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Hi everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine this afternoon.

Glancing over at my calendar, I see that we’re just over 2 weeks away from the Easter weekend. Easter is starting to be very much on my mind these days. I suppose that’s unavoidable now that I’m a pastor since there are special events and messages and things to plan and prepare as we go through this season together at church. But I’ve always taken special pleasure in this time of year. Not just because Easter brings an end to Lent, with whatever form of Lenten observance I might be practicing in a given year. Nor because it often coincides with the end of the academic calendar—which was nice when I was immersed in the academy. Mostly, Easter brings a lot of joy because it really is the high point of the Christian year and the best annual reminder of all God has done for us in Jesus.

It’s good to reflect on this from time to time. If it was December rather than April, we’d be deep into pre-Christmas preparations. There would be Christmas music on the radio, decorations everywhere, a steady stream of holiday shows and programs, and all kinds of hoopla celebrating the season. Easter, by contrast, tends to sneak up quietly. Other than the promotion of chocolate eggs and bunnies in the stores, we don’t hear much about it. The world around us gets very excited about the warm, fuzzy feelings associated with the birth of a baby and the giving of gifts, but they’re not particularly interested in a death-and-resurrection story. We’re right to join in the celebration of Jesus’ arrival, but if we’re not careful, we can also slip into a similar indifference about the even more wonderful work accomplished during this season.

So it’s good to pause and remember that, for the Christian community, Easter is the reason baby Jesus was born in the first place. It is the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday on which the gospel turns; these are the events that transform our lives and make the whole world new in the end. We have very good reason to make the weeks leading up to Easter at least as large a celebration and time of remembering as we do those parallel days in December.

May this truly be a time of sober reflection and also of joyful celebration for us all.

To help us with this, we’re going to be working through 1 Corinthians 15 this coming Sunday. I didn’t pick the “resurrection chapter” specifically to be part of our Easter warm-up this year—it arrived naturally as the next chapter in our series on 1 Corinthians. But I can’t help thinking that perhaps the Holy Spirit was at work organizing things back when the current sermon series was getting set up. How perfect that we should be listening to Paul’s longest and most eloquent message on the resurrection right before we move into Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and its climax on the Easter weekend! 

First Corinthians 15 is a lengthy chapter at 58 verses. But it’s so important that we’re going to read the whole thing this Sunday. That means I’m going to have to adjust my preaching style a bit. Over the past months, I’ve often summarized sections of Paul’s letter, highlighting key verses that capture his main ideas. This week, we’ll take the opposite approach: listening to Paul speak in his own words, with a few comments along the way together with some introduction and final application. Our experience will be a little more like that of the 1st century Corinthian church when they read Paul’s letter. Hopefully, it will also be a good opportunity to consider, digest, and celebrate what the Holy Spirit has given to the church in this wonderful chapter.

As always, if you have a little time this week, I encourage you to read through the passage yourself. If possible, do it at a sitting and maybe a couple of times. (Not asking much, am I?!)  Pay special attention to Paul’s opening comments about this message being the thing “of first importance” in the Christian faith. Consider why it’s so important—to the church and to you personally. Think about how much the world changes when a person accepts this message that Jesus really did rise from the dead. Let wonder and worship follow.

I look forward to celebrating together with you all again this Sunday. In the meantime, have a wonderful week. Happy April, and God bless you all richly!

Pastor Ken