hanging on a
tree.” “And we are His wit-
nesses to these things, and
so also is the Holy Spirit
whom God has given to
those who obey Him.”
To understand what
ignited a movement that is
still going strong, especially
in other parts of the world,
we need to understand the
three points that the disci-
ples demonstrated: He was
killed; God raised Him; we
witnessed His reappear-
ance.
To any other person
or people who started a
movement, it was only the
first point that was fulfilled.
That is, you killed him or he
died. God did not raise Mo-
hammed; God did not raise
Buddha; God did not raise
any other man. But God
did raise His son Jesus and
it was witnessed by others.
Before the crucifixion
the disciples believed this
was the end. The final point.
To those who were there,
there was nothing else to be
said. The Jews condemned
Him and the Romans cru-
cified Him. That’s why
after the resurrection Peter
could say with confidence,
but God raised Him. We
thought it was over, but
God raised Him and God
vindicated Jesus.
The resurrection was
proof that Jesus was really
raised from the dead and
that He was and is the Son
of God and King of Kings.
He became the curse so that
we would not have to die.
So now we have an idea
of why Peter and the other
disciples could not stay si-
lent about the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. They met
someone who would pay
the price for something
they were about to pay for.
Jesus did not say we did not
deserve to die for our sins,
but He willingly took the
punishment that was meant
for us on the cross.
So why after finding
out the identity of the man
who saved her life did Vera
Gissing start singing the
praises of Nicholas Win-
ton? Because the verdict on
her life and on the lives of
the other 668 children was
reversed. In the same way,
the disciples could not keep
silent on what Jesus did on
the cross and how God had
raised Him on the third
day. He was resurrected, so
everything He says is true
and reliable. In Christ, your
verdict is reversed. Amen.
Dr. Carmelo A. Di
Salvo
Va l b y L u t h e r a n
Church
-Continued on PAGE FOUR
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