Remembering the Cross
by Bishop John E. Privett
Dear Friends,
By the time you read this letter, Easter will seem like a long time ago, and we will be well into those activities that come with the return of spring. Time continues to move on from one event to another and the joy of Easter day can feel like a distant memory. I once received an Easter card that spoke to me. It read, "May the Easter Alleluia’s ring forever in your heart!" I liked it so much that I use those words at the beginning of the Easter blessing at the end of the service. They remind us that the blessing of the great celebration of Easter is something that we are meant to receive long after the Easter flowers have been tucked away. St. Augustine said it like this, "We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our Song!" It is the risen life of Jesus that nurtures our spirits and is at the heart of the life of the Church. The period of the church year between Easter and Pentecost is known as the Great Fifty Days. These are days that have been identified as a time to be particularly aware of Easter and to continue to take the significance of Easter into our lives. In church, our sanctuaries are draped in white, we sing the Gloria with gratitude, and we once again use the Alleluias until the Season of Pentecost begins. Those are all liturgical reminders that we are indeed Easter people.
With Easter and the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus comes knowledge that all of life has been changed. There are many ways of understanding the resurrection, but without rehearsing them here, let it suffice to say that however we come to understand it, the resurrection of Jesus creates a tectonic plate -like shift in our understanding of the world and of ourselves. It creates new possibilities for our lives and for a world in which God is present and creating anew even as we speak. It means that when it seems as if we have come to an ending, the seeds of new life are already present. If we have lost a job, ended a relationship, face long term illness, or watch a loved one make the journey through the valley of the shadow of death, God is present. And with God’s presence comes the promise of new life.
Our Synod will meet in Kelowna over the long weekend in May. We will have serious discussions about how our church is organized, about the blessing of same sex unions, and about the support for various ministries of the church. There will be reports and debates, and it is easy to become focussed in and even overwhelmed by the details. Some say the agenda itself can be deadening! Within, and around it all, however, will be the presence of the Risen One who continues the work of creating and recreating a people who live with the knowledge of resurrection and whose song is "Alleluia."
Please keep the delegates at Synod in your prayers this month, and may the Easter Alleluias be the song in your heart.
Faithfully, +John
