Easter, Now What?
“Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.” (Aaron Sorkin)
During Pastor Dan’s Easter sermon, he highlighted the “pandemic era” year over year changes in gathering for worship. It was good to gather as the Body of Christ, it is always good to gather as the Body of Christ. However, after the festival service and family gatherings come the post holiday routines. Easter, now what?
In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, along with the rest of their colleagues, the priests and the Levites, and everyone who returned from the captivity to Jerusalem began the work.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezra+3&version=EHV>
The Wednesday night study service gets back to the survey of the Old Testement, and on the schedule is Ezra chapter 3. It is a fascinating parallel to what is happening in our world today. Let me give some high points:
- Observance of a festival
- Preparing the groundwork for temple repair
- Two years after captivity, a return
- A gathering to rebuild
Which brings us to the opening Sorkin quote from above. It was Pastor Dan who pointed me to Ezra. We’ve discussed it and we both have a similar outlook on it. I am not a great writer, so I won’t steal Pastor Dan’s thunder: you will have to be there Wednesday, or seek it out on Hope’s YouTube channel. I will just point out a biblical pattern: exile and then return. As Ezra wrote about the return, “All the people shouted loud praise to the Lord when the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid.” (3:11) St Paul echoes, “No one can lay any other foundation than the one that has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11 EHV)
Easter, now what? Back to the work, we build on the foundation: Jesus!
Hallelujah, He is risen
Steve Skiver