It was hard to watch the video of Notre Dame Cathedral burning. There are still some things in our world that are so iconic, so sacred, that we are moved when they are threatened. And it doesn’t matter if, like me, you’ve never seen Notre Dame. What matters is that sense of being connected to something beautiful. What matters is the willingness to allow your heart to be broken open to receive, to recognize that we are a part of something beyond ourselves…we are connected to something.
Every day there are stories of tragic events that invite this response. It’s why the news is often so hard to watch. When we listen to the stories of others, we can be moved to a relationship we had not intended and perhaps were not emotionally ready to take on. And unlike a reality show where we can either switch the channel or fast-forward to where everything works out, when we open our hearts in real life, whatever we allow in grows roots.
One of the things that has taken up root in my heart is the tragedy of the last week of Jesus’ life. What I wrote about last week here moves me so that I cannot escape it. This week, what we often call Holy Week, is always for me a different week. It’s a time where I often pause in the middle of what is my routine and consider life differently. And what I’m often reminded of are the things that are iconic, sacred in my life. What is sacred in our lives often boils down not so much to things, but to relationships. As I said, even when it is a sacred place like Notre Dame Cathedral, what matters is the connection, the relationship it encourages.
This is why when push comes to shove, I describe my faith as a relationship with what is eternal, and Easter, the resurrection, as the defining moment that is at the center of that relationship. Easter is a day to open our hearts to the abundant grace of God in our lives that Easter day announces is eternal. By eternal I mean: We are invited to trust that whatever else our relationship with God is, it so important that it has taken up root in our hearts, we can trust wherever it is leading us in the present and it will be awaiting us in whatever the future holds.
The writers of the gospels in their accounts of the resurrection of Jesus are inviting us to open our hearts not only to this iconic… sacred…defining moment but also to the relationship it encourages.
Have a Blessed Easter.
Pastor Dan
This Easter at EPUMC our Sunrise Service will be at 6:30 outside the church. And our Easter Breakfast is being served from 8-10 in the fellowship hall. And yes, it is okay to eat breakfast during the 8:30 a.m. service.
Every day there are stories of tragic events that invite this response. It’s why the news is often so hard to watch. When we listen to the stories of others, we can be moved to a relationship we had not intended and perhaps were not emotionally ready to take on. And unlike a reality show where we can either switch the channel or fast-forward to where everything works out, when we open our hearts in real life, whatever we allow in grows roots.
One of the things that has taken up root in my heart is the tragedy of the last week of Jesus’ life. What I wrote about last week here moves me so that I cannot escape it. This week, what we often call Holy Week, is always for me a different week. It’s a time where I often pause in the middle of what is my routine and consider life differently. And what I’m often reminded of are the things that are iconic, sacred in my life. What is sacred in our lives often boils down not so much to things, but to relationships. As I said, even when it is a sacred place like Notre Dame Cathedral, what matters is the connection, the relationship it encourages.
This is why when push comes to shove, I describe my faith as a relationship with what is eternal, and Easter, the resurrection, as the defining moment that is at the center of that relationship. Easter is a day to open our hearts to the abundant grace of God in our lives that Easter day announces is eternal. By eternal I mean: We are invited to trust that whatever else our relationship with God is, it so important that it has taken up root in our hearts, we can trust wherever it is leading us in the present and it will be awaiting us in whatever the future holds.
The writers of the gospels in their accounts of the resurrection of Jesus are inviting us to open our hearts not only to this iconic… sacred…defining moment but also to the relationship it encourages.
Have a Blessed Easter.
Pastor Dan
This Easter at EPUMC our Sunrise Service will be at 6:30 outside the church. And our Easter Breakfast is being served from 8-10 in the fellowship hall. And yes, it is okay to eat breakfast during the 8:30 a.m. service.
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