Word of Hope

The Easter message matters. We need to know that sin, betrayal, death, abuse, death, heartache, loneliness, depression, fear, anxiety, loss, confusion, and dead ends don't have the final word. It may feel like it, but all those things lose because of Christ. In him we are given (freely without strings attached) forgiveness, second chances, reconciliation, redemption, freedom from our past, and promise of hope in our future.

Easter prayer

Merciful God, 
thousands of years ago, 
in the dark of the morning, 
in the midst of profound grief
[Mary/the women] drew near to the tomb.  
Her heart broke as she came to say goodbye to her rabbi and friend.  
But instead of the stench of death she breathed in the gift of new life.  
Jesus was alive! 
The gift of resurrection is mysterious and confusing--
As are the ways you touch the dark and dead places in our lives.  
Where we have failed you forgive us. 
Where we sin you redeem us. 
Where the darkness threatens to overtake us,  you shine your light. 
And where death steals our joy, you proclaim I give joy abundantly. 

We thank you this day for new beginnings,  second chances,  and resurrection from death. 

Hallelujah!
We praise you in Jesus' name, 
Amen.  

Easter prayer

O God of death & resurrection,
we come today rejoicing in the fact of the empty tomb. 
Jesus Christ is risen! 
Hallelujah!
Where death and darkness threatened to overcome your promise of grace, mercy, & justice you stand victorious. 
We can't deny the power of sin or the presence of suffering in our lives.  
But because of Christ,
We know they don't have the final word. 

So we praise you.  
Hear us now as we lift our voices in thanks & praise 
for all you do & all you've done,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Can we celebrate Easter?

The other day Ruth was watching TV and saw some commercial that related to Easter…eggs hidden around the hard, decorations, special foods…the works…Martha Stewart style. And she asked, “Mom, when we get to our new house*, could we celebrate Easter?”

I paused a minute (generally one to be overly pragmatic and think things like “no, we celebrate Easter at Easter time not in July”) and then I said “Yes, of course we can.”  After all, Easter isn’t really about some designated Sunday during the year. Easter is about resurrection, life after death, new beginnings, second chances, forgiveness of sins, and the blessings of God’s grace.  And, quite frankly, after a year full of “stuff” (including death of various types, endings, hurt feelings, and dark places) we are in need of a whole lot of Easter.  

As I thought about it further, I thought it could be a really cool way to begin in a new place.  We could spend a couple weeks unpacking and hopefully getting to know some people (from the church, or otherwise) and then maybe have an Easter party.  It’d be a fun “open house” and a nice way to show Ruth, others, and remind ourselves that the celebration of Easter can happen at any time of year.  

 

Who knows, it might even become a tradition for every time we move into a new appointment…a reminder of God’s grace, a chance to mourn the endings (for better or for worse) and to look forward to the new life and new beginnings God is offering in a new place of ministry.  

I’m surprisingly excited about the idea and looking forward to the ways we might do this in a new place and a new season of our lives and ministries.

*It’s appointment season in the UMC and clergy all over are waiting to hear if and where they will be moving, or if they will be staying, this year.  While we don’t yet know where, we do know for fact we will be moving. 

Preaching Prep

I am working on my Easter sermon and am trying to access the meaning and power of the story in a new way. As a starting place I transcribed the scripture (John 20:1-2, 11-18) and then began asking questions.  Below are the questions...hopefully the answers will provide the sermon. 

• What if you've never heard the resurrection story before?
• What if you've heard it 50+ times?
• What does it matter?
• What difference does the resurrection make?
• So the tomb is empty, who cares?
• What does it matter that Jesus is alive?