This Sunday is Easter! Tomorrow is Good Friday. It is quite the journey from one to the next.
Good Friday begins to bring Lent to a close and reminds us of the hardship Jesus endured. The hardship that involved staying in his integrity, following God’s will into death, and then being transformed (resurrected) by the love of God for all creation. Come Sunday morning when we realize once again that the tomb is empty, that God’s love prevails in this world, and that the kingdom of God is available to us all, well we will be ready to celebrate – with communion and flowers and music and more.
On Sunday we will hear two different scripture passages – the story of Mary going to the tomb, seeing it empty and then recognizing the voice of Jesus; and the story of Peter going to the house of the Roman centurion, Cornelius (a Gentile), and baptizing all who were there. We will also focus on the last chapter of Aaron Miller’s book (Weird in the World) – a chapter that helps us understand that the kingdom of God can come alive in us when we choose another way ... the World God Wants: the Way of Jesus.
Everything points to transformation and expansion. We learn how Mary’s grief transformed to joy, and how Peter baptizing Cornelius and his friends expanded God’s reach through Christ more universally.
May waking up to an empty tomb transform and expand us into Christians with a mission: to know God’s love ourselves and to infiltrate the world with it, so all can live from the foundation of an everlasting love that WILL NOT LET US GO.