Alleluia. Christ is risen.
These Great Fifty Days are the most hopeful days of the church year. We are invited to live the resurrection life anew and celebrate the continued renewal of our lives and our church.
One of my favorite features of this season of celebration is that we read regularly from the Book of Acts. We are treated to the powerful witness of the early Church that shows us the extraordinary power of God to heal, renew, and restore. The faith of the apostles was so palpable that people simply wanted to have the shadow of an apostle pass over them so that they could be healed. The accounts of the power of God related to us in Acts reveal a church that is, in a very real way, on fire.
We are called to bear a similar witness in our own time. As I travel around our diocese and hear the accounts of the power of God, I am even more aware that we have a powerful witness to share with the world.
Last weekend, 70 people were confirmed in Douglassville and Reading. We asked the confirmands to expect that God would continue to do a mighty work in them, and we were not disappointed. Several people spoke to me about their renewed sense of vocation and God’s particular call in their lives.
On Sunday morning, I visited Christ Church, Reading and experienced the ministry of an active healing team; a team that meets with others from neighboring parishes for study and prayer. Many people received anointing during the liturgy and some were willing to share their stories of the ways in which God was healing them. One person who came for healing prayer learned about the service after attending the Beatles’ mass at the church on the previous night.
These seeds of faith and signs of the power of God are evident all over our diocese. The Easter season is a good time to reflect on our own spiritual life and revitalization as we call our diocese ever deeper into the spiritual renewal to which God is calling us.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.