Nebraska Synod ELCA

by Bishop Scott Johnson

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,
and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
—John 20:30-31—

Beloved in Christ,

As we enter the Easter season, we also enter the month of April. Our “Go and…” theme for April is “Go and Tell the Story.” This year, like so many other years the church has known, it will be hard to avoid the story of Easter. The narrative of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection are sunk deep within the cultural context many of us take for granted. However, that hasn’t always been the reality.

Take a minute and consider what it was like for those earliest witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. The church and the state had conspired together to rid themselves of a threat to their power. The claim that Jesus was alive again wasn’t just an unlikely dream for the hopelessly naive; professing the resurrection of a person crucified for sedition and blasphemy could get you in trouble with the government and the church authorities. Those earliest witnesses to the resurrection – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, Peter, John, and all the others – told a story that was absolutely unsupported by everything around them. They were frightened, threatened, and uncertain; but they still told the story. Some accounts in the Bible tell us they ran to tell the story to their fellow disciples and others who might listen. Without brass fanfares, without organ music, without the fragrance of lilies, without bunnies or chocolate or Easter hymns, they told the story, and kept on telling the story until the telling couldn’t be stopped.

All these centuries later, we sometimes forget that everything surrounding our Easter celebrations is meant to help us do the one central task that is common to all of Jesus’ disciples: TELL THE STORY. The hymns are written to TELL THE STORY. The lilies decorate the sanctuary to TELL THE STORY. The stained glass is put in place to TELL THE STORY. The eggs are boiled and dyed to TELL THE STORY. Almost 2,000 years since Mary Magdalene ran to TELL THE STORY to others, we are still called to do the same, in whatever way works best for us. Some of you can TELL THE STORY through acts of service. Some of you can TELL THE STORY by singing or playing a musical instrument. Some of you can TELL THE STORY in visual arts or the written word. Some of you can TELL THE STORY in ways no one else can.

Wherever your talents may lie, go and TELL THE STORY this Easter season, as the latest in a cloud of witnesses who have been called to TELL THE STORY of Jesus of Nazareth, anointed Son of God.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Go and TELL THE STORY, friends, now and always. God be with you.