The following is shared from ‘The Word In Season’ for April 1, 2018, Easter Sunday:
Some of the oldest copies of Mark’s gospel end with the silence of verse 8. Silence makes it easier for us to recognize holiness.
The north woods of Minnesota is a holy place, where God’s abounding love can be seen in every pinecone and lake. Still, whenever a new group of teenage campers would arrive at Wilderness Canoe Baes, a Lutheran camp way up north in Minnesota, their noises (even the happy ones) would overwhelm the quiet holiness. One summer, as the camp naturalist, it was my job to teach campers about the plants, rocks, and animals of the woods: to point out the holiness all around. I found it worked best if I could coax the campers into silence. We would walk down the nature trail hearing white-throated sparrows sing, watching sun glitter on the lake, and smelling the ancient resin of cedar. As the campers’ noise melted away, holiness was revealed.
In the midst of your joyful Easter celebrations, I hope you find some silence. Remember the women who fled the tomb, stunned into silence by the immense holiness of an empty tomb and the hope of a new day. May holiness be revealed to you, too.
The current and informative news in the Grace Messenger for April 2018 can be found here: April 2018 Messenger
Click the link to read the Grace Calendar for April 2018: April 2018 Calendar