The time of Lent leading up to Easter is always an interesting time for me. We are in some way told to be excited for what is to come, but during our services we sing songs that are a bit more down on atmosphere and emotions, and our readings are a bit more sad than happy and excited. Even though this is true, we get so much from this time, and it reaches its high point on that most wonderful Easter Sunday morning. In this time of lent, Christ’s humanity was emphasized for me time and again, helping me realise how important it is that He truly was human like us, so that He could truly experience life as we do, with all its ups and its downs, and for Him especially the downs in the dark time leading to Jerusalem and the suffering that He had to go through. This made Easter morning more wonderful as we see Christ exalted for what He has done, that He was in fact truly human, but also truly God. All of this is part of the greatest love story ever told. We experience grace for what God has done through Christ. We now live in this time of grace, a time where we know our sins are forgiven for what One has done, and the time we know that the second coming is on its way. When? We do not know. But that does not matter. What matters is He will come again and until then, we live in grace. As we wait for the second coming, we do not just simply sit and wait. We are called to live. We know that the Holy Spirit fills us and by his life-giving presence we are led to live lives of love, sharing grace in fellowship with one another. This year at Pentecost our church is celebrating its inauguration, which was on Pentecost Sunday 1963. Many wonderful years have passed since then, some more difficult than others, yet always in God’s grace. We are celebrating it together with a congregational meal, which is very fitting as fellowship is a crucial part of how we support each other at Kreuzkirche. I’m excited to share that special day with our members. We thank God for all the years we’ve shared together and those still to come.
Ps Schalk Treurnicht
