April Newsletter

I have recently decided to re-read for the 20th time or so that wonderful classic, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” The book was first read to me by my mother as she sat in the doorway of the room my older sister and I shared, my mother reading with us fighting the sleep that always won out. Every time I read it I find I have a new favorite part. Upon one reading my favorite part was Mr. Beaver’s proclamation about Aslan, “safe? No he isn’t safe! He is the King I tell you…but he is good.” This time around, and perhaps it has to do with the timing of the year, I was struck by Lucy and Susan Pevensie’s inability to sleep the night Aslan goes to meet the White Witch at the Stone Table. Upon finding him, they ask if they might travel with him, and he says, “I should be glad of the company tonight.”

While the moment is brief, it is a profound explanation to children readers of what Holy Week is about. The Pevensie children have met this unsafe, but profoundly good Lion, and know that something is wrong. Over the course of Lent and throughout the year we meet this man Jesus, and we marvel at him. He too is not safe but is good. He challenges us. He tells us we are blessed. We know that we are loved, it is enough. But during this Holy Week, we know that something is not right. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was supposed to be the start of the restoration of the kingdom of David, but it ends with Jesus looking around the temple (Mark,) cursing a fig tree (Matthew,) weeping over Jerusalem (Luke,) or confused disciples (John.) None of it makes sense, which is why every year we walk with Jesus just as the Pevensie children walk with Aslan. Jesus does not want to be alone this week and neither do we. We walk with one another through the streets of Jerusalem, we wonder why Jesus says the things he says, we are appalled that this savior who ushers in a kingdom of peace, is violently put to death, but we know that it is not the end of the story. The stone will be rolled away, the tomb will be empty. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!
 
And here we are, able to walk together this year. We do so safely and without judgment. It was just one year ago that all of were trying to make sense of the world we were living in. plunged into isolation by necessity and unable to do so many of the things that we would normally do in Spring, including celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. Yet, we are here now, with vaccinations on the rise, and a rising sense of hope. We will celebrate Easter together. It will still be different and not what we are used to, but it will be good. It is such a blessing to me to be the pastor of this church, experiencing every day what God is up to in our neighborhood, and the amazing ways we join Him in that work. Blessings to you all, and Happy Easter!