MESSAGE FROM PASTOR LIZ DAVIS
April 2025
Greetings to you, People of God!
I never put our family Christmas cards in the mail this winter. I had them printed. I got stamps. I just never managed to stuff, address, and send them. I’m considering sending them out for Easter (although my schedule isn’t exactly calmer in this season).
We spend a lot of time and energy decorating for and celebrating Christmas, but really, Easter (and the whole of Lent- Holy Week) is just as much, if not more, a central holiday. This month opens the greatest drama in our church year, as we follow Jesus through his walk of ministry towards his death and resurrection.
Christmas holds the good news that God hears us and comes close. God has come to be fully among us, to know and love us. Holy Week and its response, Easter, show us the incredible truth of Jesus’ commitment to us. Nothing, not abandonment, rejection, back-stabbing, lies, cruelty, or murder changes Jesus’ mind when it comes to being faithful to humanity and even to the individuals who hurt him.
Jesus uses his life to reveal to us the deadly way we live in order to free us for life. When humanity’s choice is to grasp onto power and wrestle it away from others, Jesus kneels as a servant to others. When humanity’s response to fear is to turn on each other, Jesus shows us that there is no fear in love. When humanity distorts our sight so we see another as our enemy, Jesus hangs alongside them. When humanity avoids death, Jesus enters it. Jesus shows us a new way as he lives with a love that connects him to all people.
On Easter morning, we celebrate that God raised Jesus from the dead as a sign that God’s new way is dawning. We can bravely set aside the old way of life and follow Jesus. Through Jesus, love and life have become more powerful than fear and death. This good news changes everything.
It’s important enough to use a stamp and let everyone know. Jesus died and is risen, God is with us always, and will bring us into God’s new way of life!
Peace,
Pastor Liz
I never put our family Christmas cards in the mail this winter. I had them printed. I got stamps. I just never managed to stuff, address, and send them. I’m considering sending them out for Easter (although my schedule isn’t exactly calmer in this season).
We spend a lot of time and energy decorating for and celebrating Christmas, but really, Easter (and the whole of Lent- Holy Week) is just as much, if not more, a central holiday. This month opens the greatest drama in our church year, as we follow Jesus through his walk of ministry towards his death and resurrection.
Christmas holds the good news that God hears us and comes close. God has come to be fully among us, to know and love us. Holy Week and its response, Easter, show us the incredible truth of Jesus’ commitment to us. Nothing, not abandonment, rejection, back-stabbing, lies, cruelty, or murder changes Jesus’ mind when it comes to being faithful to humanity and even to the individuals who hurt him.
Jesus uses his life to reveal to us the deadly way we live in order to free us for life. When humanity’s choice is to grasp onto power and wrestle it away from others, Jesus kneels as a servant to others. When humanity’s response to fear is to turn on each other, Jesus shows us that there is no fear in love. When humanity distorts our sight so we see another as our enemy, Jesus hangs alongside them. When humanity avoids death, Jesus enters it. Jesus shows us a new way as he lives with a love that connects him to all people.
On Easter morning, we celebrate that God raised Jesus from the dead as a sign that God’s new way is dawning. We can bravely set aside the old way of life and follow Jesus. Through Jesus, love and life have become more powerful than fear and death. This good news changes everything.
It’s important enough to use a stamp and let everyone know. Jesus died and is risen, God is with us always, and will bring us into God’s new way of life!
Peace,
Pastor Liz
