Being Easter People

BY: REV. DR. CHRIS J. HAYES, Senior Pastor

The joy and hope that Easter brings is not just something that we celebrate one day per year, but rather, when we take Easter seriously as followers of Jesus Christ, Easter becomes a way of living and seeing the world. Easter is not simply the story of God loving the world so much that God overcame even death in the person of Jesus Christ. Easter is the truth that God will always overcome anything and everything in order to love us and to build relationship with us.

This past year has had so many hurdles for so many people. The loss of routine, financial insecurity, loneliness, divisiveness, and loss of life have become all too commonplace in our collective experience. The story and truth of Easter does not start with the triumphant resurrection over death, the Easter message begins with the pain and difficulty that we as humans experience. Easter is about the disruption of our suffering, oppression, and self-sabotage because, “God so loved the world.”

While there have been struggles and difficulties that we continue to pray about and seek to redeem with the power of God’s loving Spirit, there have also been many signs of Easter stories and resurrections all around us. I am so thankful for the ministries of our congregation that have continued and even expanded during this past year. God has been able to overcome so much, and with our help, our world will be able to see that truly, “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

During this year, may we all be more than people that simply celebrate Easter. May we all find meaningful ways to live the Easter truth and proclaim the reality that God is overcoming all circumstances in order to love and save us and our world. How might you individually, and we collectively, live the Easter truth in a way that helps this world see new life and hope, even with the ongoing struggles of the human experience? This is what it means to be Easter people. May it be so!

Thankful to be in ministry with you, Pastor Chris