Pastor's Pen - April 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

After their Lenten absence, alleluias will once again ring out in our worship at Easter time. One of the hymns sung to mark the beginning of Lent tells us that not every time can be a time of joy and celebration. The vagaries of life are such that every life has times of sadness and sorrow as well as times of rejoicing. The Church uses that ebb and flow of experience to mark its time as well with seasons of preparation for the great festivals of the year that are marked with a quieter, more thoughtful, and heavier tone. Thus Advent and Lent mark a contrast to the seasons of Christmas and Easter which follow them.

 

With the saints who have gone before us throughout the ages and with the whole Church on earth, we will join together in giving thanks and praise to God for the gift of life and salvation so freely shared in the Savior, Jesus the Christ. The great three days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter celebration become the focal point for all of faith and witness as God's people for the sake of the world. Though life is filled with its share of ups and downs, ultimately we are Easter people and all of life is changed because of that proclamation.

 

From the new command of reconciling love and service, to the sober rejoicing of Good Friday, to the new light that shines in the darkness at Easter, God's people share in the fullness of God's grace for the sake of all people. Each of these days and its events adds to the announcement of God's love and grace. Though each is important in and of itself, it is only together that the story is seamless and there can be no doubt of God's desire for all the world. As Easter people who have heard the story of God's love, we are sent into the world to allow the light of Christ to shine through us for the sake of others. God does not now nor ever had need of our protection. What God's desires is our witness to the gospel, God's good news, to be openly and freely shared with the world.

 

History has shown that no one has ever been scared into a right relationship with God. Over and over again lives have been changed by God's love being expressed in real and concrete ways through the lives of believers. Words have their place but it is through lives lived that God's promise is most effectively delivered. At Easter we are strengthened and renewed in God's promise to live as God's people every day of the year.