Dear Caldwell,
I am in an Easter state of mind.
That’s what I told the staff at our meeting today, as we caught our breath and “checked in” with each other. I thank you for that – you who helped glorify and serve God in so many ways through Lent and Holy Week, you who were among the 294 in our pews on Easter Sunday, you help every day and every week to advance the kingdom of God in your own individual ways and through our minstries, you who love God by loving others.
I am in an Easter state of mind and it feels right. He is Risen.
Today, we go about being the body of Christ in multiple ways. Which one might you be a part of?
– At 6:30 p.m., you can come to Yoga to experience the divine and care for yourself and your classmates.
– At 7 p.m., you can gather for fellowship and rich discussion at Theology on Tap at LeRoy Fox Restaurant in Cotswold.
– Also at 6:30 p.m., the Missions and Justice Committee invites all interested to attend its regular meeting in the Shelby Room. We begin an intentional review of all of our Missions and Justice outreach efforts. We will look back at the guiding principles we put in place for what we then called “Mission Beyond Our Doors” and, with that context, we will also look at a detailed inventory of our current outreach.
As you go about your day, I encourage you to remember that you are an Easter person, that tomb is empty and, as Evie said Sunday, God is on the loose.
“If Easter, then what?” That was the question I posed Sunday. A few answers I shared . . . .
If Easter, then God is not through with any of us, or this church, or our city or our nation or world.
If resurrection, then even an old church that was on its last legs can come back to life as a refuge for the wounded and the weary, as a family of seekers and the certain, as a launching point for more ministries than a group of 300 people should take on, if they were in their right mind.
If Easter, then white and black and Latino … then rich and poor and middle class … then gay and straight and questioning … then even liberal and conservative can find a way to worship, bear witness and live together, in full accord and of one mind.
If resurrection, then God is not through with our identity-seeking denomination.
But there is more.
If Easter, then our city will never forget those on the margins and will value them just the same as those in the towers on Tryon Street or in the mansions of Eastover.
If resurrection, then we really can provide decent healthcare for all those who need it.
If Easter, then we can feed those who hunger and house those who lack a clean, safe, affordable place to live.
If resurrection, then we are smart enough – and motivated enough – to stop the re-segregation of our schools and the devaluation of our educators.
If Easter, then God will use us to stop those who use religion as a cowardly cover for bigotry, no matter how many legislative amendments they attempt to justify their hate.
If resurrection, then we can find peace with religion extremists of all kinds – whether Christian or Islamic.
If Easter, then … then … well, where do you come in? What was impossible for you that is now possible?
If Easter, well, then … then the empty tomb simply can’t hold all of the possibilities that can now can become realities … in with and through Christ, our risen Lord.
Thanks be to our God of Easter truth.
In Christ, John