O Brother, Where Art Thou?

There are signs around that the season has changed. The crocuses, colt’s foot, and daffodils tell us that it’s Spring time. But I know what my thermometer says too. It disagrees. Maybe the crocuses are lying or maybe they’re just confused.

It’s like the time I couldn’t sleep one night. It was almost midnight, and I tossed and turned until I got up and decided to go down the block to this convenience store. It had a sign that said, “Open 24 hours.” I walk up to the door and there’s a guy locking up. I said to him, why are locking the door? He said, “We’re closing.”

I said, “But your sign says ‘Open 24 hours.” He says, “Not in a row.”

I went to the gym the other day. I went into the locker room to change; opened by bag and found my sneakers. But there was a problem. The sneakers didn’t match. One was from my old pair, the other from my new pair. What’s more, the two in hand were both for the right foot. My choice was wear my black patent leather dress shoes for my workout, or wear these oddball sneakers.

The key to getting away with something, as many of you know, is act like you know what you’re doing, that all is well, nothing’s up. I also tried a little experiment –let’s see who notices. Nobody noticed. Or if they did, they didn’t say anything to me, which in a way, is insulting, you know? What sort of person doesn’t tell another that they have mismatched shoes on?

People don’t pay attention. Believe it or not, people don’t pay attention to the meaning of this day. What’s Easter about? Of course you know. But there are plenty who don’t.

We come to celebrate Jesus victory over death. We come to celebrate eternal life in him.
We’re going to live forever!

In fact, let’s turn to our neighbor right now and say,

“I’m going to live forever. . .”

“So far, so good.”

Of course we know that our bodies will probably give out. They’ll die. But we are declaring that there is more life, in fact real life, after the grave.

“Whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3.16

Now, this living forever stuff sounds like a good plan. It’s a good ride. Everyone should get on that train. But we know that there is some pain involved. There was a sacrifice to be made. You only get to the empty tomb through the Cross.

The cross is not an attractive place to be. Not if you or yours are the ones going to be nailed there. The cross has a way of scattering people, even disciples; even a man named “Rock.” I’m talking about Peter.

Peter went back to fishing. He went back because he thought he was a failure as a disciple. Peter had been the first to pledge his undying support for Jesus. “Though all others fall away Lord, I will follow you to the end! I will die for you.”

The problem with saying you will die for someone is, you can only do it once, and it usually happens toward the end of your life. Jesus wants people who will live for him.

Peter came to understand this the hard way. He was humiliated by his own spineless behavior. He felt unworthy and disqualified, He felt good for nothing. So he hid himself in his old life of fishing.

Sin and failure separate us from our true calling. Why? Because sin separates us from God. Sin makes us want to hide from God. The Lord walked in the Garden, in the cool of the afternoon, and called out “Son, daughter, where are you?’

But while Peter was hiding, God was looking for him. In Mark’s Gospel the angel tells the women to go tell the good news that Jesus has risen,

“Go tell his disciples and make sure you tell Peter that He has gone on to Galilee and is expecting you.” (my paraphrase, Mark 16.7)

The Lord Jesus walked in the cool dawn of athat first Easter morning, conqueror of Death, Lord of Life, Master of Everything. And foremost in his mind was this question,

“Peter, my brother, where art thou?”

Jesus loved Peter. Though Satan demanded to have the cowardly denier, Jesus refused. When Jesus asked Peter three times “Do you love me?” it was as if Jesus was emphasizing three times over how much he loved Peter.

It’s like G.K. Chesterton said of the classic fable, Beauty and the Beast, “Unlovely things must be deeply loved before they become lovable.”

Peter became the Rock when he finally realized how much he was loved. The Cross and the empty Tomb were signs of this love. Jesus finally got his attention.
I’m wondering, does the Lord have your attention? Have you considered what’s been done show you how much you are loved? Are you living for Christ today?

In his first letter to the churches, the Apostle Peter, leader of the church, is thinking of a rock when he quotes this Old Testament scripture:


“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,
And he who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Peter 1.6