04-20-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 20, 2025
Good morning! It is Easter… just in case it wasn’t on your radar. In ministerial circles, this is the so-called Super Bowl of Sundays. I know there is another event that claims a date in February, and that’s fine. There’s no question that I, especially early in ministry, built Easter up as the pinnacle Sunday where I had to bring my A+ game. When I was in Florida, the congregation I served had a retired United Methodist Minister, Rev. John Auer, who was wise and funny and so supportive. Among the wonderful things he gave me was some perspective around Easter. He said, “Even if your sermon on Easter sucks, don’t stress. Easter comes around every single year. And if by chance this is your last Easter on Earth and your last Easter sermon, then you’ll have a completely different perspective the following Easter.” Then John paused and added, “Maybe we should have that perspective every single day since we are an Easter people.” It’s funny how we as clergy can think of ourselves with a bit too much grandeur and forget that we are simply the messengers of a story that has its own power rooted in God’s renewing, resurrecting, and reconciling work. We are more like tourists returning from vacation and trying to communicate all the wonderful things we experienced, knowing that our words (and pictures) will most definitely fall short. But maybe what we offer will inspire others to travel and experience it for themselves. At the end of the day, it is the destination (or in the case of Easter, God’s power of resurrection) that inspires and changes lives.

Today is Easter. We claim it, not because the calendar says it is, but because of what you have done and continue to do, O Amazing God, for you are the One who continues to roll away stones that obstruct the exit from every tomb. Thank you! Amen.