2 Cor 5:17
As Christians, we approach Easter 2022 with hope and anticipation of new life, of resurrection. Maybe even hope that we will return to normal patterns of life and worship.
We read in the Gospel of Mark, on that first Easter morning, Mary, Mary, and Salome went to the tomb. But they didn’t find Jesus there. Instead, an angel said, he has been raised. He has gone ahead of you into Galilee. There, you will find him. And they fled. And they told no one, for they were terrified.
What were they afraid of? They had gone that morning seeking a return to normal, as we all do after we lose a loved one. The burial rituals. The grieving rituals. But at the end of those traditions, a return to normal. And what they found instead was that their lives had been turned upside down. If Jesus was raised, Jesus was Lord. And this small band of disciples and followers would be pitted against the greatest empire in the history of the world.
I think that’s what many of us are afraid of. It’s not that we doubt the story of resurrection, or the miracle of the Ascension, or the sure return of Jesus to rule in power. No, it’s not that we’re afraid those things are false. We’re afraid they’re true. Because if they’re true, it pits us against the powers of this world, against the power of culture and materialism, of racism, of economic oppression, of climate degradation. It turns our lives upside down. That’s what we’re afraid of.
The Board of Pensions is an upside-down organization. The amount of pension credits does not depend on the amount of dues paid for the member. How much one pays for healthcare is scaled based on income. In retirement, if our pensioners find that they don’t have enough to live on, in independence and dignity, well, the Assistance Program makes up the difference.
That’s not how things are supposed to work in contracts in America, but that’s because we’re not built on those principles. We’re built on the principles of community. As the largest collaboration in the PC(USA), the Board of Pensions is an amazingly countercultural organization.
Happy Easter.
Grace and peace,
The Reverend Frank Clark Spencer
President
