The Burr in the Burgh

We never stop looking at the cross, but sometime you have to look beyond the cross to see the empty tomb. A couple of years ago, I took a little survey after church one Sunday asking my congregation's opinions about the movie about the Passion of the Christ. And one person wrote this comment: “I was worried about the gore ahead of time, but knowing about the resurrection got me through it.” You know, somehow I think that is what Jesus Himself was probably thinking at the time. I was worried about the gore ahead of time, but knowing about the resurrection got me through it. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2)." The message of the cross would be unbearable if we didn’t know about the resurrection.

Perhaps my favorite service of the liturgical year is the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. It is a powerful bridge from the grief of Good Friday to the joy of Easter. The service begins in darkness and gradually transforms into the brilliant light of the resurrection. There are so many things going on in the service that it's not possible for me to do it justice in a blog: the service of light, the readings, the baptisms, the Eucharist. It's all there.

And I must add that our pastor did an especially knock-out job with his sermon. I'm hoping he puts it up soon to our church website.