The Promise of Easter

A message to the PC(USA) from the General Assembly Stated Clerk

by The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick
PC(USA) General Assembly stated clerk

LOUISVILLE — This is a good year for Easter to come early!

The date of Easter this year, March 23, is the earliest it has been for almost 200 years. With all of the pain and suffering in the world, the conflict in our church, and the deep yearning for the good news that can only be answered by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an early Easter is just what the world needs.

In my years of working in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the church around the world, I have been struck by how the Easter message brings life, hope, and salvation to people in so many different contexts and finds expression in so many different ways. The ultimate triumph of the love of God in the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, brings incredible hope and joy to people who, like Jesus, face tremendous obstacles to fullness of life.

For those suffering from the guilt of sin, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the good news of forgiveness and newness of life.

For those facing death, the resurrection is the promise that death is swallowed up in victory and we are invited to share with Christ in life eternal.

For those feeling deserted or overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, the resurrection is the promise that no suffering is so great that it cannot be overcome by the love of God through Christ.

For those struggling for justice against great odds, the resurrection is the demonstration that God’s righteousness will ultimately triumph in this world.

For all of us, the resurrection is the assurance that “nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

Easter is the church’s finest hour and God’s greatest blessing to each and every one of us. As you celebrate new life again this Easter, may your heart be filled with the love of Christ and the joy of being part of a community of resurrection people.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

You and I will never see Easter this early again

Barb received this email about Easter dates. Very interesting.

Easter this year.
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full
moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20,
2008).
This dating of Easter is based on the lunar
calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover,
which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Based on the above information, Easter can actually be
one day earlier (March 22) - that is rare.
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will
ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most
elderly of our population have ever seen it this early
(95 years old or above). And none of us have ever,
or will ever, see it a day earlier!
Here are the facts:
1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23)
will be the year 2228 (220 years from n ow). The last
time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or
older, you are the only ones that were around for
that!).
2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22,
will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The
last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one
alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than
this year!