“When Jesus had received the wine, He said, ‘It is finished.’ Then He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit” John 19:30

I pray that you and yours are safe and well and that you will be making that important commitment to walk with Jesus this Holy Week so that you may know for the first time or once again the saving power of Christ’s cross and resurrection for your life and for the life of the world. I ask that wherever you find yourself physically or spiritually that you will join us in-person or on the live stream or by spending a quiet moment reading the story of Jesus’ passion and resurrection or all of the above.

The story of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection is the most mysterious chapter in God’s ongoing search and infinite love for people like you and me. Millions of sermons and teachings have been offered in explanation. Whole theologies have been developed over the centuries that attempt to explain this mystery. Our whole faith and life in God are founded on the Good News this Holy Week proclaims because God has the last word and that word is life!

Because God has the last word everything that Jesus teaches about God and life and truth and good and evil are true. God can be trusted. Sinners are forgiven. Death is not our end. Eternal life or the presence of the kingdom of God is already ours today because God has the last word.

Because God has the last word, Christians and Christian communities can express a life together that is founded on love and acceptance, and care for others. It means that the last word among us is mercy and forgiveness. It means we are slow to judge and quick to forgive. It means we can be generous instead of stingy. It means we can welcome everyone into our midst with no prior Christian experience. It means that we can make a difference in the world around us that is profound and life-changing.

Because God has the last word, we are now the yeast in the dough, the light for the world, the salt of the earth, the people who are known as Jesus’ followers because we love one another.

Holy Week is the time to know and take hold of the promise that God has the last word. It is the moment to know for all time that God wants us; that God loves us; that God is willing to go to any lengths to draw us close to God’s heart; and that God has given each of us and all of us important work to do and lives to live that make a difference in others’ lives and in the life of the world.

Join in this week and allow that story of the Last Supper, Jesus’ passion and death, and Christ’s resurrection fill your heart with God’s last word.

P.S. By God’s grace and the work of many, many people we are moving back to worshiping and being together, though not fully. Under the law of Loving your Neighbor as Yourself, I ask that you respect the guidelines that have been given to us. Keep appropriate physical distance. Wear your mask. Lift up your voices, but not fully.
Please sign up for in-person worship and, if we are full, please do not try to slip in. We are fully subscribed for 9:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Easter Day, though 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. have plenty of room. I hope and pray and expect that we can all worship together next Easter.

And when you are worshiping God from home and celebrating God’s “Last Word,” I invite you to dress up. Stand up. Sing fully. Send us a picture of your Easter finery and know that though we are not all together physically, the bonds of the Holy Spirit are still at work drawing us together in God.

Grace and Peace and Love,