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In our Diocese of Nebraska, our Easter celebrations can look very different. At one church it’s a roll of timpanis and the sound of brass, at another, it’s ten friends gathered around a new fire and an altar set with flowers cut from their own gardens. But in every case, the news of Christ's death and resurrection is far more dramatic, awesome, and potentially life-altering than the extreme weather events of a midwestern spring. The fact of God’s defeat of the power of sin and death by the mighty acts of the first Good Friday and Easter Sunday almost defies description. Yet this is the amazing claim of the women at the tomb on Easter morning, and the heart of the faith of the first disciples.
My prayer this Easter is that we all might receive this news as the urgent, dramatic, and important truth that it is. Our familiarity with the story of Easter can obscure some of its power, but in fact, it’s of “first importance”. For if we know that even death is conquered by Jesus, then truly nothing can separate us from God’s love, and our potential to live lives of extraordinary depth, meaning, and joy is guaranteed.
May you hear the news of Christ’s resurrection with open ears and an open heart this Eastertide. Something big is happening, and it could change your life in every way. Attend!
In Love and Faith –
+ Bishop Barker
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