Years ago, I was preparing an address for my first congregational meeting as the new pastor. I had titled it “Great Expectations” and—in that age before laptops—given the manuscript to my secretary to type. As I proofed the typescript, I spotted a typographical error that made me burst out laughing. I had written something about our common “hopes and dreams,” but it had come out “hopes and dreads.” The more I reflected on the error, the more I realized it had revealed a truth of its own. New beginnings are, indeed, about hopes and dreams; but new beginnings also come with fears about how the future will play out.
It is probably a good idea that the Gospel reading appointed for the Sunday after Easter is always the same: the risen Christ appearing out of nowhere and announcing “Shalom” to the disciples, who have been paralyzed by fear and hunkered down behind bolted doors since the crucifixion. I see this as one of many examples of God giving Jesus’ followers exactly what they needed to start them in the direction of a hopeful future. ‘Shalom’ is a much richer word than ‘peace,’ for it also connotes wellness and wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken. It was the word they needed to hear after their world had collapsed and they didn’t know where to turn. It was the word that rolled back the stone and drew them out of their tomb of fear.
The risen Christ still comes into our midst and speaks to us with words of encouragement, words of prodding, words of vision, words of hope. I’m sure it is clichéd now to call Christians ‘Easter People,’ but I love the season of Easter and everything about it, because it reveals the essence of the gift we as Christians have to offer a broken world. From Easter sprang the original vision of who we are as Jesus’ followers, and how we are to focus our energies.
Easter blessings,
Sherman
