Hi everyone,
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
What a joyous day it is to remember the glorious Resurrection of our Lord! It was great to see so many in church today, and my heart was warmed by the fellowship and community I witnessed after. It is something that I’ve always enjoyed as I grew up going to church, and it’s something that I miss when I see the decline in numbers that we’ve been getting each Sunday. Not just us, mind you, but all churches in general (from what I hear, at least).
But I’m not discouraged (not really, at least), because while I believe there is a place for a worshipping community like ours (or else I wouldn’t be working here still), I also believe that there is value in community and relationship, wherever it may be found.
So that could mean in sports that happen on Sundays. It could be in the family time that can only be had over the weekend. It could even be sleeping in, because all that community and relationship happened the day before and the body needs rest, you know.
The point is, God, who is all love, can be found in places where we might not expect. God can also be found (probably more easily) in the places that we do expect as well. But I think all in all, God is found in love, in community, and in peace.
Not just a peace where there is no fighting, but also in the peace found in contentment, hope, and joy. You know, just like the joy that we lift up on the Easter Sunday, and all Sundays (and days, for that matter). God is with us! And that is great news!
Here are the readings for next week:
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 150 (alternate)
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
And a video of me reading these readings:
I often try to put myself in the shoes of the disciples, and try to see what it must have been like for them around the Resurrection. Of course, we know that it was a difficult time, but the actual turmoil of emotions is something that maybe we could relate to.
A story like this one, the one we get for the 2nd Sunday of Easter, that we get every 2nd Sunday of Easter, in fact, can help. It’s a familiar story of doubt, fear, and general unrest. Of course, I’ve never gone through exactly what the disciples have, in that I never had a mentor arrested, tried, and executed, but it’s the emotions of uncertainty, distress, and just wanting to hide away from it all is something that I actually can relate to.
And I can relate to what happens next as well. Just as the disciples were trying to save themselves behind locked doors, keeping others out while trapping themselves in, so have I thought that I could “save myself” through sheer willpower and discipline. But in that, Jesus appears and grants us peace.
Maybe you’ve gone through this as well. Maybe you have felt that turmoil the disciples did. Maybe you felt the need to hide like I do. Maybe you also feel the fear that seems to be shared with so many in our society today.
The good news is that our Resurrected Lord Jesus enters our lives in the midst of that fear and turmoil and grants us peace. Jesus passes through the locked doors of our hearts and breathes upon us the Spirit of community and healing. Jesus shows up and is found in places that we perhaps did not expect and welcomes us back into relationship and community.
Wherever you might find yourself this Easter, may the love of God through our Lord Jesus bless us with the Spirit that is breathed upon us, filling us with love, hope, and peace.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!