A LESSON FROM EASTER'S AFTERMATH

AS MUCH AS I LOVE EASTER SUNDAY, I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE…

Easter Monday is ALSO one of my most favorite days of the year.

Easter Monday is a great day because one of my traditions is to close the church office so that our staff can have a much-deserved day off to rest and renew after the intenseness of Holy Week. Even more so than the physical demands of something going on every day, the emotional and mental investments required to do Holy Week appropriately leads to the reality that something has to give, or we will give out.

Easter Monday is a great day for me, in that while our offices are closed, I can come in an get some big-picture work done with a minimum of distractions. Sometimes, that means being able to look at worship planning for September - December. Sometimes, that means catching up on paperwork and returning phone calls. Sometimes, that means being able to re-evaluate my quarterly and yearly goals, tweaking them (or me) as needed to keep moving forward. Sometimes, that means being able to do some writing. In years where I know I am transitioning to a new pastorate on July 1, it means being able to come in and begin in earnest the transition process for the one who will be coming to be the new pastor of my current congregation.

Easter Monday 2019 was off to a good start this morning. Up and at ‘em at the regular time, some playtime with my kids before they went with momma to take care of some business, heading out the door to get to the office at a good time to get rolling. Went to grab my keys (I’m a Tile aficionado, so I admit I don’t always pay closest attention to where I put my keys) and realized that since our post-worship routine was different yesterday, I had left my church keys in Erin’s car…which was now headed north to Leesville.

Normally, this isn’t a problem, as our Administrative Assistant and our Custodian each have keys to my office, so they can let me in when I forget my keys.

Did I mention today is Easter Monday and it is my tradition to close the church office? Ummm…yeah…

So, I’m stuck with 90 minutes until Erin and the kids get back to DeRidder. No problem, as I still have my laptop and there are some volunteers who are here every Monday morning - so I’ll just hang out in the outer office and work at Camille’s desk. Since I didn’t have anything pressing, I left my backpack at home and just threw my laptop in the car. I’ll go through some of the files on my computer and start a folder for things to leave for my successor. Things are rolling along until I open my laptop and realize I didn’t have it charge last night.

Ummm…yeah…about that plan…

Long story short, I wound up using the Guest Login on Camille’s iMac and was able to go to option three - working through my church email, reading articles I’d saved for later, while also managing email subscriptions and replying to a few things that got set aside during Holy Week.

Easter Sunday is the day where everything changed. Death had its impotency revealed in the resurrection. Restoration, redemption, reconciliation are now all possible not through our works, but God’s gracious love incarnate in Christ, sustained by the spirit. The Easter Season is a time where we get to revel in the joy of all things new, for we now see the world through different lenses.

In the big scheme of things, dealing with a 90-minute delay because you left your keys in the wife’s car is not that big a deal. But on this Easter Monday, it reminded me that the resurrection of Christ means that everything changes, for now we are people of reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, and wholeness.

If I’m not someone who can change and adapt, what hope do I have of embracing the reality of the resurrection of the one who said, “Behold, I make all things new?”

On this Easter Monday, let’s make sure we make room for Christ to do some cleaning of his own in our lives.

Grace and Peace, Lamar