April 2005

______________________________________________________________ from the Pastor

On my bookshelf, there is an 8 ½ x11 cardboard “paint-by-number” Jesus picture that my folks found when they went through my step-grandmother’s belongings.  As one of four “portraits” of Jesus, it is a bit too sentimental and stereotypical for my taste.  Nevertheless, I keep it because it reminds me that our images of Christ are far too personal to be filled out in a methodical, exacting kind of way.  In my mind’s eye, I see my step-grandmother, with a small brush in her hand, trying to match her oil colors to specific numbers on a manufactured diagram, her paints spread before her on a worn kitchen table.  She, like many of us, waits for Jesus to take shape and breathe through the page.  Yet, often our experiences of Jesus come not by a pre-determined process, but by looking more closely and more deeply at what is already present.  It is we who take shape and breathe more freely in the presence of Christ.

In the days following Jesus’ Resurrection, the disciples sought to understand what the Risen Christ signified for them individually and collectively.  Appearances of the Risen Christ mark this season in the Gospel readings and these moments of encounter will begin to draw a life of faith for the disciples.  An empty tomb, a dusty road, and a beach at sunrise are filled to fullness with the color of unexpected surprises and the affirmation of God’s presence in all circumstances.  Faith begins to see what the eyes can only faintly glimpse in blurry outline. 

It will take a while for the Resurrection to sink in to this motley group of followers; it will take a while for the Risen Christ to attain form and substance in their hearts and minds.  So we shouldn’t be dismayed if it takes us a while too.

By the time you receive this mailing, we will have entered into the Easter Season on the Christian calendar.  Beginning with Easter Sunday, each Sunday of the Easter season is part of a seven week period of celebration that will lead us to Pentecost.  Hence, we mark time by saying these are Sundays of Easter and not Sundays after Easter.   It seems a small difference, a matter of preposition; yet, Easter is not simply a day, or even a season, but a way of experiencing life.  It is a way of inviting God to color the moments of our lives with the Creator’s brushstroke, with no fixed specifications, but with a beautiful pattern nonetheless.  As we walk along this way together, may you feel yourself drawn closer to God-- resurrected, renewed, and wide-eyed with wonder.

In Christ,

Rev. Dee