United Lutheran

A Message From Pastor Beth

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 

               By the time you get this newsletter, Easter will be over, the leftovers eaten, the lily might be half dead, the chocolate either all eaten or a significant amount has probably been consumed. In other words, the celebration is over, it’s time to move on, into our spring and summer activities and everything that summer brings.

But as we move on, do we bring Easter with us? Or do we simply go on with business as usual to the next things that are on the agenda, discard what we celebrated on Easter with the left over candy and the Easter baskets that are now relegated to the sale aisle as new and more enticing merchandise takes its place. Or do we let the message change us? Do we go out with a renewed sense of hope, a new sense of purpose, a renewed sense of the life-giving work that God does in our midst even when the celebration is over? 

Maybe this year, we need to celebrate Easter just a little every day. In the early church and even now, every Sunday as seen as a ‘little Easter,’ a mini weekly celebration of the resurrection and the new life it brings not just after death, but here and now when we so desperately need God. Maybe this year, we can walk into the future, into the messiness of our existence, confident that God is still at work, even when we might not see it, knowing that no human can thwart the will of God, no matter how hard they try.

So, in these next seven weeks as we continue on in what the church calls the Easter cycle and even beyond, may we continue to celebrate and be in awe of the wonderful and amazing things that God has done. May we look for God’s new life each day, and may we continue to be surprised by the power and the goodness of God.