Easter is Past, Now What?

Easter Sunday has come and gone. Now it becomes a challenge for pastors to hold the attention of our faith communities as we progress through the Sundays of Easter, on the way to Pentecost. For those of us who lead congregations in academic communities, the challenge is also how to keep folks engaged while, all around us, signs of the end are evident. Final projects will come due, a flurry of presentations and lunch discussions will occur, and students are beginning to panic about final exams. Faculty and staff are wondering if, a) the weather will ever warm up and, b) if the academic year will ever end and will they get everything done before it does. So, perhaps this is the time to reinforce the message of Easter: our lives don't have to go on in exactly the same way as they have! The resurrection tells us that life as we know it changed, once and for all, a long time ago. Fortunately, we get a yearly reminder at Easter, because our spiritual memories are quite short. It is so easy to get caught up in all of our work and responsibilities, and to forget that our Christian faith also applies to those real world headaches. Easter is prophetic, it dares to speak out in the midst of skepticism, boredom and "business as usual" to proclaim that God has broken through the ennui of our sometimes hum-drum existence. Prophetic voices call us to alternative ways that dare us to become excited about Jesus "third" way, which goes up against the usual ways of doing things in every time and place. God's economy is not ours, and time is not an enemy of the Kingdom. So, be glad and rejoice. You have not been left behind after Easter. God will continue to lead you into new ways of living, loving and service. We have, once again, been reminded that life never need be the same again. Alleluia!