Easter

Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!

 Most religions have certain faith convictions which the believers regard as the core belief.  The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is that core belief of the Christian faith.  Everything in the Christian faith and tradition flows and stems from the belief in the resurrection.  This is also to say that Easter is the most important holy day in the Christian calendar.  Christmas, the other important holy day, has no meaning apart from Easter.  In fact, the annual commemoration of the resurrection of our Lord predates the annual celebration of the birth of Christ by about a century.  Without Easter there is no Christianity.
 
John in his Gospel recounts a moving story of Mary Magdelene’s encounter with the risen Christ.  She sobbed upon seeing the empty tomb, thinking that someone had stolen the body of Jesus out of the tomb.  She saw a man who, she supposes, is a gardener.  But, when she recognized him as Jesus, her tears of sorrow were changed into the tears of joy.  Her life was completely changed.  The lives of the other disciples were completely transformed.  At the heart of the Easter event is the conversion of life.  Easter invites us to reflect upon what changes need to happen in our own lives.  What do we need to change in life so that we can be happy and be in peace once again?
 
On Easter Day (April 8) at St. John’s, you have three opportunities to begin anew your Christian life.  In the 7 AM service we will celebrate the Easter Vigil in which we light the new Paschal light, the symbol of Christ our spiritual light.  In the 9 AM service, the children will “flower” the cross with white carnations and then after this service there will be the Easter egg hunt for children in the Garden of Blessings.  The 11 AM service is the formal Choral Eucharist.  The choir will sing at both 9 and 11.   It is the most important celebration in the life of the parish.
 
On April 15 in the 10 AM service we will celebrate the First Holy Communion of nine children who have been diligently preparing for the past two months and baptize an infant.  This is also a joyful occasion as these children will now be fully incorporated into the sacramental life of this parish community.  I hope many will turn out for these Easter celebrations. 
 
Easter blessings of joy and hope to everyone!