Bishop Poulson shares with us an Easter message.
Dear Friends in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma,
In a little over a week, we will experience a natural event that never fails to capture our attention: a solar eclipse.
Eclipses have played an extraordinary role in human history, intriguing the human imagination, and often seeming to connect the human and divine. Some have even speculated that it was by an eclipse that God darkened the sky at Jesus’ crucifixion. But what connection might we find between the eclipse on April 8 and Eastertide? Perhaps this: it is not that Jesus Christ is a symbol that points to the Sun in our sky, but that the Sun is a symbol that points to Christ. After all, God the Son existed long before the Sun did.
The Bible is filled with imagery of Jesus Christ not only as the SON of God, but as one like the SUN. Those who were eagerly longing for a savior looked to the prophet Malachi, who spoke of a “sun of righteousness” who would arise, scattering all the shades of night, as the hymn says. The Gospels speak of Christ as “the light of the world” (John), the great light who shines on those who have dwelled in darkness and the shadow of death (Luke). Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians says that “Christ will shine on you.” And at his transfiguration on the holy mountain, Jesus’ face shines like the sun, his clothes as white as pure light.
My friends, whenever we are in awe of the natural world around us, and especially anything with light (sun, moon, and stars), let us not forget that they point to God. As psalm 19 says so eloquently: “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.” The whole of creation sings the praises of God, the Father and Creator, God the Son, present from the foundation of all things, and God the Holy Spirit, who hovered over all at the beginning.
And the very height of our praise, and that of creation, and of the heavenly host is for the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that so wonderfully restored all that God had so wonderfully created.
I wish you and yours a blessed and a very happy Easter.
The Rt. Rev. Poulson C. Reed, Bishop of Oklahoma