Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Someone said to me recently, “It’s a good thing there are no major Christian holidays in the summer, because no one would be around to celebrate them!” It’s true that when summer arrives, many people travel a lot due to having more time and opportunity. It’s also true that the major Christian holidays are concentrated in one part of the year. Did you know that the briefest possible time between Christmas and Easter is just 12.5 weeks (87 days), and that the longest possible time is 17.5 weeks (121 days)?

When it’s not Christmas or Easter, what are we supposed to be looking forward to as Christians? I love the name “Christian,” because, in the name itself is the answer to that question. Christ is the answer! As Christians, we ought to be looking forward to Christ at all times of the year. Christmas and Easter are two important moments in the life of Christ that give meaning to his life and ministry, but, as Christians, Jesus is meant to be our focus at all times. In fact, the truest meaning of Christmas and Easter appear in our lives when we seek to apply them to our whole lives. What does it mean today - in the middle of May 2024 - that God came to us as a human being (Christmas)? What does it mean today that Jesus was raised from the dead (Easter)? How do those moments in Jesus’ life - and, indeed, all of his life and ministry - affect the way we go grocery shopping, talk to our neighbors, treat the poor, or choose to spend any of our time? As Christians, Jesus should affect our whole lives - the entire direction of our lives as well as all the details along the way. 

As summer approaches, I encourage you to think about how to invite Jesus into your plans. What would it look like to have a “Christian summer”? I’m not sure I’ve ever reflected on a question like that before, but it might be worth it. 

One final thought about the name “Christian.” In the Greek New Testament, the word for Christian is christianos. Interestingly, words in the New Testament with the ending -ianos seem to refer to partisan allegiance. For example, people who were the political allies of the infamous Herod the Great and his royal household were called herodianos. The reason followers of Jesus were first called Christians (christianos) was because they understood themselves as people whose “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20) and who answer ultimately to no authority but Christ.

Let’s live this summer - and indeed everyday! - as though Christ alone is Lord of our lives.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron