I hope we will see all of you at our Easter celebration at 10:00 AM on Sunday morning. Bring with you an item from your Easter feast to be blessed at the altar at this service. You might bring dinner rolls, or even vegetables you plan to use in the meal. (Put them in a bag with your name on them so you can find them after the service to take home with you again.) We will bring these offerings forward to the altar at the beginning of communion to be blessed.
When you take your blessed food home, you are taking with you the love that Jesus offers and the love that he commands us to share. This blessed food connects your Easter meal with the Holy Eucharist, and with the meals we will share in each of our homes.
The Three Most Holy Days
Tomorrow we begin the most holy days of worship in the Christian Church with Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” means “command.” At this meal and worship service we remember Jesus’ last command to the disciples, and to us, that we love one another has he has loved us. Whether you are able to come to the dinner at St. Dunstan’s or not, I invite you to ponder this command. As commands go, this one is pretty wonderful.
On Good Friday, we will re-tell the story of the day when Jesus died upon the cross. Jesus went to the darkest place a human can go and experienced the forsakenness of loss and grief that seems to define the human condition in our most trying times. Even there, on the cross, Jesus continued to give us his love. As we move towards the joy of Easter, I invite you to consider how you might bring the commandment, that we love one another as Jesus has loved us, into the darkest and most trying places in your life.
Easter morning, we will gather as the sun comes up for the Great Vigil of Easter. This service brings an end to the darkness as we light the new flame, a literal bonfire, to celebrate the resurrection. As the sun comes up that morning, I invite you to consider the ways that love has come into your life, and how you might offer that love.