Hello,
I don’t suppose that it comes as shocking news to any of you that Easter
is this upcoming Sunday. Although
we, in the United States, make a bigger deal out of Christmas, the truth is, in
the world of the Christian faith, Easter is the biggest deal of all. The occupied manger of Christmas indeed
carries the wonder of our God’s love for us that God would deem to take his
place among us, but the unoccupied Easter tomb takes the spotlight of God’s
love for us in that it voids any other claim on us than the claim made on us by
the one who vacated that three day grave.
As the Bible says in Romans 8, “Nothing in all of creation can separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”
Nothing! That is what
Easter is all about, and that is what makes it the greatest day each year.
So, let me invite…encourage….nudge…maybe even tug you to go to church
this Sunday. I don’t care, and
neither does God, if you haven’t been to church for quite a while. I don’t care, and neither does God, if
you have a hard time believing the truth of Jesus’ rising from the dead. I don’t care, and neither does God, if
you have made a mess of your life or fallen into a deep ditch as you stumbled
in the dark. I don’t care, and
neither does God, if you have everything in the world a person could want
because you have climbed your way to the top of the heap. This Sunday, Easter, is the dynamite
stick that sent an explosion of grace, mercy and forgiveness into the universe,
and that is why I, and I believe God, delights in inviting you to church. I hope you will come this Sunday and
see if that explosion doesn’t somehow rock your world, too.
And to those of you Bungee Cord readers who have responded to God’s
weekly Sunday invitation to keep the Easter parting going, let me offer a
couple of words to you.
First, give up your pew. It is no wonder to me that the
explosion of Easter doesn’t take hold in the lives of those who are not
regularly in worship when the time that they do come to church they find
themselves in some overflow area or crowded into a seat in the aisle. Keep the “best seats in the house” for
those who aren’t there as often as you.
That is what being a good host and good witness is all about.
Second, be thankful that people have responded to God’s invitation to
come to his house on Easter (or any Sunday, for that matter). Welcome them with the genuine delight
that Jesus feels in his heart, don’t belittle them and embarrass them with
jokes or comments about their previous absence from church on Sunday
morning. And most of all don’t
complain that they have taken your pew.
Don’t stare them down as if they were Goldilocks and you were one of the
tree bears. Don’t whisper between yourselves about their lack of
commitment compared to yours (there may not be as big of a difference as it
appears!). Don’t call them
“C and E” Christians. They
are “Children of God”,
“Brothers and Sisters in
Christ”….and we are blessed to have them around the table with us.
So, whether you find yourself in worship every Sunday, or whether you
only come to church every once in a while, or whether you have never been in
church – or haven’t been in church for a long, long time……. let me invite… encourage…. nudge… maybe
even tug you to go to church this Sunday, Easter Sunday. There is a concussion of grace, mercy
and forgiveness awaiting you there.
Come and experience the shockwave of the resolve and power of God to
love you….love you forever.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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