I wonder if you have a favorite memory of Easter. Perhaps it was a time when you connected deeply with loved ones. Maybe it was a time when worship was alive with the joy of resurrection. Could it be an Easter as you were emerging from a really tough time in your life…maybe a time when something wrong was made right? It might have been just a quiet celebration in which you sensed that, as the fourteenth century Christian mystic Julian of Norwich wrote, “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”
One of my memories involves a mission trip I took with other friends from St. Mark’s to Mission Guatemala. On our way to the Mission House in Panajachel, Tom Heaton and our other gracious hosts made arrangements for us to visit the city of Antigua. It was almost Holy Week. Hundreds of thousands of visitors visit Antigua each year during the Holy season. There they witness the many parades and see the colorful hand-made decorations that are used for the processions. At one stop, we went into a church that was hosting a vigil. It was completely packed, and I did not initially realize that the service was in process. I felt like, and indeed I was, a tourist who was intruding on someone’s worship. I think the worshippers there were accustomed to this, but I still felt quite conspicuous.
As we move into this Easter season, I ask myself what kind of Easter is it for which I long. This has been a tremendously difficult year for so many reasons, most of which I don’t need to rehearse for you. You know them very well. But this year, I hope to be a participant in Easter, and not merely a tourist. I long for the Easter graces to bring their help to us.
We look forward to your joining us for our online Easter Celebration on Sunday morning. The sermon is titled, “The Easter For Which We Long”, arising from Mark 16: 1-8, read by Ann Munzenmaier. We will also have a Confirmation in the service as two of our youth become full members of St. Mark’s. Our Sanctuary Singers and Nara will be presenting selections from the Handel’s Messiah, and we will conclude with the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. We will also have a moment for children, hymns and prayers. We hope you join us online.
If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with you. Visit www.smumc.church and click on the live stream banner at 10:30am this Sunday.