Brown's Daily Word 4/25/11

Good morning,
Happy Easter. The Lord is Risen indeed. It has been a glorious weekend. We had worship services Saturday Evening at the First United Methodist Church, and yesterday we had Easter celebrations at Union Center UMC and the Wesley UMC. Each service was filled with live Easter music of victory and triumph. Praise the Lord for so many who came join these worship services.
Our daughter Jessica and our son-in law Tom came home from Philly for the weekend. Laureen was home and offered special music during the morning worship services. Janice and her family in Boston attended Easter Worship in their church in Cambridge, and then they went for a hike in the afternoon. Janice said that on their way for hiking they passed by a church full of Eater worshippers just getting out of worship. It is always a holy scene when people of the Lord come into the House of the Lord for worship. It is also a very holy scene when the people of the Lord redeemed by Blood are leaving THE PLACES OF WORSHIP, SCATTERING BACK INTO THE WORLD TO SERVE the Risen Savior. Sunita and Andy attended a sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. It reached the mid-eighties in Washington, DC, on Sunday. Sunita reported that it was one of the warmest Easter sunrise services at the Lincoln Memorial in recent times.
The gospel reading for Resurrection Sunday was taken from John 20. According to the Scripture, the tomb was empty, and so were the hearts of Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and John. They had no idea that it was Resurrection Sunday; they simply thought that someone had stolen Jesus’ body. Notice Peter's and John’s transformations in just a few verses of Scripture. Though they “ran” to the tomb, once they saw that it was empty they just went back to their homes. Very possibly Peter and John were much like the men who were walking on the road of Emmaus, away from Jerusalem, after Jesus’ death – dejected, faces downcast, and all hope gone.
After the men left, Mary just stood outside the tomb crying. Not only was Jesus dead, but someone had played a cruel joke on those who loved Jesus so much…they had stolen His body. All she could do was cry. Mary just couldn’t believe that it was true. Jesus had changed her life, she was just getting to really know Him, but now He was gone…He couldn’t be gone. Like a loved one going back to the casket for one more look, Mary bent down just to make sure. John's Gospel records that, as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb "and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don’t know where they have put him.' At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 'Woman,' he said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher). (John 20:11-16 NIV)
Mary looked at Jesus. Jesus spoke to Mary. At this time Mary still did not realize that it is Resurrection Sunday. Mary was broken, and she was still frantic over the fact that someone has stolen the body of her Lord and Savior. Did she not recognize Jesus because she had been crying so hard that she couldn’t see clearly? Did Jesus look different than the last time Mary had seen Him hanging on the cross? Was it Jesus’ resurrected body that led her to believe that He was just the gardener? We do not know for certain why Mary could not comprehend, but when Jesus said, “Mary”, she knew that she was in the presence of her Lord. It was only one word.
To this day it takes just one word. When Jesus calls us by name the tears of anguish are changed into tears of joy. When Jesus calls us by name the depths of devastation are changed into the rejoicing of resurrection. When Jesus calls us by name the stone is rolled away and we are free to come out of our tomb of sin, shame, and despair. When Jesus calls our name we are freed from the prison of trying to fit in, trying to stack up, trying to get ahead, trying to make a name for ourselves, trying to prove our worth and value to society.
God desires to speak our name and have us realize that Friday is over and Sunday has come, condemnation has been swallowed up by salvation – if we would only believe and trust in the One who came to save us. John wrote and said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18 NIV) Those who hear Him call our name and cry out like Mary did will see salvation break forth in our lives like the morning sunrise, but those who reject His voice are condemned already because of the hardness of our hearts.
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. To his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?", he asked.
Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector’s emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."
Mary ran away from the Empty Tomb and told others about the Risen Lord. As we go in to the world, the Good Friday World, let us proclaim that the Lord who was crucified dead and buried is Risen. He is alive and He is in the world rolling away the stones of unbelif , bondage and sorrow. We proclaim again and again , our Savior lives.

Blessed be His Name.
He is Risen.
Halleljujah!
In Christ,
Brown

http://youtu.be/NyPBVwOCYmM

Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday, April 30, 2011
5 PM Indian Buffet at the First UMC, Endicott
6 PM Coffee Fellowship

6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Laureen Naik, Emma Bronson
Speaker: Rev Bill Turner