This Sunday we gather in the light of Christ’s resurrection and the lengthening light of the beauty of Spring to give thanks that God walks with us in all the dimensions of our lives. We will sing glorious Easter hymns, listen to wonderful Easter Anthems sung by our Chancel Choir, augmented with the remarkable voice of Gisella Montanez. We will have lilies and tulips beautifying the sanctuary, thanks to the Flower Committee and the generosity of many. And we will include the children in creating a pastoral prayer that includes a playful prelude to the Easter Egg hunt that will take place following worship.
The Scriptures for Easter will include Psalm 118, a psalm of joyous thanks; a reading of Colossians 3:1-4, which focuses on our being raised with Christ; and Matthew’s telling of Christ’s resurrection (28:1-10). My sermon is titled “How Are We Transformed?” which continues my Holy Week theme from Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday of bringing the meaning of these events and miracles of old into our own hearts and lives–and the life of our world. Why do we celebrate Easter? Is it simply to stand in awe of an ancient miracle—that some believe in more fervently than others? Or do we celebrate Easter to help ourselves enter into the wonder and grace of new life coming into our world through the Risen Christ? I will tell a story of transformation that will speak to this idea of the Risen Christ walking with us in our daily lives, seeking to help us enter into the new world of God’s wondrous possibility. For that is what Easter is about: the power of Rome had declared that Jesus and his new possibilities for human life was a dead end. But God raised Jesus from the tomb and a community formed that made it clear that not even the powers of death could stop the power of love, the power of possibility embodied in Jesus. My hope is that on Sunday you will sense that holy energy of possibility present in our midst, in your life, and in the life of our world. Our world needs healing, hope, and possibility. Gathering for worship on Easter might very well help release more of that energy into our world—through us. Come, find out. It will be a joyous day.
Keep Priscilla Sargent, Dave Colburn, Emily Jahn, and others in your prayers in this gracious season. By the way, be sure to notice that bright Jupiter is high in the sky on clear evenings, and ruddy Mars is rising ever higher in the southeast each evening. Peace.