In February I promised that we would celebrate this year. And we will!
But for now, we wait. Though some experienced a glimmer of hope celebrating Christ’s victory over death on Resurrection Sunday, I wonder if we celebrate too early. Not all was resolved after that first Easter. It was a process for the disciples to understand what it meant to follow the risen Christ. As a group, we follow the disciples from the Garden where they scatter to find them hiding in fear in a locked room.
For some reason during this Lenten season, I was asked this question by several people who desire to see Christian schools grow and thrive around the world: “What is the greatest barrier to this vision?”
My answer has become a consistent mantra in my own life and in what I see around me: “Too much fear and too little faith.” Too often we are like the disciples in that locked room following Jesus’ death. We are afraid that we may be mistaken about whom this Jesus is, what his plans are, how little we know, and that the powers of the world are out to get us.
But Scripture continuously reminds us not to be afraid!
In fact, the most repeated commandment in Scripture is, “Do Not Be Afraid.” Therefore, this year, amidst the ongoing pandemic, I am delaying my normal celebrations until Ascension Day and the Day of Pentecost. Reread for yourself the Ascension story (Acts 1) after which the disciples gather not in fear (though there may have been some confusion), but in prayerful expectation. And there is no doubt about what happens at Pentecost with the arrival of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
In a similar spirit of waiting, we yearn for the pandemic to end and wait a bit longer to celebrate. Meanwhile, we continue our good work discipling students in their journey with Christ.
Speaking of that journey, we at CACE are excited to announce The Practicing Faith Survey that was developed in partnership with Cardus and the Kuyers Institute for Faith and Learning at Calvin University. In his introduction to the survey, Dan Beerens states, “The survey asks about whether students engage in practices connected to knowing God, caring for others in the school community, seeking truth, discerning our motives, and serving the needs of the wider world.”
Together, join us as we grow our faith and allow the Lord to defeat our fear!
Shalom,
Erik Ellefsen
CACE Senior Fellow
