Easter Devotional
God’s light dispels our fears
Pastor Laurie Hill, St. John United Church of Christ

[March 27, 2018]  Once, when I was a child and lived on a small farm, we owned a few sheep so I could be involved in 4-H. It was my parents way of helping their shy child develop friendships.

One winter night, I wandered out to feed the sheep but when I flipped the light switch in the barn, no lights came on. I ran back to the house and told my parents. My father said firmly, ”Those are your sheep and they need you, whether it’s dark or not. Find a way to feed them!”

I ventured back to the barn, with a tiny flashlight and fed my sheep. For some reason, I was never afraid in the dark again. That night, as my trembling hand held the tiny light, I sang songs that I had learned in Sunday School, as loud as my lungs would let me: “Jesus loves me, this I know!” And just to make sure any evil spirits were lurking heard, I sang out “THIS I KNOW” even louder! I was sure that I would be protected. I became confident!

Easter is a way to teach us that we can overcome the darkness of our lives. We can sing out: “Jesus Christ has risen today!” And we can shout: “He has risen indeed!” just in case there are evil spirits lurking about!

We may not be shy children feeding pets anymore but we all have our sheep to feed. We have children to take care of, work to do, aging parents to care for, siblings, friends, neighbors, the homeless, the hungry, the broken hearted, the addicted - all who need us - and it’s up to us to overcome the darkness to help.

We need to find God’s light and the song of our faith to shout death, confusion, despair away and help us to feel confident in a new way. That’s what Easter means - that since God rose Christ from the grave, God can rise us from our tombs into a new way of confident-being!

Happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Joy to the World!