Weekly STAR Reflection 4-12-2020

Reflection from Pastor Hoffman

About ten years ago, a ministry out of Luther Seminary called Working Preacher created this video: “Easter is coming…” I invite you to watch it here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c2inXKD6PI&app=desktop]

I am drawn to this proclamation of the Easter message.  It names all of the reasons why the message of Easter – the conviction of faith that Jesus died and rose again – is absurd in the face of the world’s suffering and despair.  It paints an all-too-real picture of the forsakenness of a world without God.  And it challenges that picture with a simple question: What if the testimony of the women at the tomb is true?  Then another picture emerges.  A picture of a world of hope.  A world of meaning.  A world that is more than it seems.

We are living in a world we’ve never known before.  A world hijacked by a virus that has threatened our health and well-being, our financial security, and our illusions of control.  A world in which pain and suffering and death is a daily reality.  A world that looks bleak.  But…what if the testimony of the women at the tomb is true?  Then we know that Jesus’ story did not end with death on the cross, and another world emerges.  A world that does not end with this virus.  A world beloved by God who gives life to the dead.  A world in which our hope is not in vain.  A world in which Easter is coming!

May you be sustained by this promise of hope and join the faithful in shouting with joy: Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

~ Pastor H.