Easter Reconciliation

 

It is no coincidence that Easter is in the spring. The timing of Easter is related to the date of Passover, which in turn is based on the Jewish lunar calendar and the story of the Exodus in the Torah.

Nonetheless the greening of the Earth in springtime holds a certain symbolism inherent in the Christian celebration of new life in the risen Christ. After six cold months the Earth seems to literally spring back to life, reminding the faithful of God’s promise that in faith we have life – eternally and abundantly – as we place our faith and trust in God’s providence and in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

On the cross God was reconciling fallen humanity to himself – repairing the breach caused by sin. We are invited into a new relationship with the God of the universe who knows and loves us personally – he’s done all the work, now ours is simply to accept the warmth of his love – demonstrated and won for us in Jesus.

But Easter doesn’t stop there – Easter invites us into what St. Paul called, “the ministry of reconciliation.” Easter people are people of both promise and purpose, the promise that no matter what, God is with us, and the purpose to bring the Good News into the world – to invite others to reconcile their own torn relationship with God, to reconcile torn relationships within the human family, and to reconcile humanities’ torn relationship with the rest of God’s creation.

Paul affirms that the same Christ who died on the cross and rose again was God the creator of all things, and is reconciling all things, not just humanity, to himself. Creation, St Paul says, will also be “delivered from the bondage of corruption” through the cross. But for now, “creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” And who are these “sons of God”? Why we are!

Part of our Easter wake-up call is the message that the resurrection has renewed our position as God’s image bearers – the stewards of his beloved creatures – and our place as the keepers of the garden.

How are we doing? Well, pretty lousy, actually. We are in the midst of the largest mass extinction event in recorded history. The combination of over-fishing, plastic pollution, and ocean acidification due to fossil fuel combustion is decimating our fellow creatures in the sea. On land roughly 64 percent of the world’s tropical rainforest has been destroyed or degraded since pre-industrial times, industrialized agriculture threatens native pollinators and songbirds, and rising sea levels linked to anthropogenic carbon threatens coastal habitats around the world. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But Easter is nothing if not a time of hope. Alexander Pope famously wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” The writer of Hebrews reminded Christians in the first century, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Perhaps it is not too much to hope for that this Easter, Christians of all traditions might be renewed in their God given ministry of reconciliation – sharing the love of God in Christ to bring reconciliation between humankind and their creator and redeemer, within the human family, and between humankind and God’s green Earth.

Daren Blanck is the Pastor of Zoar Church in Tofte, MN, a Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ (LCMC). Pastor Daren holds a BS in Environmental Science from Bemidji State, a MS in Education from UW-Superior, and recently completed his MA in Pastoral Theology from Kingswood University in New Brunswick. In addition he studied theatre in the UK and trained for ministry through the LCMC’s Beyond the River Academy. He’s also a part-time teacher in Silver Bay.