Brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! There is a wonderful ancient tradition in the church, a greeting for Easter morning. It goes like this: the first person says, "Christ is risen." And the response is, "He is risen indeed." We do this three times, each time with increasing vigor. So let's try it this morning. Maybe you'll do it with your family later this morning.

    Christ is risen.

          He is risen indeed.

    Christ is risen.

          He is risen indeed.

    Christ is risen.

        He is risen indeed.

    Alleluia! Amen.

    I'd like to explore the Word with you a little, my friends. The title of the sermon is really "The Master's Touch." There was an auction, and the auctioneer got up and took his place on the stand, and people were milling around. There wasn't a lot of excitement in the air, but people were looking at the things to be auctioned off. The auctioneer looked around the items, and he noticed a picture of a woman. There was a gold frame around it.

    He picked up the picture and said, "Nice picture here. Nice frame. How much do I hear for it? Do I hear fifty dollars? Fifty dollars there. Do I hear a hundred - One hundred dollars there. Do I hear $125? One hundred twenty five right there. One hundred fifty. Do I hear $150? Going for one hundred twenty - I see one hundred fifty back there. Going for $150 once, going twice, sold for $150."

He went over and picked up a turquoise Oriental vase. He said, "What do I hear for this vase? Twenty-five? I hear twenty-five. Do I hear fifty dollars? Right over there, I hear fifty. Seventy-five? Seventy-five, right over there. Do I hear one hundred? Going once for seventy-five. Going twice. Sold for $75."

    He found something else to auction off. He picked it up. It was an old dusty case. He put it on the table and wiped his hands off. It was a violin case. He opened it up and took out an old violin. It was scratched and very dusty. One of the strings had come off the spindle and the rest were just flopping around. "What do I hear for this old violin? Five dollars, who'll give five dollars? Somebody, please. Okay, five dollars over there. How about ten? How about six dollars? Six over there. How about ten? All right, six dollars going once, going twice."

    And then he heard a voice say, "Wait!" A gentleman with long gray hair stood up, hunched over, and he started walking up the aisle. He said, "Just wait." He came up onto the stage, took the violin, and said, "Just let me see this for a second." He took the violin and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and started wiping off the dust. He looked at the violin lovingly. He could see the scratches on the violin, but now the wood had a shine to it. So he put the string back on the spindle and he started to turn the violin around, then tuned the strings and stretched them into shape. He plucked the strings again, straight across, and all four notes rang out. He put the handkerchief under his chin and propped the violin under his chin and reached into the case for the bow. He tightened the bow and put the bow to the violin, and he began to play.

    A beautiful, beautiful note rang out, much fuller and richer than anyone would have imagined could come from this violin. The old man played and played and played. Glorious, heartfelt music cascaded from his violin. Sad, then joyful, then music like dancing. The entire room was transfixed, mesmerized by the sounds from the violin.

    When he was done, he said, "Thank you," and returned the violin to the auctioneer. And slowly he walked back to his seat. The auctioneer then held the violin lovingly in his hands, looked over the crowd, and said, "How much now?"

"Five hundred there. A thousand there. Two thousand! Three thousand! Five thousand! Seventy-five hundred! Ten thousand dollars!"

    Well, we'll leave the auctioneer right there. But the point of the story is this: You can't really tell the value of something until it's been touched by the hand of the master.

    Friend, that's what happened on Easter morning. The earth was touched by the hand of the Master. The one point I'd like you to take home with you today is simply this: When you let Jesus Christ touch your life, amazing things happen. Do you know how I know that Christ is risen? I know that Christ is risen because there is a spirit of goodness that floats in the air, and it touches people and makes their lives better. I've seen it in my own life, and I've seen it in yours, in the life of this church, and the lives of churches wherever I go, and the lives of Christians wherever I go. People who were broken in spirit get their dignity back. People who had no hope suddenly get dreams in their hearts. People who were sad and lonely smile, and that's what convinces me that Christ not only rose literally and physically on Easter morning, but that he lives still with us. Everything that Jesus Christ touches turns to sparkling love. It's amazing. Wherever you see a life transformed for the better, wherever you see something that was terrible come to something good, you've seen the touch of the risen Christ. It's that simple.

    That's my prayer for you today, that in some way, somehow, you would let the spirit of the risen Christ touch you and make your life better. God is at work in the world today doing wonderful things.

    I know a man who was praying for someone everyday, and he would say, "Lord, bless this person." One night when he was praying that prayer, it was as though he heard the voice of the Lord say, "You're praying that I would bless that person everyday. I tell you what - I am, through you." Could that be happening, too? Could you be carrying the touch of the risen Christ in your heart, in little ways and big ways making other people's lives better? I bet you are.

    Dear friends, when you cause a lonely person to smile, when you watch a child laugh, when you sit with your family over Easter dinner and feel the love and warmth and joy that comes, you know that the risen Christ is near. Let him into your life. Let him touch your life and make it sparklingly better. He wants to. It can be so for you. That is my Easter prayer for you.

    God loves you. I do, too. Happy Easter. Amen.