From The Pastor’s Desk
From the Pastor’s Desk…
It is Holy Week! What does it mean to submit to God? What does God ask of me, of you, of us? What does it mean to make God sovereign in our lives? Where will that lead? What must change? I pray that we may be faithful to His leading and that God can use our ponderings. Remember that our reflections and actions are part of a larger community journey, and our shared faith and understanding can strengthen us all.
For several years at Easter Egg Hunts, I have read a book called, “The Best Thing about Easter.” It's a sweet, fun, and colorful book. But the meaning within the pages, indeed, calls us to look at what the season is really about as we ponder, learn, and embrace the relationship and Love of Jesus. We can then take the message and share it with all we meet.
Do we know the best thing about Easter? The best thing is that Christ died and rose for us. What is most important is that He experienced that pain as atonement for our sins and the sins of the world. Jesus' death is a fact of our salvation that we must never overlook. His sacrifice is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of His love and grace, inspiring us to live our lives in His service and strive for the same level of selflessness and love in our lives.
Jesus didn't come to Jerusalem to sit on a throne. Jesus came to Jerusalem to be crucified. We must celebrate that Jesus came to Jerusalem to die for us. That is precisely what the Bible tells us to do. Paul wrote, "Christ humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross." Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."(Philippians 2:8-11) In other words, Jesus is worthy of praise precisely because He went to Jerusalem to die.
This final week of Lent is called Holy Week. It began the day after Palm Sunday, memorializing Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-11). Holy Week commemorates the events immediately preceding the crucifixion. This is the most solemn time during the church year.
Maundy Thursday honors the memory of the final Passover Jesus celebrated as His Last Supper with His disciples. Our Maundy Thursday service, which will be on April 17 at 7:00 pm, will be solemn and reflective. We will celebrate with Holy Communion, a symbolic act reminding us of Jesus' sacrifice.
Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Christ; many churches focus on the events of the crucifixion and the words of Christ from the cross. Many Maundy Thursday and some Good Friday services conclude with draping the altar cross with black cloth, extinguishing all sanctuary lights, ceasing all music, and having the congregation exit silently, symbolizing the imminent commemoration of Christ's death. The Service will be held on Friday, April 19, at 7:00 pm.
Easter, the first Easter, occurred on the first day of the week after the Passover Sabbath. This day became the Christian's 'Sabbath rest' (Heb. 4:1-11), a weekly Christian celebration of the resurrection. Early Christians consulted local rabbis to determine the date of Passover each year, which would correspond to Holy Week. Passover was determined by the lunar configurations of the latitude where the Jewish community resided. There was no Jewish authority in Jerusalem to determine a uniform date after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70 until the West adopted the revised Gregorian calendar in the sixteenth century.
Most popular associations with Easter originate from pagan traditions rather than Christian ones. However, traditionally, the church has taken these pagan elements and 'converted' them to convey Christian principles. In Christian tradition, Butterflies are indicators of spring and, therefore, new life, but Christians often use the butterfly as a symbol of the resurrection. Just as the caterpillar dies, is buried in its cocoon, and then emerges in a new body, somehow made from the old one, with new life, so Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected, and we who belong to Him will also be.
Christians use hiding-and-finding eggs as a teaching tool to children that we have been "hidden" from God's loving presence by our sins, but we are "found" by Christ, who forgives us, loves us, and treasures us. It can also signify the diligence with which we seek the kingdom of God and our joy in finding it. In Christianity, with Lambs, we remember that we are His sheep, and He is our Shepherd. Also, Christ is the Passover Lamb, the sacrifice that cleanses all from sin by His blood.
We will hold our Sunrise Service at 6:00 am next door, joining Christ Church Anglican in the back of the Church at their ‘Church in the Woods.’ Our regular schedule includes 9:00 a.m. breakfast, 9:15 a.m. Sunday School, and 10:30 a.m. Worship. These services are not just individual reflection and worship but also about coming together as a community to share in the joy and hope Easter brings. I pray you have found illumination during this season of Lent as we look toward the Resurrected Christ, in whose name we trust and pray. May the joy and hope of Easter fill your hearts and inspire you to grow in your faith.
Come Grow With Us,
Misty