Can you think of a stranger ritual than the one that has been shared by Christians for more than 2000 years, during which we talk about eating the body and blood of our Lord and Savior? I’m not sure I can. The Lord’s Supper is a mystery. Last year, my church received a year-long Vital Worship Grant1 starting in June …
As we lead up to Easter 2021, it is in many ways an unprecedented holiday time. Last year’s Easter was in the earlier stages of the pandemic—of the isolation, fear, and grief. Now, as the vaccine is making its way into the world and many churches are gathering together once again, there is some measure of hope…but also a great deal of mourning and exhaustion.
“Seven Stanzas at Easter” was written by John Updike and has become a much-loved poem.
In the cross of Christ, we find the most profound tension of opposites: life and death.
All our wounds, the places we have hurt others and the places that we have been hurt, can be found there in the wounds in his hands and feet.
But maybe of all days, Good Friday is the day to reconsider just what suffering is and to think on our own suffering.
Jesus was human. He was us, for us.
Perhaps Lent is not so much for “giving up” as it is an invitation to “go deep,” to make space and time to feel the weight of our need.
Lent has a way of interrupting my life. I would even go so far as to say that most years lead up to Lent for me. I suppose that’s the point.
Let us reflect on the strength and bravery of Mary and how her actions changed redemptive history.
Easter may have passed, but we still live in the reality of what that day signifies.
Let us consider all of the things God does for us.
On this Easter morning let us contemplate what it means to be clothed in Christ.
Take a moment of silence to meditate upon Christ’s sacrifice for us.
Let us rejoice in the truths revealed to us in the Bible and not become “used” to them.
Let us take a closer look at 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and discover a new truth.
Let this Holy Week reminds us of sacrificial love of Christ that surrounds us the rest of the year too.
As Easter approaches consider God’s call in your own life.
You and I were made alive together with Christ. So when he was raised from the dead, so were we. When he conquered sin and death, and hell, and all its final implications, in a very real way, so did we.
As you celebrate Easter today, may the voice of the resurrected Jesus be an old familiar one to you too. And because of his resurrection, may his voice and his face, on the day you meet him on the other side of the grave in the garden city, be the sweetest sound in the world.