Dear Christian friends:

As a child I attended Trinity Lutheran Church of Santa Ana, California together with the family. At that time the church was located on the extreme edge of the town and we lived eight miles west of Santa Ana. So as we drove through town we passed by several other churches.

One of these churches had a statue of a crowing rooster on its steeple. I often wondered why they had such a thing on their church when our church had a huge golden cross upon its steeple. After thinking about it for some time I came to the conclusion that they probably preached the social gospel rather than the gospel of the cross of Christ. And so I assumed that they had chosen a very appropriate symbol to set upon their steeple.

Many years later I discovered that I was wrong in making such a judgment about the symbol of a crowing rooster, for it is in fact a very fine Christian symbol in spite of the fact that it is not as well known nor as readily understood as the symbol of the cross.

As you can see from our banner tonight it is one of the symbols connected with the passion history of our Lord, one that can be of great value and comfort to us.

Most of us are familiar with the events that took place prior to the crowing of the rooster immediately after Peter had denied his Lord for the third time. (It was read to us again this evening as part of the passion history.) However, I want to emphasize some of those events so that you might readily see the significance of the crowing rooster, not only for Peter, but also for ourselves.

In the upper room and on the way to the garden Jesus had told His disciples that all of them would be offended with Him this night and that they all would forsake Him in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy which says, "I will smite the shepherd of the flock, and the sheep shall be scattered."

All of them immediately promised Jesus that they would do no such thing. Peter agreed with Jesus that perhaps his fellow disciples would chicken out, but he insisted that he was made of better stuff. He would never forsake his Friend and Lord. Why, he was even ready to die with Jesus if need be. It was then that Jesus prophesied to him, "This night you will deny Me thrice before the cock crows twice."

Later on in the garden when Jesus was arrested and refused to resist the mob, knowing that it was now His time to be offered for the sins of the world as the Father willed and as the sacred Scriptures had prophesied, the disciples forsook Him and fled, Peter among them.

However, after running for a while Peter's conscience started to bother him, and he thought about saving face. So he stopped running, turned around and followed the mob and the captured Jesus from afar. Eventually he crept into the courtyard of the high priest's palace and we find him standing by a fire with the servants and officers while Jesus is being tried within. And so the stage is set for the rooster's crow and the fall of a very proud yet terribly weak man.

Pride, especially spiritual pride leads us to look down on and despise others just as Peter did to his fellow disciples. Spiritual pride makes us harsh in our judgements of others and slow to forgive those who may hurt us whether that be in the church family or in our family at home.

There has always been a great deal of disunity and doctrinal controversy among Christian churches, and of late we are finding far too much in our own Synod. Perhaps this is somewhat of an over-simplification, but I'm sure that if we could trace back to the beginnings of these controversies we would find spiritual pride as the root cause on both sides.

It is the nature of pride to think that whatever it has or belongs to is better than what someone else has or belongs to, regardless of the actual merits in the case. So we often act and react in the church in blind pride and emotionalism oblivious to the true facts in the case. We take sides in controversies on the basis of all kinds of factors; friends, prejudice, fear etc. ignoring the simple and plain Word of God, and do great damage to ourselves and the cause of Christ's holy Church.

Besides being a very damaging thing pride is also very dangerous because it causes us to take unnecessary chances just as Peter did when he crept into the courtyard of the enemy and warmed himself at its fire. When people neglect public worship, this is frequently a sign of spiritual pride.

Even though the Bible says that faith is kept by God's power, who operates through the Word, they feel that they can keep their own faith. This is true also if in our homes we feel no need for daily Bible reading, study and prayer. And when people go to the wrong places and keep the wrong company this, too, is a sign of spiritual pride.

Jesus gave the crowing rooster to Peter as a warning against spiritual pride. And we know that the rooster is a very proud bird, at least those of us that have raised chickens. Jesus wisely choose that symbol for Peter and for us. But thank God it is more than a warning, it is above all a sign or symbol of Christ's patient love for weak sinners.

While Peter was outside failing in his trial, Jesus was inside also on trial before the Jewish Church court succeeding wondrously. They asked Him, "Tell us plainly are You the Son of God?" Jesus answered, "You say it. I am" and He made that answer knowing full well that it would mean for Him the agonizing death upon the cross. While Peter outside denies His Lord and Savior, Jesus inside confesses His Lordship and perseveres as the Savior.

Not a Savior for the good and the worthy or faithful, but the amazing Savior and Lord of the unworthy and faithless such as Peter, such as you and me. For after Jesus had made His beautiful confession before the Sanhedrin and after Peter had blown his great opportunity and as Jesus was being led outside through the courtyard on the way to Pontius Pilate and Good Friday, He looked at His fallen and faithless disciple: And as Peter's eye caught the Master's eye he remembered the warning, and He saw no look perseveres as the Savior.

So the rooster is a sign of our Savior's forgiveness and love. Even though Peter denied Jesus he was forgiven. So the rooster is a constant reminder to them at work and at play whenever they looked up at the steeple or heard the ringing of the bells.

May the crowing rooster be for us also a sign of our Savior's patient love for His fallen disciples, and may it help us to walk not as a rooster but humbly with our God.

Amen.