"There is Always Easter..."      

                      For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:

                                      The Lord Jesus, on the night he was

                                       betrayed, took bread, and when he had

                                       given thanks, he broke it and said,

                                           "This is my body, which is for

                                             you; do this in remembrance

of me."

                       In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,

                                           "This cup is the new covenant

                                             in my blood; do this, whenever

                                             you drink it, in remembrance

of me."

                        For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you

                        proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

                                           I Corinthians 11:23-26

          If one reads I Corinthians 11, verses 1-22, one will find himself or herself privy to a letter in which Saint Paul is reprimanding the Corinthian Christians for their unruly behavior during a fellowship feast, which is then followed by the celebration of Holy Communion.  This "fellowship or love feast," as some Bibles call it, has become a time in which some people eat and drink excessively while others go hungry.  There is little sharing and caring here, and Christian unity and love are absent at a time when the church should be preparing for the Lord's Supper.  Paul condemns these actions and then goes on to recite the Sacrament of Holy Communion as he "received it from the Lord" and "passed on" to them, the Corinthians.  These are the same words that our pastors recite to us whenever we share in the Eucharist, remembering Christ's sacrifice and His forgiveness of our sins by His death on the cross.

             As one reads on to the end of chapter eleven, one sees that Saint Paul writes about a "new covenant" as opposed  to an "old covenant."  In the "old covenant," people can approach God only through the priests who give animal sacrifices to God for the sins of the people.  When Christ dies on the cross for our sins, He creates a "new covenant" between God and us.  Now all people can approach God and can have a relationship with Him because of Christ's blood that is shed for our sins on that "old rugged cross" more than two-thousand years ago.

              As we re-read the Good Friday passages in the gospels tomorrow, let us not forget to thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we may have everlasting life.  Remember,  that as "dark" as Good Friday appears to us, we already know the ending.  The ending is one of HOPE!  CHRIST is our HOPE, and He is RISEN!  There is always the promise of the resurrection;  there is always that third day. THERE IS ALWAYS EASTER...!!

                        Hallelujah

Amen !

Prayer:      Dear Jesus,

               Thank you for the gifts of your body and blood, 

for your saving grace to us.  We are unworthy and

           unlovable in our sins, but it is through your blood,

           shed on that cross that we are made clean; it is 

           because of your broken body that we are made

whole.

                                We love you, Lord.

                                     Thank you   

N. Sabo

Steven Minister