Everything was ready for our church's sunrise Passover service. Well, almost everything...

A terrifying noise awoke me. My alarm. I groaned. How could it be four o'clock already? It was Passover and I was in charge of the outdoor sunrise service at our church, Emmanuel Methodist. My long-suffering husband and I bundled our three small sons into the car and drove to the church. A pantomime of the events between the Last Supper and the resurrection was quite an undertaking, involving a cast of almost 30 teenagers and young adults and tons of props.

Two months of rehearsal were behind us. I was so tired that the back of my neck felt like fire. I knew the others were just as tired. What if no one came? I wondered as I entered the dark building. What if the choir didn't show up? What if --? I stopped myself. Instead of more doubts, I closed my eyes and whispered for the last time the brief prayer that had been repeated by all of us in the past few weeks.

“Father, just use us: Let the people see Your hand in this.” I went from group to group, going over their cues. Somewhere in this confusion we discovered that no one had been asked to supply the sound effects when it came time for the rooster to crow thrice! Panic stricken, I searched out each cast member, begging for someone to imitate a rooster. Under different circumstances, those rooster auditions would have been hilarious.

But now they were only frustrating. I sneaked a peep outside. The churchyard was full. An audience like that and no rooster! I saw the minister taking his place as narrator. This was his first church and he was as nervous as I. He motioned for the cast to take its positions. Too late now to find a rooster.  I hoped fervently that the minister would not pause at that passage.

The words came clearly: "And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew...." The young minister's rich voice faltered, his hands holding the Bible shook and even the crowd caught its breath. Then faintly, yet ever so distinctly, from the direction of the city limits, came the crow of a rooster heralding the dawn. Into the silence came the cry; once, twice... three times!