good easter...what now?

He is risen!  (He is risen, indeed)

Easter is over, the plastic eggs are brought back up to the attic, the kids are crashing after their sugar highs, the Easter Sunday hats are put back in the closets.  What's the next holiday...Mothers' Day?

Ever get that uneasy feeling that something isn't quite finished?  We've been celebrating Christ's resurrection for YEARS, yet nothing seems to have changed.  We just move on after Easter, as if it never happened.  The world is still in utter chaos.  We are still needlessly killing one another.  Millions of people still go without clean drinking water.  

The story of Christ's resurrection MUST go beyond the event we are all familiar with.  Conquering death and sin is very central to the Christian message, yet it is something that should compel us to move forward. Authors and theologians have spent years and years of research into the specifics of the death and resurrection, into whether it actually happened or not.  We could join these conversations, try to defend our faith based on physical facts and evidence.  OR we can acknowledge the further calling to carry Christ's message of hope forth into a world in need.

In the Gospel of John, we find one of the few reported appearances of Christ AFTER resurrection.  One of these appearances is to Peter, the man who had recently denied any connection to Jesus.  Jesus gives a simple question, "Do you love me?" The following imperative is to "feed my sheep." Christ is pretty insistent in this interaction, catching Peter off guard.  Perhaps Peter figured all was well now that Christ had risen.  However, the calling has just begun.  "Follow me," Jesus says.

Friends, we must live into the resurrection story.  We must feed one another.

Many churches celebrate Pentecost, the beginning of the church, on May 23rd this year.  This is in a little over 40 days.  We have 43 days left on our charity:water fundraiser.  Help us live into the resurrection story this year by helping donate money to build a WELL for a community in need of Christ's message of hope.  Help the church live into its calling.

He is risen indeed.