Friday's thoughts

I've been thinking about the meaning of Easter and what it does for us. In reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus and the "radical" regrouping of the disciples after the crucifixion, it seems to me that a part of the Easter message is unfinished until we complete it. It is not fulfilled until Christian believers act upon it.

There has been much made of the words of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's minister. It seems that the pastor said some things in a context and to a congregation that seem extreme and inflammatory. It is evident that that has had an influence on the candidacy of Barack Obama. It will be interesting to see where that leads and what that damage that does.

I've been thinking about three Reverend Wright's and what they have said:

The first Reverend Wright was the father of two boys and he heard a speech delivered by a college president who said he was confident the human race was capable of wonderful things. He imagined that human beings would be able to fly like birds. Reverend Wright objected to this outlandish notion and said, "Flying is reserved for angels and we shouldn't be taking such nonsense." Reverend Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur. They proved him wrong at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The second Reverend Wright is a Biblical scholar. He was thinking about the resurrection and he wrote, "The message of the resurrection is that this world matters. God is not prepared to tolerate such things." N.T. Wright is a New Testament scholar who sees the imperative that Easter presents to us about how the world is and how the world is supposed to be.

The third Reverend Wright is the pastor of a church here in Fort Collins. He wrote an article in the Coloradoan in which he said, "Jesus taught a terror-filled people that God's love - inclusive unconditional - casts out fear, makes room for differences and conversations, and transforms relationships of brokenness, indifference, and domination." Jeff Wright is pastor of Heart of the Rockies Disciples of Christ Church.

There are ideas people have about various things including the meaning of Easter. We may debate what happened and how it might have happened. We may disagree about what is important and what is not important related to the fact that some think the resurrection is physical and others see it as a spiritual presence. What we cannot ignore or get away from is the fact that Easter is not something we witness, but something that calls us to participate. There are no spectators at the empty tomb. Something if being asked of us.

Exactly what is being asked of is we will have to determine. I hope to work with that in the two sermons on Easter Sunday. If you have thoughts write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

Easter Sunday worship 6am Sunrise in the Parlor facing east.
Easter Worship in the sanctuary 8:00, 9:30, 11:00

I look forward to seeing you or hearing from you at my email address.


Charles