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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-04-02, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZLN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1986. From the Minister's Study This minister has seen many 'resurrections BY JAMES H. CARNE, PASTOR HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY CHURCH, AUBURN It was Sunday morning. In spite of the fact that it was February the flowers were fragrant and the birds were singing. The assembled people sang too: "Up from the grave He arose" - and there, off to the right, cut into the hillside, was the grave about which they sang, open and empty! That worship experience in the garden where Jesus is thought to have been buried, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, has made this Easter special to me. It was an exhilerating experience, just a month ago, to stand by the empty tomb. It has been my lot to stand by many graves over the years. The experience has always been sober- ing as 1 have officiated at the commital of the body to the ground: "earth toearth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The circumstances sometimes have made it especially tragic: the daughter of friends of ours, 15 years old, who took her own life; the wife and mother who was beaten to death by her husband in a drunken frenzy. Then, there have been the funerals of some, that, despite the sense of loss, have been downright jubil- ant: the aged widow who used to stand up in church almost every Sunday, and with radiant face, glorify the Savious Who was her constant companion; the saintly man who, during his last illness in the hospital, could only sing in a delirium of joy, "My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine." At funerals such as these, my pulse has always quickened as I have read the time-honoured words, "looking for the general resurrec- tion in the last day, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ." I believe in the resurrection, not only because I have stood at the open tomb, and because I have known some saints whose experi- ence of God took them clear through "the valley of shadow of death," though they died, but I believe in the resurrection because I have seen some resurrected people. No, I was not present at the moment that Jesus died and "the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs ..." (Matt. 27:52) but I have seen some come out of their graves, nonetheless. 1 remember well the man whose alcoholism finally drove away his wife and children. They were gone three days before he began to suspect that there was something wrong. When I made him aware of the circumstances later, he was still insisting that he didn't have any problem. He began to come to church and, one Sunday morning, he bowed at an altar of prayer and found a satisfaction for which he had been looking all his life. It was later that he confessed that, all the years that he had been drinking, he didn't know that his wife and children even existed. He had been "dead" in his sins. But now he was alive from the dead, and his resurrection was no less miracu- lous than that of Lazarus. Ah yes, I believe in the resurrection because of the empty tombs I have seen, and those who have come to newness of life. And, some day, all of the graves of those who have died with faith in Christ as their Saviour, will be empty and open for, "because He lives, we shall live also." EVERYONE WELCOME BUSINESS DIRECTORY 1 McbLLOP MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY 91 Main St. South, Seaforth Office 527-0400 FARM, HOME, COMMERCIAL AUTO COVERAGES AGENTS E. F. "Bill" Durst 527-1455 Bob McNaughton 527-1571 Graeme Craig 887-9381 Banter & MacEwan Insurance Brokers Ltd. 524-8376 Thompson's Meat Market Brussels Fresh Meat Freezer Orders Custom Butchering by appointment Call Brussels 887-6294 Bill Bromley Electric LONDESBORO PHONE 523-4506 1-800-265-9255 I.D.#3648 Brad Bromley Brian Bromley 523-9308 523-9483 24 Hour Emergency Service B&G ELECTRIC Plumbing and Heating Brussels, Ont. NOG1H0 BILLAITCHISON 887-6747 Howard Bernard Fuels Agent -Petro -Canada Brussels Heating Oils AutomaticDelivery Farm Fuels MotorOils & Greases 887-6377 Ron's Farm Relief Service Pig & Cattle Feeding Plus OddJobs Reasonable Rates Ron Carter 357-2706 Belgrave Fred Lawrence Electric Ltd. Home. Farm, Commercial Wiring Auburn. Ont. DON PAUL DUNBAR COOK 526-7505 357-1537 Brussels Variety WOO Groceries, Tobacco, Health Care, Stationery & Cards, Lottario-Lotto 649 �aZA Agents for: Drycleaners, film processing Mai and Tremeer Printing Open 7 Days A Week 887-6224 op N film William E. Hallahan & Sons Construction Ltd. R.R. 3, Blyth 523-9339 -Fence bottoms -Road building -Bulldozing -Land clearing -Excavating & grading 30 Years Experience HOME RENOVATIONS AND GENERAL BUILDING CONTRACTORS TE Ipminummm illif#III11111 llll$I Brussels and area 887-6408 H. Ten Pas 30 years serving the area CONSTRUCTION LTD. Rammeloo Rest Home Blyth *Private & semi -private rooms `AII personal needs looked after 'Nurses on staff 523-9478 GENERAL CALL JOSEPH SEILI AT Huron Feeding Systems 887-6289 Brussels 14 HURON FEEOINO SYSTEMS 1- Richard Elliott 15191 523-9725 LIFE R. John Elliott 519-523-4323 ELLIOTT INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. INSt1RANCE IN Alt. BRANCHES Established 1910 BLYTH.ONTARIO NOM IHO 519-523-4481 LIVESTOCK MORTALITY INSURANCE Chatterton Auto Services Blyth 523-9322 - Walker exhaust, Munroe shocks -Lifetime warranty mufflers -30 years steering and brake service -Alignment: cars and trucks to 1 ton -Wheels balanced on vehicle -Discs and drums machined on premises fir rid OLD MILL in downtown Blyth A landmark in Huron County. Famous for woof and leather products OPEN EVERY DAY PREGNANT? and need help . . 519-357-1066 WING HAM 1-800-328-5683 TOLL FRE E Phil's Refrigeration and Appliance Services Dependable service to all makes and models of major domestic appliances. RR 4, Wingham 887-9062