Holy Week and the Journey to Easter By Pastor Kim Montenegro

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

John 20:2

Greetings and blessings in the name of Jesus Christ! In a few weeks, we will be entering one of the most mysterious weeks in the Christian calendar. It is a week filled with compassion and somberness, life and death, and life again. In many ways, Holy Week is an encapsulated episode of the true human condition. We all experience joy and sorrow. We all experience life and death. And yes, we will experience new life as well, both in this lifetime and in the future.

At Fair Oaks UMC, we seek to journey with people through their times of despair and their times of hopeful anticipation through our ministries and mission. We care for people. We comfort people. We offer a small respite from the harsh outside weather for our friends who live outside through our tarp and clothing ministry. We build relationships with people. We are seeking to take part in the resurrection stories that are happening in our midst, encouraging folks to take a hold of a new life that God is offering them. And as we offer this newness to others, we are also on our own journeys of resurrection, discovering new places where God is calling us to be.

Since you are already a part of Fair Oaks UMC, I encourage you to continue with us on this trip we are taking. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist revival in the 18th century said that each of us should be striving towards “Christian perfection.” This seems like a tough goal to achieve, but at its core, it means that God calls us to do our absolute best. When we offer God our best, we are becoming new creations. We are letting old habits die and allowing our lives to be resurrected. Just as Mary Magdalene was searching for Jesus in the tomb, we are called to be searching for Jesus in our own midst. We find Jesus where the world is hurting because Jesus is always associated with people who are hurting so he could provide healing and newness. Jesus’ call isn’t an easy one or one that makes us comfortable, we are called to the margins of society, asking, “Who is being left out?” At Fair Oaks UMC, we want to be with those who are hurting as well. Through relationship, the church and the world we will be transformed, by God’s grace.

Happy Easter!

Pastor Kim Montenegro