Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
  • Get to Know Us
    • Pastor Michael Tassler
    • Mission, Vision, & Beliefs/Theology
    • History
    • Leadership (Staff & Council)
    • About the ELCA & RMS
    • Visiting? Welcome!
    • Communications
    • The Herald (Newsletter)
    • Faith Conversations
  • Worship
  • Sunday School
  • Prayers in Action
    • LMS Preschool
    • For Children / Sunday School
    • For Youth
    • For Adults
    • Music >
      • Organ Upgrade
    • Fair Trade Coffee
    • Prayer Request
  • Administrative Info
    • Council Minutes & Reports
    • Congregational Meetings & Documents
    • Directory
    • Our Facilities
  • Contact Us
    • Getting Here
    • Contact Us Now
    • Prayer Request
    • Calendar
  • Contribute
    • Give Now
    • About Special Funds
  • Get to Know Us
    • Pastor Michael Tassler
    • Mission, Vision, & Beliefs/Theology
    • History
    • Leadership (Staff & Council)
    • About the ELCA & RMS
    • Visiting? Welcome!
    • Communications
    • The Herald (Newsletter)
    • Faith Conversations
  • Worship
  • Sunday School
  • Prayers in Action
    • LMS Preschool
    • For Children / Sunday School
    • For Youth
    • For Adults
    • Music >
      • Organ Upgrade
    • Fair Trade Coffee
    • Prayer Request
  • Administrative Info
    • Council Minutes & Reports
    • Congregational Meetings & Documents
    • Directory
    • Our Facilities
  • Contact Us
    • Getting Here
    • Contact Us Now
    • Prayer Request
    • Calendar
  • Contribute
    • Give Now
    • About Special Funds
Picture

​Zion's Newsletter

March 2018

3/1/2018

0 Comments

 
A Word from the Pastor:

Halloween has its trick-or-treating. Valentine’s Day has its boxes of choco-lates. But Easter chocolate rabbits rule the day. In the week before Easter last year, Americans bought $823 million in crème-filled eggs, chocolate rab-bits and colored marshmallow Peeps (Nielsen data). Furthermore, 67% of our nation’s adults consider Easter “a religious holiday” versus 42% who say it cel-ebrates Jesus’ resurrection.

We offer another narrative. The faithful who observe the days prior to Easter will reflect on the final days of a journey that seems to end with a brutal exe-cution. Death by crucifixion remains among the most gruesome and humili-ating state sanctioned killings to this day. Astonishingly, in one account of the proceedings, as the soldiers pounded nails into his battered, tortured body, the condemned man prayed that God would forgive them, for they hardly knew what they were doing.

This young man tortured to death by the empire, whose friends later said that they saw him alive, taught that the most faithful way for living included loving even one’s enemies. Now, this One raised from the dead, and his Spirit, the Spirit of truth, is loose in the world. Certainly, it shows that life is stronger than death. But could it also be that love ---- unconditional, sacrificial love ---- is stronger than death?

That’s a message worth pondering, especially in our divisive nation and world. If our reliance is on being right, on bombs, bullets and hate, then we may as well settle into a chocolate bunny Easter celebration. Or, we could get a life, a new life, praying grace to love that difficult-to-love person next door, across the aisle or on the other side, wherever that is.
​
In and through our Crucified and Risen Lord, Jesus Christ,
Pastor Steve
The Herald - March 2018
File Size: 2140 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    February 2022
    October 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

CONNECTING THROUGH GRACE

Picture
We are a Reconciling in Christ community. All are welcome!

Picture
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Rocky Mountain Synod

ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

1070 Foothill Drive
​Salt Lake City, UT 84108
office@zelc.org
801-582-2321

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Every Sunday:
Worship
Sunday at 10 am
or anytime online
at 
zelc.org


​© Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.