Easter reflections
We asked 10 people for their most meaningful Easter memory, or an image that best captures the essence of Easter, or what Easter makes them wonder. Holy Week turtle soup When I lived in the Colombian community of Mampujan, I was part of planning a commemorative event to mark 12 years of displacement. Armed groups…
Readers write: May 7, 2018 issue
Resurrection feature re-opens old wounds Re: “Is belief in Jesus’ resurrection necessary?” feature, March 12, page 4. The final sentence in Michael Pahl’s feature notwithstanding, both the title and content turn out to be an occasion to re-open wounds from the splitting apart of congregations over the very question of the resurrection. I have myself…
Is belief in Jesus’ resurrection necessary?
It’s a question I’ve heard many times over the years: “Do Christians really need to believe in Jesus’ resurrection?” It is, after all, a pretty difficult idea to accept. And this is not just a modern difficulty. It’s been obvious to humans for a very long time that dead people stay dead. It can also…
‘Those who are in Christ will live forevermore’
I love doing funerals. As a young pastor, I now have nine under my belt. It seems I enjoy them more with each one. To be honest, I haven’t had any difficult funerals to do yet. No tragic circumstances or painful dynamics to deal with. Each one being a dear old saint, ready to be…
Rolled away
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. I always love this joyful affirmation of life and hope on Easter morning. When it is still grey and cold outside, when the world news is so overwhelmingly negative, when many are dealing with losses and heartache, it is so amazing to be able to say: “Christ is…
Easter is past . . . where is Jesus now?
Excerpted and translated from a sermon preached at Niagara United Mennonite Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on April 26, 2015. It is based on chapter 21 of the Gospel of John, the well-known story of the disciples back in Galilee shortly after Easter. The entire Easter story is full of tension and contradictions. And the disciples had…
The peace of resurrection
Here we are, a couple of weeks post-Easter, and I’m still thinking about the resurrection. Have you ever considered the resurrection as symbolic of peace and nonviolence? And don’t worry, I’m going somewhere with this—it’s not just another instance of the Mennonite tendency to reduce everything to either Jesus or peace! American Mennonite theologian J.…
