PASTORS POST

Easter Fear

What is probably the original ending of Mark’s Gospel leaves us in a conundrum.  “So (the women) went out and fled the tomb for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”  Is that any way to end a Gospel about the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God? Many scholars believe that verses 9-20 of the sixteenth chapter of Mark were added in the second century to tell the rest of the Easter story.  I am glad we have those additional verses along with Matthew, Luke, and the rest of the New Testament, but maybe the abrupt ending has a message of its own to share.

The women are momentarily paralyzed.  Something has gone wrong—or has it gone so right, so perfect, they cannot take it in.  Mark leaves the story there, with the men too afraid to venture out and the women leaving the tomb terrified.  Perhaps it is dawning on them that the world is no longer the same; it is a new world, an Easter world.  They just don’t know what to do with it yet.  But they would find out!

In raising Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, God has shown us the world according to God.  In the new world of the resurrection, those who mourn are more than comforted; they dance before the Lord with their dead, even as they grieve! It is a world where peacemakers know themselves and everyone else as children of God.  The merciful know what mercy does; it turns enemies into siblings. It is a world where the poor in spirit have the true riches and everyone has enough.

If it is true; God raising Jesus on Easter and the Holy Spirit empowering us to live Easter lives—then it is a different world.  If it is true, then working on loving relationships in our congregation and community is truly a priority. Does that scare you? It should, because it means that we will have to put to death much of what we assume about the world in which we seek comfort. In the process of finding our lives in the reign of the Risen Christ, the old world is fading away.

16th Annual Cheyenne Day of Giving and/or Youth Event!

We have a little over 4 weeks left until our Youth Event on May 13 and our big event on May 14, so we are in the home stretch!

Our Youth Event and the Day of Giving itself will use the drive-thru format again this year, and we will ask all volunteers to wear a mask.  People who are dropping off donations need only pull up curbside at the Kiwanis Community House.  We will have masked volunteers greet each driver, thank him/her for donations, and unload items from the backseat or trunk. The only donors who will need to go inside will be blood donors for the Vitalant blood drive held on-site that day, and Vitalant, of course, will practice current virus guidelines. Our central theme of Day of Giving is that when we know of a need, we must do what we can to help.  We will be helping 17 area agencies meet needs of clients who are sick or in dire economic straits.  All items donated at  The Youth Event and the Day of Giving itself will be in the hands of area agencies by the end of the day and immediately available to our neighbors in need.  Most of our supported agencies have had to deal with decreases in grant and government funding, inability to hold the usual fundraisers, and increased requests for  help, so Day of Giving is an opportunity for us to come together as a community and make a huge, life-changing difference to thousands of people.  Just imagine the impact we could have if every single member of each of the 78 congregations on our support list this year picked one way to give at the events this year!   What a huge difference we can make when we all come together to ‘walk the talk’ of our faith!

Greta Morrow

Day of Giving Board