Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Over the last six weeks, we have journeyed the Way of Discernment. We have taken seriously that God is alive and well and yearning to do a new thing in and around us. Discernment is the spiritual practice that attunes us to God’s presence and movement. Discernment teaches us how to put up our spiritual antennas and pick up the signals of Spirit and Grace that are truly all around us. Together, we have tussled with keeping alert, trusting, and choosing that which is nutritious and life-giving. We have ventured into the territory of
forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as the new and totally unexpected. And we have sat in darkness (literally!) as we considered our bottom-line call to obedience.
As was illustrated throughout our Sundays of Uniting Prayer (SOUP) readings, discernment leads us down many different paths. Indeed, God does not give each of us the same leadings. Even as we ponder similar questions, God can and does lead us to different conclusions. This can be confusing and disconcerting. Some of us are lead on well-lit paths while others journey through darkness, barely able to see their way through. BUT, we can be confident that the Way of Discernment will always, always lead us to resurrection. It will always lead us to the surprise of the empty tomb. The Way of Discernment is always a path of Life. In this, we can surely confidently shout our alleluias!
With the dawn of Easter morn, we step into a new season – Eastertide. This new season carries us through the 50 days from Resurrection to Pentecost. During this new season, our theme will be “Living the Resurrection: Encountering the Risen Christ in Everyday Life.” This theme, with slight modifications, is borrowed from a book by Eugene H. Peterson of the same title. (Many will know Eugene Peterson as the person who wrote The Message, a popular version of the Bible.) This theme acknowledges that Resurrection can be difficult to understand and integrate. What does it mean, after all? What does resurrection mean in our lives? And more importantly, how do we live it…not just on Easter…but every day? Through the next six weeks, these are the very questions we will explore and engage. You are warmly welcomed to be a part of the season and the adventure!
May you and your family be blessed this day with the excitement of new possibility, the joy of new hope, and the conviction that the empty tomb invites us anew into a world filled with the presence of Resurrection!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Peace & Grace, Emily