Resurrection Sunrise Service Without a Resurrection Sermon

Can you imagine attending an Easter Sunday service, especially one at sunrise, and not hearing a sermon about the resurrection? I can hear you scoffing. "Why that's preposterous. An Easter Sunday service that is not devoted totally to the resurrection?  You must be joking!"

Sadly this is not a joke and is exactly what happened yesterday morning at the sunrise service I attended.

Do I need to remind my readers that Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, is the holiest and most joyful day in all of Christendom? That the resurrection is the one fact by which Christianity stands or falls? Listen to the Apostle Paul:

I Corinthians 15:12: Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

I Corinthians 15:13: But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 

I Corinthians 15:14: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 

I Corinthians 15:15: Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 

I Corinthians 15:16: For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 

I Corinthians 15:17: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Yes the truth of Christianity stands or falls by the doctrine of the resurrection which is why every single branch of the Christian church both East and West celebrates this day with much festive devotion. The whole world, including unbelievers, knows that Easter is all about the resurrection of Christ. So what happened at the service I attended where no resurrection sermon was given?

I asked the pastor afterwards why he gave no traditional resurrection sermon taking the end of the Gospels or 1 Corinthians 15 as his text and he said he did it on purpose. After all he was in the midst of a series on the biblical teaching of the Shepherd and he saw how it kind of related so he continued his series.

I am reminded of Dr. Gene Scott who was a missionary to the Philippines with the Assemblies of God during the 60's. He preached many sermon series but no matter what on Easter he preached the resurrection because it is the most important doctrine in all of Christianity. Personally it was also a doctrine he struggled with during his university years and he saw it as his pastoral duty to lay out all the proofs of the resurrection in order to convince all hearers of its truth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Scott

Sitting through this pastor's sermon gradually realising that he was not going to be talking at all about the resurrection was very disappointing and rather distressing. I came to hear about Christ being glorified, Christ trampling down death and the devil by the power of his resurrection, but all I heard was an ethical sermon about myself and how I should live. It was a complete waste of my time and of everyone else's. Why did we all drag ourselves out of bed at so early an hour to gather at sunrise except to hear the words proclaimed: "He is not here for he is risen," and listen to a sermon about the resurrection? Instead all we got was a regular ol' sermon about Christian ethics. What a gyp.

It's not that no mention of the resurrection was made at all. Of course there are always peripheral references to this main doctrine in every sermon, even this one. The pastor did make sure to tell us that Christ is now enthroned in heaven and the gist of the sermon was how we are to live in light of the resurrection with Christ as our Great Shepherd who is leading us. After the sermon there was even a special duet and the song was about the resurrection.  But it was really awful. Probably one of the worst songs about Jesus I have ever heard because the chorus is all about  a beatific vision of sorts with both Mary Magdalene and Jesus gazing intently at each other. It is sung from the view point of Mary Magdalene when Christ first appears to her.  All Mary needs is one look from the the Lord and lover of her soul and her life is now complete. Here is the chorus:

I've just seen Jesus

I tell you he's alive

I've just seen Jesus

Our precious Lord alive

And I knew, he really saw me too

As if till now, I'd never lived

All that I'd done before

Won't matter anymore

I've just seen Jesus

And I'll never be the same again

Imagine my surprise to learn at this very moment when looking up the lyrics that this song, I've Just Seen Jesus, was written by legendary Gospel singer/songwriter Bill Gaither, won a Grammy award in 1986 for best Gospel performance by a duo or group, choir or chorus, and the female half is sung by legendary Gospel singer Sandi Patty. This song's pedigree does not make it any less awful.

This whole incident really makes me wonder what is the problem with Philippine Christianity. Protestant missionaries have been visiting this country for decades and the Catholics have been here for centuries. Have they not taught the people anything? Where did this pastor learn that it is ok to not celebrate Easter with a resurrection message? For that matter where did Filipino Protestants learn their order of worship? Only one man, the minister, should ever be in the pulpit but at every church I have attended they have several people speaking at various times.

Far be it from me to appear to be gazing down from an ivory tower upon these poor souls who cannot understand a proper order of worship or deeper doctrines like theosis. Perish the thought. There are plenty of able theologians in the Philippines. There are plenty of Filipinos who read old books by the Fathers and the Reformers and long for a religion that connects them more fully to Christ. But I really can't help take note there is something amiss with Christianity in this nation which likely has to do with Pentecostalism of varying degrees infecting every single denomination as well as the song and dance culture which is native to these islands. I wish I could put my finger more exactly on it.