I don’t know you but it feels really weird preparing for a celebration for Easter, when we know so many people are still living their Good Friday lives. The people in Gaza have no resources and the senseless killing of Palestinians continues. Hundreds of asylum seekers in our neighborhoods continue to struggle to find food, housing and other basic necessities. Syria, Haiti, Ukraine and Afghanistan are few of other countries where life is challenging. All this seems the same as the first resurrection experience- when folk were living in fear of the Roman empire. Those who had been with Jesus were afraid to accept the same because they knew their lives were in danger also. They could be next!
And yet- the sun did rise! Night did end! The disciples did come out of their hiding and did overcome their fears and proclaimed the message of the good news of Jesus Christ! And this message gives me hope as well- the sun does rise, the suffering does not end but humanity finds a way to identify little signs of life and celebrates in it, in spite of all the challenges of life!
We will gather to celebrate the same signs of hope and life and possibilities! On Easter Sunday we will gather, first at the lake, to revive the “Alleluias” with the SONrise service. We will meet by the Clock Tower Café ((3701 N Recreational Dr) around 6:20am to worship and enjoy an Easter Sunrise (rain location is the church) followed by an EASTER WORSHIP service at 11:00am at church to be reminded that the barriers that Jesus’ followers thought would be there are gone and instead, they discovered life, inviting us to also look up from our complacency, apathy, fear and depression about “the way things are” and be filled with the promise of new life and hope yet again!
And I pray that this celebration of life over death, and good over evil, will encourage us also to live as people of hope who are called to always chose love, to stand on the side of justice, and, like Jesus never hesitate to do the right thing, speak against injustices, exorcise evil, in all its forms, from communities and share love with all people.
Beloveds, may we be blessed, and be a blessing to all we meet, and I look forward to seeing you all at church.
