Pastor Ash Dotson
Hey folks, Pastor Ash here from Oasis United Methodist Church. Easter is almost upon us as we have been making our journey through Lent. First of all, I want to invite you all to our Good Friday service on Friday, April 18 at 4 p.m. in the Laredo Room. And then to our Easter service on the 20th at 9:30 a.m. We hope to see you there and join us for coffee and snacks after. Of course we invite you to join us each Sunday at the same time and place. Come and grow with us in a community of blessing where all are welcomed and valued.
Most of us know that Easter is more than just an event in history, it is a living, unfolding mystery. For centuries, Christians have proclaimed, “Christ is risen!” But what does that mean beyond the empty tomb? Is resurrection only about what happened to Jesus, or is it something that happens within us, in our world, and in all of creation?
At its core, resurrection is a movement of transformation. It is the great pattern woven into the fabric of existence telling us death does not have the final word. Life continues, renewed, reshaped, and reimagined. The early followers of Jesus understood resurrection not just as a past event but as an ongoing reality that changes everything. They experienced it as a mystical awakening, revealing that love is stronger than fear, hope outlasts despair, and life is not bound by the limits of what we can see.
Many mystics throughout Christian history have spoken of resurrection as a deep inner experience. St. Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The medieval mystic Meister Eckhart took this further, saying, “What good is it to me if Christ was born in Bethlehem once, if he is not born in me today?” These words invite us to see resurrection as something personal, as an invitation to wake up to the divine presence already at work in us.
In a world filled with suffering, injustice, and uncertainty, Easter calls us to a radical hope. It is not blind optimism, but the deep, spiritual knowing that even when the world seems lost, God is still bringing life out of death. We see resurrection in communities coming together to heal, in acts of compassion that defy hatred, and in the resilience of those who refuse to give up.
This Easter, may we open ourselves to the mystery. May we embrace resurrection not as a doctrine to be believed, but as a truth to be lived. May we trust that even in the darkest places, God is at work, renewing, restoring, and making all things new.
Christ is risen. Love lives. And so do we. Happy Easter!