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Resurrection Math: Uncertainty + Fear = Joy?

by julie davis
4/29/2007 / Church Life

Resurrection Math: Uncertainty + Fear = Joy?

Every Sunday as we offer prayers for all churches I shoot off an extra prayer for a little church in Ohio which I visited last summer. The congregation of Saint Peter's meets in a beautiful building with stained glass windows dating from the 1890s and a stone baptismal font crafted in 1860. It is the second oldest building in the town. The Lutherans, the senior warden admitted, had them beat by one year. The beauty of this old church and the lesson this congregation taught me about living the resurrection made a lasting impression.

One Sunday I joined fifteen other worshipers in their sanctuary, which could easily hold one hundred. Upon sitting down in the church I was immediately greeted verbally or waved to by every member present. Three of them even rose from their pews to come over and introduce themselves before the service began. They apologized that there would be no Eucharist as the priest who traveled two and a half hours from Cincinnati every Sunday had a wedding to perform in another town and could not make it. If I was counting on communion, one offered, perhaps after I finished there I could head on over to the Lutheran church for the 11:00 o'clock service.

After the service we were led by the hostess to coffee hour where the newcomer ministry leader sat us down and brought us refreshments. My niece and daughter were invited to help their outreach team stuff backpacks with school supplies. I learned from my hosts that twenty-five people attend church there regularly and maybe twenty families officially belong. The building that used to house several Sunday school classes and small groups are empty most of the time. They are doing very poorly financially. Only three children attend. The main reason for their decline, my hosts explained, is that young people don't stick around in the rural town as employment opportunities are few.

These facts saddened me and I was at a loss for words so I simply nodded. But my guests were actually cheerful. They told their story not with hopelessness but as people who, though mourning for what had once been, are optimistic that their faith will be rewarded. Their circumstances mirror those of the women at the tomb who were, as Matthew describes them, "afraid yet filled with joy" (NIV). Saint Peter's is waiting, despite looming property taxes, no permanent priest and no promise of new membership for better times. Meanwhile they are living the hope of the resurrection through their great hospitality, serving those in need and other essential ministries.

When faced with uncertainty and fear may we all be granted the same grace of the women at the tomb and the parishioners of Saint Peter's. May our fears always be coupled with great joy.

Peace

Julie Davis
Copyright 2007

Julie Davis is a religious educator, creator of www.faithreflections.com and regular contributor to The Good News. Redemption, communing with God, family life and the spirituality of children are common themes in her work.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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