Greetings!

Spring certainly sprung up on us fast! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and new life is springing up left and right! There’s no doubt about it, all of creation agrees, we just can’t help but celebrate that Christ is risen! Hallelujah!

As new blades of grass inch up in green tuffs in our yards, buds break forth into flowers, and the warm breeze blows through our open windows, it is as if all of creation is praising God! The birds sing, the bees buzz, and the plants display their vibrant colors, all as if saying, “Thank you God for this new life!”

Can we be so outspoken in our praise? In Mark’s Gospel, when the disciples found the empty tomb, they were “overcome with terror and dread,” and “they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).

Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Don’t be afraid to share the joy! In Mark’s Gospel, the disciples never quite “got it.” Today, all of creation “gets it!” From the plants and animals to the wind and all of us, let us praise God with joy for the new life Christ brings!

During this Eastertide season, we’re going to explore what it means to lean into the celebration of new life, the joy of resurrection, and the wonder of transformation. In the face of all that life throws at us, we can choose to respond like those first disciples—with fear and all the complicated ways we express our fearfulness or we can choose to respond with hope in the resurrection. Over the next few weeks, we’re
going to imagine what choosing hope in the resurrection might look like in our lives.

Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Don’t be afraid to share this Good News! And don’t be afraid to embrace this Good News in your own life! May we live as though we are transformed by the joy of Christ’s resurrection, this day and always!

Celebrating with Joy,
Pastor Laura