Reflections by Rev. Dan Bogre
Dear Friends and Family of RRUMC,
This Lenten season we have been using Tom Berlin’s book, “The Third Day.”
It was different from any study we have done in the past in the fact that it dealt with six different people of the Bible on the other side of the resurrection.
We typically spend the six weeks of Lent leaning into all of the events that happened before Easter Sunday morning and then spend one hour on Easter Sunday morning celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. After that, we just go back to life as normal.
The subtitle of Berlin’s book is “Living the Resurrection.” How do we turn Easter Sunday morning into a new way of life?
Easter is now just a few weeks away. I am hoping that you have been attending or streaming all of our Lenten services thus far. I am hoping you had an opportunity to be in one of the six Bible studies studying Berlin’s book. At the very least, I am hoping you were able to buy the book and follow along with each chapter that corresponds to each Sunday’s sermon.
If we are doing that as a church family, I feel like the time from Palm Sunday on April 13, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday morning will be so much more meaningful and life-transforming. The disciples locked themselves in a room following Jesus’ crucifixion fearing that the same fate that Jesus experienced would soon be theirs. What changed? They met the risen Savior. They knew that the Resurrection Jesus talked about before his death was absolutely the truth.
It was that encounter with the risen Savior and the power of that resurrection truth that equipped them, empowered them, and called them past the locked door of that room into a new life LIVING THE RESURRECTION. My hope and prayer for all is that, on the other side of Easter Sunday morning, we would all begin living our resurrection. May Easter not just be a day this year, but may it be a new way of life. May you and your family have a blessed and holy Easter.
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Dan