Wake up…the rooster is crowing

Luke 22: 61-62 “And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”

After spending time on several of the Caribbean islands, the conclusion is that the national bird of some of those should be the rooster. There is such an abundance of the brightly colored and ornately decorated feathered and very vocal species of living alarm clocks, the human population must feel in the minority.

We were in Colon, Cuba several weeks and the rooster population in the neighborhood of our night time quarters was measured not in numbers but in decibels.

We stayed in a convent of nuns and even though we did not speak the language, pleasantries were exchanged in the mornings at breakfast and other times on the grounds. We knew “Buenos Dias” and they knew “Hello.”

Our ride to the work site was a horse drawn wagon with improvised wooden seats. Unpadded, the seats offered a somewhat uncomfortable ride to the church area. Streets in Colon are in a state of disrepair that would make our county roads here in America seem like super-highways.

Under the horses tail was a suspended bag designed to catch the fertilizer deposited by the equine while in its daily duties of serving as a power source for the Cuban taxi. It caught the plant food but failed to contain the aroma.

After having been awakened in the pre-dawn

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hours by the chorus of roosters singing their daily melody, the aromatic and mostly rough ride made for a somewhat different beginning for our day.

Arriving at the church, usually around eight o’clock, the warm greeting by the Cuban Christians changed our outlook on our existence and brightened the day beyond explanation.

The crow of the rooster is actually an exhilarating sound when one is already awake.

But to be brought out of a dead-like sleep it is similar to being plastered against a wall by a nuclear bomb and results in an almost state of shock requiring a visit to an emergency room or more likely, a psychiatrist’s couch.

A kettle of “rooster noodle soup” was thought of most mornings but thought the local chicken farmer might not approve. Roosters crow at dawn because their internal rhythm is set. They also crow when their power of territory is threatened which could be at any time.

The crow of the rooster is a wake-up call. Acts 1: 8 is a wake-up call to evangelize.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

We live in a world of divergent races, ethnic groups, ideological groups and the many other differences that exist among the human race. By Jesus using Samaria as one of the geographic locations to witness His Gospel, He was perhaps telling us to tell everyone, regardless of our differences, about Him.

Perhaps by naming “The uttermost part of the earth,” He may not have been thinking of the other side of the planet as we often do. Possibly, the uttermost may be considering those that are difficult to reach with the gospel and that may very well be within one’s own family, workplace or neighborhood. At any rate, to evangelize is an imperative and must not be taken lightly.

What are our wake up calls?

Among others, our marching orders would include the state of chaos our world is in. As a human race we have gone so far out of bounds, God may very well be fed up with us.

Actually, I cannot imagine that He isn’t.

Many are convinced the state of the world is much to blame on the Christian community in that we have not told the world about our Glorious

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Savior. Without knowing Him, humans do not know the simple rules of humanity as stated in the Holy Bible. To know right from wrong doesn’t come naturally; it has to be taught.

The crow of the rooster also can serve as a warning. The flock may be in danger and the crowing of the “king bird” is a warning of impending danger. We have been warned by history what the penalty is for continuing in sin.

Luke 22: 34 “And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” As the story goes, Peter denied Christ the night before the crucifixion. Jesus had told him that the denial would happen but Peter was convinced such a thing could never happen.

At the third denial (Luke 22: 61-62), Peter immediately remembered what Jesus had said. This scripture serves as a combination of a warning of our human frailties and of the omniscience of God. These verses of scripture in depth tell us one of the many reasons Christ Jesus went to the cross for the sins of the world. Our weaknesses and sinful nature could not be overcome by anything less than a total sacrifice by our Creator Himself (Colossians 1: 16).

Many on first thought condemn Peter for denying Christ. We, however, should take this as an admonition to ask ourselves, “How many times have I denied Christ for less than thirty pieces of silver as did Judas?”

We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).

Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email is vmy2121@ outlook. com.