It was great to be in the House of the Lord on
His Day with His people celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. He
blessed us with His very presence and His power. I preached at 8:30, 9:30, and
11:00 AM worship services. The Lord blessed me with his grace, His mercy, and
His very presence. We worship and serve the Risen Savior, who is in the world
today.
On my way from the
church I took some time to look at one of the massive Crocus patches between the
Church and the parsonage. This Crocus patch is in full bloom. It is
brilliant. I paused and gazed at the patch. While I was standing there I heard
hundreds of honey bees proclaiming the Resurrection of Lord and Savior as they
were singing a sweet song of the Savior, who rose again victorious and
triumphant. I said to myself that a thing of beauty and the sight of new life
is a joy for ever.
Our
daughter Sunita flew last night to the republic of Georgia, part of the former
Soviet Union. She will be there for a week, seeing the work of the Gospel being
carried out. 90% of the population belong to the Orthodox Christian church. As
I was preparing for morning devotions I was reading about current events in the
world news. In Egypt The Christian worshippers in a cathedral were surrounded
by a Muslim mob, causing terror and fear. During my days of graduate School in
Bangalore, India in the early 70's a Moslem Dictator came into power in Uganda,
causing great turmoil and devastation in the land. Two young men from there
came to India for Studies where I was a student. They loved Jesus. Sunita,
during her stay in Africa, shared about the Church in Uganda and other parts of
the African continent, vibrant and fermenting with the new life Jesus offers.
April 22, 1973 was Easter Sunday.
In the African country of Uganda — a nation at the time under the absolute rule
of Dictator Idi Amin — Kefa Sempangi was a pastor in that tortured land. Under
the growing shadow of Amin, Uganda was becoming a land of terror. Still fresh
in Sempangi's memory was a face burned beyond recognition, the sight of soldiers
cruelly beating a man, and the horrible sound of boots crushing bones. Sempangi
was exhausted and wondered what difference his sermon that morning could make.
He prayed for wisdom and strength and then delivered his sermon to 7,000
people.
Afterward he made his way to the
vestry, tired but joyful. Five men followed him into the small building and
closed the door behind them. Sempangi turned around to find five rifles pointed
at his face. He had never seen any of them before, but immediately recognized
them as the secret police of the State Research Bureau — Idi Amin's assassins.
Their faces were full of pure hate and rage. "We are going to kill you," said
the leader. "If you have something to say, say it now."
Sempangi stood there feeling
himself lose control. He thought of his wife and child and began to shake.
Somehow he managed to speak. "I do not need to plead my own cause," he said.
"I am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden in Christ. So if I die,
I'll be alive. It is your lives that are in danger; you are dead in your sins.
I will pray to God that after you have killed me, He will spare you from eternal
destruction."
The leader looked at him with
curiosity. Then he lowered his gun and ordered the others to do the same.
"Will you pray for us now?" the leader of the assassins asked. Though fearing
it was a trick, Sempangi asked them all to bow their heads and close their eyes.
"Father in heaven," he prayed, "You who have forgiven men in the past, forgive
these men also. Do not let them perish in their sins but bring them unto
yourself."
Sempangi lifted his head, waiting
for the men to pull the triggers. But then he noticed their faces. Gone was the
hate and rage, and when the leader spoke, it was without contempt. "You have
helped us," he said, "and we will help you. We will speak to the rest of our
company and they will leave you alone. Do not fear for your life. It is in our
hands and you will be protected." Relief and joy flooded Sempangi's heart.
God's love had given him the strength to say a simple prayer — one that changed
the lives of those five men forever. Actually the lives of six men were changed
that day, for Kefa Sempangi's life was changed forever and his church of 7,000
people was also changed forever.
I'm glad Jesus wasn't in the tomb
on Easter Sunday 1973. I'm glad He went on to Galilee. I'm also glad Kefa
Sempangi followed Him to that Galilee in Uganda and that lives were changed that
day. Easter always grants us strength to change.
I'm so glad Jesus is still in
Uganda and right here in America the Beautiful. He is all over the world.
That's the Good News of Easter and it's news worth telling. The tomb? The
grave? He's not there, but thank God He's here! Moreover, on this Easter
Season He is all over the world.
In the drama, The Trial of Jesus,
John Masefield has the centurion Longinus report to Pilate after the crucifixion
of Jesus. Longinus had been the officer in charge of the execution, and after
his official report, Procula, Pilate’s wife calls the centurion to come and tell
her how the prisoner had died. This was important to her because she had dreamed
about Jesus the night before his death and tried to warn Pilate to let him go.
After the centurion gives her the account of Jesus’ death, she asks, “Do you
think he is dead?” Longinus answers, “No, lady, I don’t.” “Then where is he?”
asks Procula. Longinus replies, “Let loose in the world, lady, where neither
Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.” Indeed, Jesus is let loose in the world. His
truth continues to change hearts and lives. It is such a profound truth that we
cannot let it be forgotten or misinterpreted. It is the One Truth that can set
us free.
He is
Risen.
Brown
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