April 2, 2018 - Sunday was Easter Sunday. Some people don’t like the term Easter because it comes from the goddess Eostre who is a fertility goddess and the goddess of light and the dawn. So some people speak of Sunday as Resurrection Sunday. It was also April Fool’s Day which fit in well with my sermon. I was raised in a very conservative sect of the Lutheran Church and traditionally, Lutheran ministers tell a joke on Easter Sunday. Martin Luther thought the joke was on the devil because God resurrected Jesus and death had been defeated. Love wins! Christians should laugh and sing on Easter Sunday.
Jesus’ resurrection is just as radical as his teachings. During Holy Week, Jesus attacked the religious institutions of his day. Let us not become complacent and too comfortable in our institutions—our churches. Let us pledge never to become the religious elites that Jesus criticized in his day. Let us never let our religion, our institutions, our denomination, our ways of faith override the message of Easter.
We were in double digits this morning. Hilda’s sister Linda came this morning; it was wonderful to catch up with her. Liz and her beautiful voice added greatly to our singing this morning—and always nice to talk with her. The lilies from last week still looked nice: We had to move them and the palm fronds off the altar before having Communion.
And wasn’t it a lovely Easter day? Ever since last Wednesday’s storms, we’ve had the most gorgeous weather (and no snow like some Americans are dealing with today). I haven’t delivered last month’s donations to Community Christian Services yet but will try to go by this week. For April we will collect toothpaste and toothbrushes.
“Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. Godspeed
Randy & Sue Smith
Paxton Methodist Church
