We Remain in Easter

Dear EFUMC family, May is a month of held breath. The alleluias of Easter are still ringing in the church, but all around us life feels full and hurried. The school year leans toward its close. Teachers, students, and families are pressing toward the finish line. There is excitement in the air, but also fatigue. For those who have taught or loved someone through the rhythms of a school year, May carries its own kind of ache: exhaustion, anticipation, and the longing to become human again after months of pouring oneself out. And still, the church remains in Easter. We are still living in the light of resurrection. We are still asking what it means that Christ is alive— and what difference that makes for our lives now. The good news of Easter is not only that Jesus rose from the dead once long ago. The good news is that the risen Christ is present with us still: speaking peace to fearful hearts, calling us each by name, and leading us toward abundant life. And then, just as the Easter season stretches on, Pentecost draws near. Wind. Breath. Fire. Spirit. What a gift that Pentecost comes when it does. Just when we are weary. Just when we are running low. Just when the world feels breathless, the Spirit arrives like holy wind filling the house.

  Pentecost reminds us that resurrection life is not something we manufacture by our own strength. It is not sustained by willpower alone. The risen Christ does not say to his disciples, “Now go figure it out.” He breathes on them. He sends the Holy Spirit. He fills them with courage, comfort, power, and life. Perhaps that is the invitation of May: to notice our breath, and to notice the God who still breathes life into weary people. Where are you tired? Where are you longing for renewal? Where is your soul asking for room to breathe? As summer approaches, perhaps the question is not only what we are finishing, but what God is awakening in us. Perhaps this is a season for rest. For prayer. For paying attention. For letting the Spirit gather up what is scattered in us and prepare our hearts again for joy. Friends, Easter is not behind us, and Pentecost is not separate from it. The story is still unfolding. The risen Christ is still among us. The Holy Spirit is still being poured out. Even now, God is drawing breathless people into abundant life. May this month be a season of grace. May it be a season of exhale. May it be a season of holy wind. And may the Spirit prepare us to keep living the resurrection with courage, tenderness, and joy.

Contigo,

Pastor Sarah