Across the Pastor’s Desk

By the Rev. Don Rose, United and Mansfield Lutheran churches

Dear friends in Christ,

The season of Lent is quickly drawing to a close and Easter, the queen of festivals, is at hand. For the church Easter is not just a day but a season, seven weeks of celebrating in an intentional way the good news of God’s redemption of the world. From the festival of Easter to the festival of Pentecost the church celebrates the resurrection of the Savior as the sign of God’s victory over the power of sin and death. The light of God’s love and grace has been revealed for the sake of the whole of God’s creation.

Though it is true that every Sunday is to be a little Easter, this season takes pride of place as the central element of the faith. The color of the season is white as are all of the festivals that relate to Christ. An alternative or additional color for Easter Sunday itself is gold to emphasize the special nature of that day and its significance in the life of the faithful. Additional candles are lit to represent Christ the light that illumines our world. We are called to that light by the work of God’s Spirit even as our own sinfulness would encourage us to seek the darkness. As both saints and sinners we are caught in this tension throughout our lives, knowing that salvation comes from God and from God alone and yet desiring to assert ourselves and our own wills.

In God’s faithfulness, through God’s promises and in the new covenant established in Jesus the Christ, we can look at our brokenness and need with honesty while coming to the realization that what we cannot do on our own, God has already done through Jesus. We have been called to faith and to fellowship with the people of God. Though it is true that our relationship with God is to be personal, i.e. no one can have faith on our behalf, yet it is never intended to be private, that is kept for ourselves alone. People of faith are called to community, to be linked together with other believers for the sake of giving thanks and praise to God.

There is then perhaps no more appropriate time in the church year than Easter for God’s people to initiate as well as to continue that sense of community and belonging in the name of Jesus as a witness to the fullness of God’s grace for the sake of the whole world. The joy and celebration of Easter calls us together as the people of God and at the same time sends us all out to share the good news with the world. Come and be a part of the journey.