Dear Friends in Christ,
I hope that you each well and safe as we come to the last few days of March and enter Holy Week. Before Easter. March has had a few surprises for us but with April almost here, the grass is greening, trees are budding, birds sing in the morning and we can have a new outlook on life as more of us receive our Covid vaccinations! Thanks be to God!
Recently, a friend asked me why Easter changes from month to month and is on a different day, depending on the year. It gave me pause to think as I recalled that there is no set day for Easter as there is for Christmas because Easter is determined by the lunar calendar since it is linked directly with the Celebration of Passover. The Passover date was set when the Hebrew people fled Egypt, on the date given to them by God to Moses (Exodus 12) as the 15th day of Nisan. Nisan is the first month of the Jewish religious calendar and the 7th month of the Jewish civil year, which begins with Rosh Hashanah. Since the Jewish calendar is lunar, Passover always falls at the time of the full moon and, as a result, Easter is always in the same week. Jesus, we remember, was in Jerusalem for the Passover Celebration when he was arrested and crucified.
Thinking about this has me reflecting on the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It has been nearly 2,000 years since Jesus met in the Upper Room with his disciples, shared a meal with them, washed their feet and fed them traditional bread and wine in a new way that expressed love and forgiveness. It is hard to imagine the layers and layers of time and of Passovers and Easters celebrated across that span of time! Things have changed. Cultures and nations have risen…and fallen. Fashion has come and gone like the flowers that blossoms and fade. Winters and springs have become summers and falls – again and again and again. Yet, in the constancy of God the world has been made new each day! We humans generate 300 billion new cells, on average, each and every day! What a fine way to recognize how God makes us and all creation new – over and over again. Yet, with the constancy of God, the moon has shined full and bright on every Passover (and also during Easter week) since that first Passover in Egypt about 3,000 years ago.
“For every time there is a season and a purpose to every matter under heaven.” Is the scripture that was on the Weekly Update as we began this Lenten Season. Clearly, there is a weaving that God does between eternity and our human reality within the framework of time. Some things we see and know and easily recognize. Others things are known by God and revealed to us at the “appropriate time”. I would say that hearing about the appointment of a new pastor, Rev. Cathy Schuyler, to the United Ministry of Delhi, effective July 1, 2021, fall into the category of being something God has known and we receive at the “perfect” time. I want you to know that I am very excited about this pastoral appointment and have hope that it will bring new and opportunities to the congregation, the community – and to Rev. Schuyler. To God be the glory! As things move forward, we will all hear more about your new pastor and will begin planning ways to welcome and receive her. However, the second passage at the start of this article gives us direction for what we are to do, right now: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” I suggest that this is the time for each of us (all of us) to focus in on prayer. When life got tough in Jesus’ ministry, we find that he retreated to pray and to reconnect with God. This is so very important for us, always, but especially now, during this new transition time. Please do pray for Pastor Cathy, for the churches she is leaving, and for your ministry together in the coming years. And, please know that I also appreciate your prayers, as I “re-retire”.
Remember, the more things change – the more they stay the same. Yes, you will be adjusting to a new leader who brings new ideas and new, positive energy to the ministry she will do with you in Delhi. There will be new things to learn and to experience. But the God who set the timing for all things at the beginning and who keeps the seasons turning, places within us the ability to generate and re-generate new cells each and every day, and who placed Passover and Easter under the “full moon” – has got this! There is the steadiness of God’s hand on life’s “steering wheel”, and all will be well. To God be the glory!
In the meantime, stay safe! You remain in my prayers….and remember, I love you and I need you to survive!
Peace,
Pastor Betsy
