Let’s celebrate what God has already done

Dear friends,

Our senior warden John Whitley is an optimist who always sees the glass half-full.  I have to confess that I tend to take a dimmer view of things.  In a wardens’ meeting the other day, John pointed out that in a recent sermon I called our world “broken.”  He went on to explain that when he looks around, he doesn’t experience the world as broken.  He sees all kinds of beauty and goodness, glimpses of God in nature and in other people.

I’ve been pondering John’s words as we head into Holy Week and Easter.  Through Jesus’ sacrifice of himself and God’s raising him to life, the pain and brokenness that I see in the world have already been swept up into God’s loving plan.  In Romans, Paul tells us that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us and that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.  We may not be able to see the whole picture right now, but God can.

We live in the post-Easter world.  Jesus has died and has risen.  We proclaim that Sunday by Sunday, but I’m not sure how often we actually pause to let those truths sink in.  During these holiest days of the Church year, we remember and celebrate what God has already done.  Jesus’ death and resurrection bring us freedom and life, in this world and in the world to come.  Good Friday and Easter are past events that change and shape every present and every future, including yours and mine.

In these coming days, as we walk together through the crushing agony of Good Friday and into the radiant joy of Easter, may your eyes (and mine!) be opened anew to the staggering beauty and goodness in Jesus’ cross and resurrection. Let us give thanks together for what God has already done; and let us live our lives in the coming days in ways that reflect our gratitude for all that we have been given.

I look forward to celebrating these holy days with you.

Faithfully,

Anne

PS.  As is customary here at St. Andrew’s, an Easter offering envelope is enclosed for your use. Please bring it with you on Easter Day along with your Mite Box offering for Episcopal Relief & Development.