Excerpt from Isaiah 42:1-9

"Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled. I'm announcing the new salvation work. Before it bursts on the scene I'm telling you all about it."  (The Message)

Reflection by William C. Green

Easter is about to burst on the scene. The promise of new life awaits us—new faith and hope and love when, as Isaiah puts it elsewhere, "you're afraid…in over your head…in rough waters…between a rock and a hard place."

Rough waters and hard places, even crucifixion, continue to abound. How does Easter matter today?

The veteran civil rights activist, Rev. Will Campbell, now in his nineties, said we have it backwards. We try by ourselves to bring about the reconciliation and new life that God alone can accomplish. Our job is to live out what God does as if the world has been saved—for it has been. "Before it bursts on the scene I'm telling you about it." That's what Easter is all about after its first days are over.

When someone tells me they're giving me advance warning about something, or "a heads-up," I assume I'm being told to be on the lookout for trouble. Not so with faith. You and I are told to be on the lookout for the new life that Easter is all about—a promise easy to miss amid all that's so wrong. "Take note!" It's soon to spring up on you!

Prayer

I want to make things right, God. May I act on the assurance that your power bursts inside me, too. Amen.

About the Author William C. Green is Vice-President for Strategy and Development, Moral Courage Project, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the author of 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation: Generous Giving.

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