It’s an old Eastern European custom. I’m not sure if it’s still practiced in Slavic countries today, but it’s something we did when I was young. On the day after Easter, Bright Monday, men and boys would splash, sprinkle, or squirt water on unsuspecting women while announcing, “Christ is risen!” … Read More »Fifty Days: To Life!
The ancient story is retold each year throughout the world. On the first day of the week, the women went before dawn to the place where they laid his body. Arriving at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away. His body was gone. Scholars tell us that the first… Read More »Making Sense of the Resurrection
Over the weeks following Easter, Gospel stories recounting the appearances of the risen Christ to the disciples are read in Christian churches. Of these stories, perhaps the most striking to me recounts two people and their encounter with Christ on Easter evening. This story is commonly called, “The Road to… Read More »A Warm Spring of Refreshment after Tragedy
Growing up during the Cold War Era in a family proud of its Eastern European heritage and belonging to an ethnic Eastern European church, there was a story I heard periodically around Easter time. The story made its way into sermons and was sometimes repeated in family gatherings. As there… Read More »Making Sense of the Resurrection of Jesus Today
Growing up during the Cold War Era in a family proud of its Eastern European heritage and belonging to an ethnic Eastern European church, there was a story I heard periodically around Easter time. The story made its way into sermons and was sometimes repeated in family gatherings. As there… Read More »Christ Is Risen! What Does It Mean to Me Today?
It’s something I’ve witnessed a few times in my life when working in hospitals. Generally, it’s happened something like this. A person has a heart attack and a team of people rush in with a defibrillator. After frantic treatment, the person is stabilized. In some cases, the person’s heart appeared… Read More »Easter: Life is Changed Not Ended
It’s easy for me to associate Easter with new life. Living in the northern hemisphere, my experience of Easter is associated with the budding of trees and blooming of flowers. Having grown up in Western Pennsylvania, there were some years when Easter mornings came blanketed with snow. But even then,… Read More »Easter and New Life
It’s something new: a new relationship, a new job, a new home, a new city, a new child, a new start, a new beginning. When we start something new, there’s excitment and anticipation. Family and friends congratulate us. They are happy for us. How wonderful! When we are in the… Read More »New Beginnings