Dear Friends in Christ,

     The season of Lent is a time of reflection and personal preparation for our observance of Holy Week and the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. During this season we've shared a Bible Study journey entitled "The Passion and the People: The Last Weeks in Jesus' Life," and I've thoroughly enjoyed our discussions as we explored together the profound mysteries and miracles surrounding Jesus' ministry of grace, love, and forgiveness.

     During Sunday worship, both in the music the choir has presented and in the messages we've shared, we've journeyed along the way as Jesus set his course toward Jerusalem, knowing well what awaited him there. Yet he made the journey. For those who have not yet experienced the depth of God's love and grace, for those who feel the universe should revolve around them, that's a real mystery. Why would anyone willingly expose themselves to such a death as Jesus experienced on the cross? That "mystery" is only understood when we come to recognize the "miracle" of God's steadfast love toward us.

     The Psalms are filled with passages that celebrate that steadfast love and that acknowledge God's willingness to forgive the contrite and repentant heart. There is only one thing required to move from "mystery" to "miracle" and that is to open one's heart to accept the free gift of salvation that God has made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes the gospel that people have heard proclaimed has sounded like "bad news." But the scriptures refer to the message as "good news," and for a reason: God's great desire is not to condemn the world. God's great desire is that grace and forgiveness will redeem us and we will be restored to right relationship with God. Jesus came "that through him the world might be saved."

     This month we will share the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday, we'll participate in the Service of Darkness (Tenebrae) on Friday, share in a prayer vigil from the conclusion of that service until Easter Sunrise Service, and then on Easter Sunday we'll gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. We'll move from wondering about the mystery to celebrating the miracle of such a love!

     I pray that you will be blessed abundantly this Easter Season with the assurance of God's love and grace.

Yours in the Love of Christ and the Church,

Bob

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