Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Easter

Sunday was Easter, which is normally a really hectic day for those of us in church work. Not so much a day to celebrate, but one to endure. And I must admit that was my attitude this year. There must be a way to avoid this, but I confess that I haven't found it yet. Looking back now on Easter, I remember that Easter is the whole reason we meet as a church. The day of our worship was set by the resurrection. If Jesus had been raised on Tuesday, we would be going to church on Tuesday. That really wouldn't be that radical of a change, so don't panic. But think about that: Easter is why we exist. If there had been no resurrection, Jesus and his disciples would just be an obscure footnote in a dusty history text. Easter means hope. Easter means new life. Easter means that nothing--NOTHING--is more powerful than God's love for me. Easter also means rest. I can cut out my striving to be "good enough" or whatever to be accepted. Easter means that at the root of everything, it's going to turn out OK. I may not see how or when, but Easter tells me that the greatest overriding force in the universe is God's love and that it cannot be stopped. How does this work with all the suffering in the world? I don't know (I write this as we learned yesterday of ANOTHER devastating earthquake in the Pacific Rim). Maybe God's love is worked out in eternity. Maybe it triumphs eventually, or at the end of the age. Maybe God's love works as we work. I don't understand all that. But on Easter, a person who loved me enough to suffer for me demonstrated that he is still here to love me today, and forever. And for now, I can rest in that.