Prayer: May we live in the good of this day, Lord, even when we are apart from those with whom we normally celebrate this festal day. Help us remember as we gather virtually in some way with our church family that today with you, we are the Body of Christ, risen and conquering king. Amen.
Reading: John 20: 1-18 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Easter 2015. My wife got up early for her sunrise service. I got the kids ready for church. We were going to worship with my pastor father and mother. We took our usual Easter pictures in front of the house, loaded the car, and off we went. About half way there, my son threw up. All over his Easter duds. He was just two-years-old at the time and so I cleaned him up, calmed him down and we turned around. Because it was close to the time between my wife’s services, I called her to tell her what had happened. I drove to her one congregation and dropped off our daughter so she could go to church on Easter Sunday. The boy and I went home. Sitting in our living room, holding Aaron and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I was disappointed. Never before had I missed Easter services. Even when I had to work on a Sunday, I managed to find a way to be in church. But not that year. I was home with a sick kiddo. And so five years later, I will be worshipping at home again for Easter. The coronavirus has made us all shelter-in-place and churches are shut down. But, we will celebrate the resurrection through the computer, and with our families, and in new ways we will shout, “He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!” No matter where we are, we are the church together. Pastors have been getting creative with new ways to proclaim our faith and new ways to connect with the faithful. In many ways, I see this as an exciting time for the church as we live into something new. Sounds like of like resurrection, huh? Living into something new, bringing life out of death. Let’s all be joyful this day as we celebrate the victory over death and proclaim new life. From your porch, your Zoom worship, a livestream, or a Facebook Live, we can sing with all believers, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Alleluia! --Chad Hershberger P.S. Back in 2015, I remembered that Grace Lutheran Church in State College, an hour away from me, had Sunday night worship. So, my daughter and I drove there for that service and I was able to get to church on that Easter Sunday. They celebrated a more contemporary service at that time which wasn’t what I was used to doing, but I was thankful I got to be in church that day!
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