Good morning. I’m sitting here on Easter Sunday enjoying the peace and the solitude drinking a cup of coffee and relaxing with the cats. Happy Easter! Easter has always been one of my favorite Christian holidays.
And before you judge me for not being in church this AM, I want you to know I went to church last evening. So there. Kinda’ nice to go and then have the whole day to relax, do projects and blog!
The service was fresh, it was young, and it was full of life and celebration. The church is rowdy on a normal day, but last night was extra rowdy, even for someone who likes a little hot salsa on his worship. The music was fantastic, and the preaching was solid. They hit all the good stuff.
The church was packed, which I thought was interesting for a Saturday at 5:00 service. I really enjoyed the choir. You really have not lived if you have not experienced a gospel choir doing their thing. It was uplifting and inspirational. The choir was full of young people, the average age looked to be about 25 and it was exciting to see a younger generation express themselves in passionate worship.
And as I thought about Easter, a time of new beginnings, new life, new things and new directions, I couldn’t help but think about Jesus, an itinerant possibly bi-vocational preacher, who ministered to the poor and needy, the fringes of society. Further, he didn’t seek power or position, but taught true greatness comes in serving and ministering to the “least of these”.
We need a new tone in America, one that is not angry and shrill, blaming others and spoiling for a fight. We need to interact the way Jesus taught us. Loving our neighbors, helping the downtrodden and doing our best to make this world a better place.
We need new life in our nation- a new direction and a new focus. Fortunately, we have a model to follow, if we choose the path he showed us. I hope we will. It’s time for a new day of civility, respect for others and help for the needy and disenfranchised. Okay, that’s enough for now, I feel myself starting to monologue.
Happy Easter!
Ernie