April 4, 2021
Excerpts from Rev. Julia’s sermon with respect to Mark 16:1-8.
. . . The Easter message is good news because in no uncertain terms it tells us that death, pain, tragedy, despair and hopelessness are absolutely not the last word. That after the worst that could happen happens, there is still the possibility of recovery and healing.
Death and darkness and despair are never the last word, no matter how bleak or hard it gets. This is good news. This is the story we tell over and over and over again, as humans who suffer and survive. About our own lives, about people we know. About the world.
Don’t give up.
I know it’s tough now but things will change. . .
. . . Friends. We are in the midst of very challenging times. Not just a global pandemic but all of the uncertainty and unrest that was taking place before it even started. Maybe you’re not in a place to feel joy or hope right now. We are acutely aware of the suffering and pain of so many.
We are suffering too.
And if that is the case and that’s where we’re at, then it is the place we need to be. We can be amazed and terrified at the same time. It is not our place to take away the suffering. To tell people that there is hope and light down the road. That seems too flippant, too disrespectful.
Sometimes we just need to hold a space for that suffering for a while. To allow people to move into and through it before they are ready for the good news.
We can be there: to love, to serve, to listen and to cry with them. Until one day, they will be ready and receptive, and we will be able to tell them the good news.
Pope John Paul II once said, “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song”.
Sometimes we sing our “hallelujahs” through tears. We are living, breathing, walking examples of this. We tell our stories of hope and grace, of pain and healing of moving on after the tragedies that we have lived through.
This is Easter.
And we will tell them the story of Jesus. That we are convinced that resurrection is possible, that death is not the last word, that joy comes with the dawn.
Easter celebrations continued with a drive-by at St. Andrew’s Church where Easter bags were handed out to all of those who drove by. Lots of fun for all as visitors wore their best Easter bonnet. A kind of guessing game to try and determine who was behind the mask !
Thanks to Sandra Neish for organizing the basket gifts and a big thanks to Mark Dutkoski for sharing his great photos from the day.
