A few years ago, I was invited to preach at the congregation where I grew up. They were celebrating their 60th anniversary as a congregation that year. As part of that, they invited those who had graduated from high school in the past 15 years or so and are currently involved in some kind of ministry to come back and share with the congregation how our involvement with the various ministries of the congregation leads us to lives of service.
This is the way we greet each other on Easter Sunday and on the Sundays during the Easter season. This greeting connects us to Christians over the millennia since Jesus’ death and resurrection, reminding us of the surprise and joy that Christians will always experience at that thought.
It’s easy to understand why the early Christians were absolutely astounded that, hope against hope, their Lord, Savior, and friend was ALIVE!
When I think of Easter Sunday from when I was a little girl, I remember getting up early to get ready for church. My Mom would get my brother, sister, and I up with enough time to do a quick hunt for our Easter baskets containing the requisite chocolate bunny (although mine didn’t contain one because I have never been a huge fan of chocolate and really disliked it when I was younger.
Our church season of Lent will begin this year on February 17 when we mark Ash Wednesday. In the Bible, people put ashes on their heads to convey distress or deep grief. As Christians, we do it on the first day of Lent to lament what we can’t control: that sin still has a deep hold on us, and that one day, we will die. In naming these hard truths, we make room for God to step into our lives,
“In returning and rest, you shall be saved. In quietness and trust shall be your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15
The word “tithe” comes from an ancient custom of giving a tenth of one’s yearly income to some holy use. The tithe doesn’t come from what’s left over after all the bills have been paid, but is taken right off the top, before anything else.