An Easter Message from Reverend Liz
Dear people of All Saints,
It is a joy and an honour to write this Easter letter to you. I write as I sit at my desk at home, overlooking the wonder of spring growth. I learn from watching this slow process of emerging green buds and leaves. The trees are telling me to be patient. There is no rush. Let today be today. Savour the day.
This is the prelude to Easter, a season of the Church in which we focus on God’s desire for our flourishing and fullness of life. The coming to life of nature in springtime is an icon, a symbol of God’s desire for us – what is sometimes called natural revelation, what nature tells us about God. St. Iraneaus of Lyon (ca. 180 CE), one of the ancient Church ‘Fathers’, is famous for saying that “the Glory of God is a human being fully alive”. The mystics expand this insight to include the entire cosmos: The glory of God is the created world being fully alive. That includes us.
During Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday, we walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem. It starts with a cheering crowd only to be followed by the state-sponsored execution of Jesus by the Romans. In the crucifixion of Jesus, the powers of death said ‘NO’ to what Jesus offered – life, truth, interconnectedness, the foundational love at the centre of the universe, unconditional love. In the resurrection, God said ‘YES!’ – yes to life over death, yes to our flourishing, yes to love.
Sometimes Christians are called Easter people. We are invited to say ‘yes’ to life. We are invited to say ‘yes’ to the flourishing of our neighbours, two-legged and four-legged, the flora and fauna. We called to say ‘yes’ to love. We believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and in all of the other resurrections we experience and witness, large and small, during our days and lives.
It is this resurrection hope that guides us as a church. This is why we celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, and why we celebrate Easter every spring.
May we continue to ground ourselves in the steadfast, gracious, and transformational love of God.
Your sister in Christ,
Liz+