Last week, my front flower bed was ablaze with yellow and red tulips, and a few other colors thrown in for effect. Now, it wears the deep green of the perennial flower stalks, gathering energy for its burst of color.
I confess to being a gatherer of plants that bloom in early spring. My crocuses and Lenten roses were in bloom over a month ago. Their flowers are long gone, but the promise of all that is Spring—warmth, flowers, deep greens, and the return of birds—lingers as I watch the succession of blooms they heralded. Spring is a time of great joy.
In spring, it is easy to resonate with the words of Isaiah 55:12: “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Easter brings Isaiah’s poem of praise into sharp focus. All around us, we see the promise of God in nature. We bring lilies into the sanctuary, and our sharing of joys includes mentioning all the beauty of Spring around us. We celebrate the power and promise of Jesus’ resurrection and the fulfillment of God’s promise that death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54, Isaiah 25:8).
In the traditional church calendar, Easter is preceded by six weeks of Lent, a time of self-examination, repentance, and mourning. Easter is followed by six Sundays of the Easter season. As I have observed the practice of churches and Christians, it seems that many of us celebrate six Sundays of Lent and only one of Easter. Church of the Brethren minister Paul Grout often shared a sermon on Christ and repentance, during which he built a cross.
He recounts that at one point, his father confronted him with words similar to, “Paul, you have a good theology of the crucifixion. I am not sure you have spent enough time on your theology of the resurrection.”
Over the many years since I heard Paul make that statement, I have struggled with recognizing the same tendency in myself. We leave the joy of Easter worship and “come back to reality,” allowing the everyday stresses and irritations of life to crowd out the joy of the resurrection.
In John 10:10b, Jesus tells us, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In other places in the New Testament, Jesus also tells us that we will face hardship. Easter is the key to understanding how to live an abundant life in Christ, even in the middle of the struggle.
First, Easter lets us know that what is happening on any given day is not the end of the story. God sees the big picture. We see a close-up of the part of the scene immediately around us. COVID and the tensions in the denomination have diminished the numbers in our congregations and in our district. We live in a “post-Christian” society where many people no longer understand Christianity or are hostile toward it. We can become frustrated by everything we have lost. Yet, the reality of having to re-evaluate, reconfigure and regroup has the potential to lead us into new ways of ministry and evangelism that are more effective and fulfilling than anything we have been doing because of tradition and our comfort levels. It is possible that this time of struggle is God’s way of getting our attention and leading us to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit in new and life-giving ways.
Secondly, remember that we each have a calling. Jesus gave the great commission to the twelve disciples, and the rest of the group of followers was relatively small. They started by doing the one thing they knew to do: waiting in prayer. As each part of the task became clear, the Holy Spirit provided the means for the next steps: conversions to Christ in the Jewish community, calling of deacons, and sending apostles specifically to the Gentiles. When we focus on following our calling, we are too busy to get bogged down with negative thoughts.
Thirdly, celebrate all the time. God has surrounded us with good things even when there are troubles. We can choose where our focus will be. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Finally, find ways to live into Christ’s resurrection that are meaningful to you and your congregation. Christ’s death shows us the depth of God’s love for us. Christ’s resurrection shows us God’s power to breathe life into God’s love. May we truly celebrate God’s life-giving love as we live into this Easter season. May we experience the power of God that raised Christ from the dead in our lives and in the life of the church.
Pastor Jan Orndorff
Sunrise Church of the Brethren
|