From the Pastoral perspective:

Words of Hope for the month of May, 2008

May is a very special time of the year for many of us. It is a month of new life and renewal for the earth. It is a month of greenness and graduations. It is a month filled with recognitions and special celebrations. It is also the month that contains a special day of remembrance called "Mother's Day." This year, Mother's Day falls at the end of the Easter season - the Day of Pentecost . the day of remembering Jesus' sending the One called the Comforter, the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth.

During this past Easter season we have been surrounded by the words and promises of Jesus as He met with His disciples the night before His death. St. John shared many of Jesus' words and images as he wrote at the end of the 1st century of his having "seen and touched" the crucified and risen One. He wrote of Jesus sending the Comforter to reassure His followers when they could no longer eat with Him or laugh with Him or touch Him. We will continue to be surrounded by this same message of a season in which our fears and anxieties are quieted and our hopes and our dreams illumined by the cross and the empty tomb.

It is appropriate that Mother's Day falls within the season of Easter. These special days of remembrance take on an added dimension for us who have heard those words of hope and built our lives on their truth. We not only look back with fond memories, we also look forward with confidence to that promised reunion. Because He lives, we too shall live. And for those of us who can only visit a grave or recall a memory, that is surely good news - the best Mother's Day present of all. Have a special month of celebrating and remembering and looking forward with Hope - not only as individuals and families, but, also, as the family of God gathered at Bethlehem Lutheran Church!

God's Peace,
Pastor Dan Deutsch

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