The Party is Not
Over
Scripture: Isaiah 6:6-9
Growing up attending Easter
services with my new dress and pretty shoes, it all seemed like a letdown when
the service was over. Everyone in my
family seemed tired and cranky. Going home to take a nap, as my mom would
always suggest, seemed like a really boring idea (though now as a pastor, a
Sunday nap always sounds like a really good idea!) As night would fall each
Easter Sunday, the joys of new clothes, beautiful flowers and worship services
were over; however, Easter was not. Easter, in
fact, had just begun!
Isaiah prophesied about a
time in history when God would make a way for all peoples of the earth
to come and feast-- to feast on a mountain of rich food and good wine, to feast
on the goodness of the Lord with joyful proclamations. Being people of Easter means that we have a
new reality to claim for our lives, one in which we are ushering in the kingdom
of God by whom we invite to our tables.
Consider the last time you
hosted or attended a dinner party at someone's home. Who was there? Did
everyone look the same? Dress the same? Attend similar schools? Hail from
similar countries of origin?
Being people of Easter means
now, we, as co-partners with God, have work to do. We are to be about cooking
this feast for all nations. We are to be ambassadors for sharing the good news
that all are one in Jesus Christ. So, I say, keep celebrating Easter, my
friends. Don't put the fancy dresses and party hats away just yet. Invite your
neighbors, invite new friends, invite a stranger, and feast this upcoming week
on the goodness of the living Lord among you.
Prayer: Living Lord,
we worship you as Almighty God who has done great things among us. Don't let us
forget your goodness, though. Don't let us forget to share. Don't let us get so
self-consumed that we stop celebrating the good news that is all of ours this
day: "You are risen indeed." AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment