A Message from Our Kahu
The Season of Easter “Joy and Hope”
After our service and luncheon on Easter Sunday, I went home carrying feelings of joy and hope; and I was reminded that the Season of Easter lasts from Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday, which falls on May 24 this year.
In my Easter message I spoke about Mary Magdalene, her remarkable reputation in the early centuries of the Christian Church, and how she taught us all an important lesson about recognizing Jesus in our midst in times of fear and grief.
We are currently living in such times. Think of places in our world where fear and grief are prevalent: the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and the United States. Think of people in our communities where grief and fear are prevalent: immigrants, refugees, transgender persons, religious minorities, the poor, the hungry, the homeless. Think of individuals you know who are struggling to make ends meet, sick, or have recently experienced a great loss.
Fear and grief are normal parts of life, but so are joy and hope. I don’t know of any better way to experience joy and hope than to look for Jesus in the eyes of the other. Whether you are looking into the eyes of a newborn, a dear partner or friend, or someone whom you find challenging to have in your presence, I encourage to look until you recognize Jesus and then do your best to love them as Jesus loved all of us.
I included the photo of the beautiful lehua blossoms above, because the ohia tree on which they grow is one of my favorite symbols of joy and hope. So far this year, I have seen lehua blossoms on Maui, at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and on the Kalalau Trail on Kauai’s scenic north shore. I’ve seen them in magnificent shades of red, orange and yellow. They bring such joy and hope to the landscape, even in some of the most unlikely places. After fresh lava hardens, one of the first signs of life emerging from the cracks in the hardened rock are the ohia trees. In landscapes that one might imagine being beyond all hope of life, colorful blossoms adorn those places, as if to say, “Even destruction and death can’t keep us from adding beauty to the earth.”
May we feel that same joy and hope during this Season of Easter.
Aloha Nui Loa!
Kahu
Recent Comments