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The largest man I ever knew was Ric Cordero. To my 5th grade eyes, he was a giant, which I always thought was funny because his wife, Cathy, was barely taller than I was at the time. In reality, he was probably about 6’5 or 6’6 and she was barely 5 feet tall wearing heals. Ric was a gentle giant however. He had to be. Although he was a natural athlete, he had three young daughters, who were the same age as my brother and sister. After meeting at a girl scout meeting, Ric and Cathy fast became two of my parents’ best friends and our families became very close. We did barbecues together, we played practical jokes on each other, and we always hung out together at school functions. Ric was always a giant to me, and I looked up to him in more ways than one, especially because of the way he lived his life. My senior year of high school, Ric, who was in his early 40s developed a very serious and fast-developing cancer. As a freshman at Mizzou, I remember visiting him at the cancer center in Columbia because that was the only place around who had the hope of treating him. Ric was no longer the giant I remembered as a child. The cancer and chemotherapy had reduced the once massive man to a scared little child fighting for his life. Less than a year after he was diagnosed with cancer, I attended his funeral, the largest one I’ve ever been to. The Methodist church where they worshiped was so packed, they set up chairs in the narthex. Because those were full, I stood for the funeral in the narthex and watched through the windows into the sanctuary. I think my dad took his death the hardest because they were the exact same age. That is Good Friday Story #1. Good Friday Story #2 is about Carole and is told by Michele Washam. Carole loved her estranged husband so much that she would do just about anything for him and he knew this. She was happy to settle for a man who agreed to still call her once a day so long as she didn’t interfere with his new relationship with another woman. Carole was so afraid of being alone that she accepted these arrangements and lived for his call each day. When Robert forgot to call or had other plans with the other woman, she would become depressed or angry. She would drive by his apartment and call his cell phone repeatedly until he answered. She claimed she loved God above all else, but her actions proved that she only wanted a quick fix. Finally, one day, Robert told Carole he was filing for divorce and marrying his new woman. Carole was devastated and she stopped calling him, even though it took all of her strength not to. All she could do was pray this simple prayer over and over, “God, please help me. I don’t know what to do and I can’t take the pain in my soul.” Good Friday Story # 3 is actually a visual story. This clip is from the Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan is the Lion and his the rightful king of Narnia. Prior to this clip, a young boy, Edmund, has betrayed his family and his friends by turning them over to the evil White Witch, the sworn enemy of Aslan and of Narnia. Edmund was a traitor and because he had done evil, he belonged to the White Witch. She was about to take him away when Aslan stepped in. He and the White Witch had a private conversation and following that conversation, Edmund was allowed to go free and join his family again. That evening, Aslan sneaks away from the Narnians camp to complete the deal he had made with the White Witch. Edmund’s two sisters, Susan and Lucy, follow Aslan from a distance to find out what he’s up to. PLAY CLIP #1 Death, divorce, pain, betrayal – we know these things. They are things that we are all too familiar with. This is the reality of life and it hurts dearly. I know most of you pretty well and I know that almost all of you out there have shared with me some of the pains that you have in your life. I know the pain is real and I know it hurts. Sometimes, like Carole, all you can do is pray, “I don’t know what to do and I can’t take this pain in my soul.” Long ago, God saw the pain that we as humans experience. God saw that we are broken and hurting, that things don’t always work out right. God loved us and saw that something needed to be done. And so he sent his Son, Jesus. Jesus came to us and shared in our pain. He experienced the pain of betrayal, of abandonment, of sickness, even of death. Jesus willingly shared in this so that we could be saved. On Good Friday, Jesus took the worst that the world had to offer and it killed him. And for three days, it looked like the world had gotten the better of him. For three days, there was sadness in thinking that not even God himself could handle the pain. Not even God himself could do anything about the brokenness. For three days, the future of the world looked very bleak.
Yet, the future looked bleak only for those three days. Early on the first day of the week, Mary went to the tomb to pray one last time, “God, please help me. I don’t know what to do and I can’t take the pain in my soul.” But this time it was different. God had already done something. Jesus wasn’t there. Death hadn’t gotten the best of him after all. The world, with all of its hurts, pains, and suffering, was no match for the great and mighty God who created it in the first place. Jesus was stronger than the worst that the world had to offer. Resurrection was now the rule. Reconciliation was now a possibility. Redemption had started. The story didn’t end on Good Friday. As Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the stories. First, story number 3, the visual one. PLAY CLIP This is now an Easter Story. Aslan was resurrected. He had sacrificed his life for a sinner and now Edmund was set free. Story number 2, about Carole and Robert’s failing marriage. Carole had stopped calling Robert and this disturbed him. He began calling her. He began missing her. He started coming around and his heart was visibly softening. One day as they walked on the beach together, she shared with him that she had learned complete dependence upon God and that is why she didn’t feel so dependent upon him anymore. Robert said that he had noticed that change and he liked it. As she shared her faith with him, he became open to Christ for the first time. Three months later, Robert became a Christians and soon after, they renewed their marriage vows. After many months, this became an Easter story. Divorce was overcome and God had set them both free. God gave them reconciliation and resurrected their relationship. Story number 1, about Ric, the giant. As you might expect, Ric never came back to life, yet this is an Easter story as well. The ending just hasn’t happened yet. You see, I’m going to see Ric again, and you’ll all get a chance to meet him as well. This is the way God works. Resurrection is a reality. Whether your life has been touched by death in the form of cancer, divorce, broken relationships, illness, prison, tragedy, loneliness, or sin – there is resurrection waiting for you. God has promised it. Today we celebrate the proof of that promise – Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Amen, alleluia!
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