From the Desk of the Senior Pastor

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! – 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (NRSVue)

Easter is sometimes difficult to talk about. What does Jesus’ death and resurrection really have to do with us? In the passage above, St. Paul’s words may be helpful. As we know from Paul’s own letters and from the book of Acts, Paul was a changed man because of his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. The crucified and risen Lord appeared to him and called him to proclaim the Gospel message of Christ crucified and risen for the sake of the world. Paul understood that if Jesus died for all people and was raised to bring new life to all people, we all share in the death and resurrection of the one who died and was raised for our sake. This means that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not just an historical event. It is an event in our own lives. It is God reaching out to the world in love to reconcile with it and restore it.

So, Easter is the transformation of our worldview. We are not just talking about the forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ where we continue on in our daily lives the same as before. We are talking about a new life. We are talking about being transformed into a new creation with a new way of looking at our own life, the people around us, and the rest of the world. If God so loved the world… If Christ truly died for all… If Christ conquered death for all… If all that is true, then we can no longer look at ourselves, at one another, or at the world in the same way. We can no longer think in the same way.

Just as the love of Christ urged Paul and his companions on in their lives and ministry, it should also urge us on. We are to live for the one who died and was raised for the sake of all. That means looking at those we meet, no matter who they may be or where they may be from or what differences we may perceive in them, as human beings for whom Jesus died and was raised because of God’s love for the whole world.

Note that for Paul, life in Christ does not start with a change in behavior butwith a change of mind. Easter is the season when we are called to a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing, a new way of living that is empowered by the Spirit of resurrection and new life. You and I are a part of the body of the living Christ. We are forgiven for our sins, of course. But we are also part of the new creation that the risen Christ is bringing forth, called to live a new life with a new point of view. I pray that the love of Christ urges us on in our lives and that Christ’s love is the driving force of our ministry at Advent.
Peace,