Tag: Easter

Easter 2023 Reflection

He has risen, now what? The celebration of Easter is perpetual. God’s people cannot just show up on Christmas and Easter because the faith of Christians is a challenge to be active, communal, and loving. It requires believers to love as we are loved by Jesus.

God is good and I am down with that sentiment. But are his people? Not always but that is what forgiveness and love are about. That is the power of resurrection. God loves his people and we have to be reminded that love overcomes a lot of stuff.

Remember the love of the returning Christ is also a call to resist the evils of fear, hate, and other things that do great harm to our friends and neighbors. Be yourselves but be the best you can with a little help from fellow misfits like Jesus.

Celebrating Good Friday and Passover

Today is Good Friday and the beginning of Passover. To all my friends who are celebrating both, I wish you the grace and peace of God, and may this be a time to remember our shared connections. No matter how you are celebrating be sure to think of those in need and who are suffering especially in places of war, famine and distress.

For the Jew, Passover is a sign of salvation, of “God with us” at a particular historical moment in the past. For the Christian, Easter is a sign of “God with us” in the past, but with us now also and at a time to come, as well.

Author: Joan D. Chittister

The Thing About Recent Chaos

This is going to be one of those posts that is more of a reflection and recollection of very recent history.

A lot has happened in the first few months of 2020. Coronavirus has been with us for awhile. Last Sunday was Easter and tornadoes hit my city of Chattanooga, Tennessee with a natural fury. Weeks earlier it hit the cities of Nashville and Cookeville, Tennessee. It seems that would be plenty of stuff for a year let alone just four months or so.

There has been a lot of death and destruction this year. What is happening before our eyes is troubling and sad. In the midst of keeping people safe people are getting restless. People who lost everything are trying to figure out what to do next. For everyone this has been a time of taking in a lot of chaos and not having a lot of control over the circumstances.

The only thing about defeating chaos is to come together in community. Cooperating and collaborating. Being less individualistic and being more of a team player. Whether it be sheltering at home or cleaning up the remains from a storm its about being defiant in your love for those who share this life and space with you.

Now is a time to realize that chaos is always with us but we have a choice to react to it and meet it head on. There is not a easy solution and it will take time to make it through. No matter what you have to answer the call and see what your response to it will be.

A Different Easter, Celebrating Online In Community

This Easter morning was a different one. Instead of gathering at church for worship it was watching via YouTube. Many churches have celebrated in a similar way. For me it was good to have a shared experience with other believers who are doing the same. For many this is a time of life defeating death. Thanks to technology this is possible and it seems to have more meaning in this time of pandemic. My priest and the staff at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, TN have done great work in this new normal we are going through.

Holy Saturday Reflections

Tomorrow Christians celebrate an empty tomb and their houses of worship should be empty too. Jesus said to love thy neighbor and staying home is one of those ways you can do that.

May humanity, kindness, love, peace, inclusion, patience, peace, kindness, and acceptance be resurrected on Easter.

However you may or may-not celebrate Easter may it be a time when your family can come together and be whole and renewed. May you find your spirit reborn and that life has new meaning.