Sisters and Brothers – we’ve reached the sacred threshold of Holy Week. Our uphill journey through Lent has brought us to the precipice of the Last Supper and the suffering of our Lord on Good Friday. Just beyond, Easter awaits.
To those who’ve journeyed through the Gospel of Luke (only two days to go!)- I’m so proud of you. Our Maundy Thursday and Easter services will draw from Luke as well. If you started late but are still determined to finish the readings, I’m especially proud of you for joining in. And to those who weren’t able to participate this year, there’s always next time. I’m already anticipating that in Lent 2026, we’ll walk through Matthew’s gospel together.
This Thursday evening at 6:30pm in the Contemporary Worship Center, we’ll gather for a very special worship experience. I want to especially thank Woody Brown for his work in designing this particular service. Pastor Sean will bring a message and lead us in Holy Communion, while I’ll help guide us through the meaning of Maundy Thursday and into Tenebrae—which means “darkness.” Our service will conclude in a reverse echo of Christmas Eve. We’ll remember how, beginning with Judas’ betrayal, the evil and brokenness of the world tried to extinguish the Light by rejecting, rebuking, and crucifying Jesus.
But as we know, those efforts failed. Instead, they led to the exhaustion – and ultimate defeat – of sin, death, and evil. I so look forward to celebrating the good news of Christ’s empty tomb… and the promise it holds for our own lives. The Kingdom of God that Jesus preached and embodied and in which, ironically, He was enthroned as King by way of a crown of thorns and a cross – is now raised in glory, full of majesty and power. Heaven collapsed to the earth with a new way of living, where neither the grave nor the power of sin holds sway any longer. Jesus, God’s Messiah, is Lord of all!
This Easter, my message will be an invitation into that faith. And with it, a reminder that faith is still exactly that – faith. All of us, even the most faithful, have seasons or moments, especially in times of pain or perplexity, that we struggle to believe in the good news of the risen Christ.
Yet it is not certainty that God seeks in us, but faith. Oh friends, let’s be a church that welcomes all, proclaims the good news to all, and gently reassures the many who long to believe, but aren’t sure they can, that they are not alone. Even the faithful at times feel skeptical, and yet, it is not certainty God asks of us – but faith.
Together, as a community of grace-seekers, we can open ourselves to the God-possible—and in doing so, experience the great joy of faith in Jesus Christ. Faith that changes everything. Forever—for the better.
May the Holy Spirit take hold of us fully this Easter.
Who are you bringing? Skeptics welcome!
