​During my very first week in Greek class with Rev. Dr. Robert Kelley at Pittsburgh Seminary, we were required to memorize the first verses of John 1{ in Greek!}: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then by the 2nd week the entire Chapter One in Greek! This, for St. John, and for you and me, is set in the context of God’s creation, incarnation, and re-creation.

Easter morning demonstrates God continuing to give the gift of life to His people. Easter is the re-creation of God’s celebration of humanity. It is God’s entrusting of God’s self to human beings—to you and to me— through God’s incarnation. Divinity was clothed in humanity so that humanity might be clothed in divinity.  Easter means that you and I are holy and intended to be holy, not as an achievement on our own, but as a gift
from God. This is the gift of Christmas that culminates in Easter—the gift that empowers us to become children of God.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a sacrament? Have you ever looked at someone across the street and said, “Hey, look! There is the sacramental image of God”? What is it that prevents us, do you think, from seeing that image in ourselves and each other? In Jewish tradition, rabbis recount that each person has a procession of angels walking ahead of him or her and crying out, “Make way for the image of God.” Can we even begin to imagine how very different our lives and our world might be if we lived with this as the reality and truth that guides our lives? It would mean that everywhere we go, God’s angels would go before us shouting out loudly and clearly, “Here comes an image of God!”!

And so, what Easter morning means for us is the fulfillment of the Incarnation, that day known to us as Christmas, as “God with us” to share our joys and bear our sorrows. In truth, Jesus 33 years of “God with us” continues today, for us, in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit!

And so, if that is the truth of Easter for us, then it may also be the Easter truth for our next-door neighbor, for those we love, for those we fear, for those who are like us and those who are different, for the stranger, and yes, even for our enemies. It means that we cannot limit Easter to a one-day event. We must begin to think of the “Easter Son-Rise” as a style of daily living and a way of being. We must begin to understand Easter as a verb rather than a noun—and to live out our daily lives with that understanding.

PRAYER
Our Lord and our God, on this day when we celebrate your resurrection, help us to come to understand that
Easter is much more than a one-day celebration each year. Help all of us to know and understand ourselves as
an “image of You.” And empower us to live out our daily lives as your image to our family, friends, neighbors,
strangers, and yes, even, our enemies. Amen.

Grace and Peace, Pastor John

​With St. Patrick’s day in March, I thought an article on Irish culture would be
appropriate. I have been rereading Thomas Cahill’s The Hinges of History series, How the Irish Saved Civilization. It is a fascinating book drawn on the notion of illiterate, semi-nomadic warrior barbarians become an emerald isle of saints and scholars who saved Western civilization? In How the Irish Saved Civilization, Cahill tells us to look to men like Patrick, who was brought in chains to Ireland. He dedicated himself to making sure nobody would ever arrive that way again. Grafting traditional Christian teachings to the positive elements of Irish myths and magic rooted in nature, Patrick planted a message that spoke directly to the Irish psyche and heart. Patrick brought a non-Roman form of Christianity to an island of people fierce in their
traditions of loyalty, poetry, courage, and violence. Which I have argued for years that Ireland is more of Celtic Christianity vs Roman Christianity. Cahill argues the Irish scribes, monks who copied the great literature of the world, who approached their work with pride and playfulness, turning a task that many would consider dronelike into an art form. When the monks take off to
establish monasteries and spread Christianity throughout the world of early medieval Europe, they bring their books. The monks replant the seeds of learning and scholarship in lands barren of these since the fall of the Roman Empire. So, thanks to the Roman Legions and Emperor who could not be bothered with the Emerald Isle due to facing the Franks and Goths on the banks of the Rhine. More and more I have discovered fascinating information on Ireland from the perspective of history and personal genealogy. Did you know one of the oldest composed hymns is an Irish hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’? One of my favorite Celtic blessings is : Nár laga Dia thu which means ‘May God never weaken you’ These words say volumes about one’s faith! See you in Church, Pastor John