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I watched someone texting with one hand and shopping for groceries with the other.

As our bus pulled into the Oakville, Ontario, parking lot, on that third day of the Chapel Choir tour, a man, smiling and waving, bounded out of the back door of the church to greet us. He was followed, just moments later, by several other people, who seemed to have been waiting eagerly for that moment of welcoming us.

Rabbits and Resurrection
John 20.1-18

Remember the early Christian church and how Christians were persecuted for believing that someone else beside the Roman Emperor could be King of the Universe. Our Mothers and Fathers in the faith were stoned, burned and fed to ravenous lions. Nero’s depraved acts initiated a period of violent persecution, torture and martyrdom for Christians that lasted into the 4th century.

It made the evening news, on that first truly warm day last week – a photo sent in by a resident of Naperville, showing a solitary, bright, blooming crocus that had sprung up through the ground. As it appeared on the screen, the newscasters sighed with appreciation, and it got my attention, too – something so beautiful, so tender, so full of promise, that had broken through the hard, dark earth.

The Chapel Choir Pre Tour concert is this Sunday, March 20 at Gary Memorial UMC in Wheaton IL. The concert is set for 7:00 pm. We hope to see you there!!!

This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. In the evening we will gather at 7PM for prayer and song scripture and reflection and of course mark our foreheads with ashes to mark the beginning of Lent.

The scripture lesson for Ash Wednesday is from 2 Corinthians. Paul writes to the Church at Corinth reminding them that Christ promised to help them if they just listened to him. This scripture reminds me that Christ will help even the Church at Downers Grove, that, if we listen, the obstacles will be removed and we will prevail.

The most recent copy of our church magazine for clergy, The Circuit Rider, focused on "holy conversation." We often think of holy conversation as those moments when one person really hears another with love and respect, so that a new understanding can emerge between them. We may think of moments like sharing in prayer in a hospital room; a quiet side-conversation at a family gathering; or the welcome surprise of a phone call from a long time friend.

It was a strange week. Last Monday began with the continuing saga of the conflict in Egypt. We were bombarded with images that carried the forecast of new storms. Nightly we heard the crowds cry “O Pharaoh “let my people go”, a cry coming out of an economic malaise to ears that seemed unresponsive.

Tuesday and Wednesday you could hear the Chicago area cry “Let’s be done with winter”. It doesn’t have quite the urgency as does a confrontation with Pharaoh but feelings of oppression can get muddied. Tuesday we hardly noticed what the groundhog had to say.