Staff Sharing

Rev. Julie Kline, Pastor of Youth Ministries

Easter morning, in the midst of the “Hallelujah Chorus,” my eyes began to brim with tears. Not surprising, it happens to me every year without fail. I find Easter to be a tender time. To follow Jesus through Holy Week means exploring a wide and deep valley of emotions and an awakening of spiritual depth. Seated at the table with the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the juice we are reminded that this is not a casual relationship that Jesus calls us, but one that is intimate, an abiding oneness. Our hearts are warmed by this closeness but then we are quickly spun into the betrayal, the faltering of the disciples that is our own. The brutality and loneliness of Jesus’ death leaves us heartbroken. To sing “Hallelujah” on Easter morning is an embracing of this life of faith that means we follow Christ to the depths and heights of life, assured that the Holy Spirit is the life sustaining breath.

As I stood upon the chancel on Easter morning it was not only the breadth of the spiritual journey that brought the tears. I looked to all the Easter people that gathered in that sacred space that overflowed with life and hummed with joy. In the middle of all of these people was my nephew, Caleb, who is a freshman at Kalamazoo College and has been worshipping with us regularly. I saw my mom, people I grew up with as a youth in this church, others who have sung this chorus this way for countless years, smiling strangers and Jackie “almost levitating” as she moved and shaped this wonderful Easter energy. Quite simply, I was awestruck by the beauty and the glory. I was inspired by the fullness of life cycles that is this church. There are beginnings, and endings constantly and consistently in the life of this church and amazingly they are all woven together to create a beautiful story of faith.

Easter and Eastertide has been a tender time for me with the knowledge that two of my colleagues and friends will be coming to a place of closure and a new beginning. I will miss their presence, their prayers, their witness, their gifts and service, as I am sure you all will too. Yet, this is what it means to be an Easter people, we don’t resist the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit as it tugs and pulls upon our lives. We embrace it. We say “yes” to it. We even belt out “Hallelujah,” knowing that to live with faith and by faith there will be beginnings, endings, full circles, stops and starts AND God is ever present, weaving it all together. But it is okay to be a little tender, there is nothing wrong with letting the tears fill your eyes and spill down your cheeks. It is good to laugh, dream, remember and hug. This is life, the fullness of life that is intentional Christian community. Hallelujah!

             

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