Easter Message from your Incumbent 2011

Here we are once again in Lent, and working our way through to Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. The resurrection of Christ that we celebrate at Easter is something that many have tried their best to explain and even explain away. The thing about it is, we don’t have to really worry about doing any of that? We don’t have to explain the resurrection – it explains us. It is the defining event that makes us Christian. It is because it happened that the church exists today.

Today being so far removed from the time of the event perhaps we take for granted all that has been given us because of it. Easter is a celebration that we have every year, and perhaps we note it more for when it occurs then what it marks for us. You often hear people saying “oh isn’t Easter late this year”. In the early days of our Church, just as today, there were many different beliefs. The society was very agricultural, and many religions used the seasons to celebrate special feasts. It was important, in teaching about Jesus, to have people connect the Gospel message to their daily lives. Since Jesus' resurrection was the beginning of a whole new life and occurred so near the spring feasts, it was determined that Easter would always be calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (the first day of spring).

Today it is still important that we connect our lives with our faith, perhaps even more so because we don’t have the physical presence of Jesus in our world. It is up to us to ensure that the love of Christ is spread throughout our world. Today we often find that it is far easier to speak of the terrible then the good things others do, to criticize instead of compliment. Just this past week I read an article about how cyber bullying is rampant nowadays. A 13yr old girl had paid to have a video and song that she had done put on Youtube. Apparently her voice was not the best, and the song was all about her celebrating the upcoming weekend. The number of posts about this video was huge, and every one of them was full of how awful not only her voice was but the subject of the song as well. They weren’t just critiques of the video though, they went much further including some very violent suggestions of what she should do. The writer mentioned that if they didn’t like it they should just not have watched, however thousands have and have taken the time to put her down. Not something you would want to happen ever, but especially not as a young teen.

As Easter approaches and we come together to celebrate the love that God showed for us, let us make it a priority in our lives to spread love around. Let us make the effort to compliment someone, to thank another or even just not complain if something isn’t done the way we think it should be. All it takes is a little love, and it is amazing how fast that love will grow. It is wonderful how love once you start sharing it grows and envelops everything. Love is the reason God gave us his Son and offered him for our sins. Love is so important in our lives right from birth. Studies have shown that while children may not appreciate expresses of love it is something that they not only need but want. It helps them to be well rounded both mentally and psychologically. Just take a moment and remember how you felt the last time sometime paid you a compliment or said something nice about you. That is the feeling that we need to spread in our world today especially.

As we approach Holy Week, a time when we mark the greatest gift we have ever been given, let us take the time to gift hope and love for others. It can be done in so many ways, a donation to help others in time of need, a note of thanks or appreciation to someone, a smile to a stranger you pass on the street, a small prayer of thanksgiving to God for someone special in your life. Easter is a celebration of new life in faith. Let us all take the time to stop and appreciate that life today and every day.

Have a blessed Easter

The Rev Jeanette Lewis
Incumbent, Parish of Bobcaygeon, Dunsford & Burnt River