Easter Sunday 2020 has come and gone.

Sunday morning I did something I have not done since Camden made me a dad in 2013 - I was home on Easter morning when he and his sister hunted for eggs and found their Easter baskets.

The stone was rolled away in the garden before the light of morning had risen. Mary went to the garden, expecting to find the body of her friend and teacher, but instead, she was greeted by a person she believed to be the gardener.

The Gospels’ account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the jumping-off point, the beginning of the work continued today by followers of Jesus around the world. The disciples were hiding behind a locked door, the Mary’s delivered the Good News, and then Jesus appeared before his disciples shattering any doubt that remained.

From the point when Mary and Mary encountered the risen Lord on the Church as been proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. It’s what we do week in and week out. Every Sunday is Easter when we gather to proclaim Christ crucified and resurrected. Our worship may be repetitive but it is because what we proclaim week after week, Christ crucified and risen, is the marker by which the world was changed.

Easter this year was different.

Churches adjusted and produced online worship for their communities.

Choirs and bands produced anthems and songs of praise utilizing new technology.

We gathered online, around kitchen tables and on living room couches.

So, now what?

What are we to now that Easter Sunday has come and gone and it seems as though nothing has changed in our lives. We are still quarantined or sheltering in place in hour homes. We are separated from our families and friends, and still, Christ is risen, truly risen.

The early church, after the resurrection, after the left the locked upper room they had to continue the work begun by Christ, proclaiming the Kingdom of God had come in Jesus Christ and that Christ promises to return, in a final culmination of God’s reign.

The early church had much to figure out in the days, weeks, and years after the resurrection. One of the ways that occurred was through an early Church document called The Didache.

One of the earliest documents in the Christian tradition is called the Didache. This document was the first handbook for the church, explaining how to perform baptisms, gather around the Lord’s table, and live in community with one another. The Didache sought to address many of the disagreements and controversies within the early church.

A dear friend of mine wrote a book on The Didache. Tony’s book, The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing & Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community, guides solo readers and small groups through what Tony says is “the most important book you've never read.”

As we continue our journey in Eastertide I want to invite you to join me and the church I serve, Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, in exploring this ancient text, examining how the early church navigated unchartered waters.

We gather on Wednesday evenings to study, discern and explore on a Zoom call and I’m saving a seat for you. Leave a comment or shoot me a message and I’ll get you the link.