Message from Pastor Fitting-Snyder

Photo Taken by Pastor Kelsey standing on the Mount of Olives looking over Jerusalem.

The Mount of Olives sits just outside Jerusalem, separated by the Kidron Valley. It was often a place people would go, especially prophets, to step away from the intensity of the city. Some went further into the wilderness, like John the Baptist. Others simply sought a moment of quiet. Jesus himself returned to this place often when he needed rest. It makes sense that on the night of his arrest, this is where he would go.

What struck me most, standing there and looking out over Jerusalem, is that Jesus would have seen them coming. The Roman guards could not have surprised him. With the openness of the landscape, there was no real way to ambush him. If he wanted to, Jesus had time to leave; to disappear into the wilderness like so many before him. In 2 Samuel, David flees up this same mountain, weeping, his back turned to Jerusalem as he runs for his life.

But Jesus does something different. His face is turned toward the city. He is grieved, praying that the cup might pass from him, and still, he stays.

Jesus could have left. But he chose to stay.

And now, on the other side of Easter, that choice matters even more.

Because Jesus didn’t just stay through betrayal, trial, and cross, he stayed all the way through the tomb and into resurrection. The risen Christ is still the one who stays. He returns to his disciples behind locked doors. He meets them in their fear and doubt. He doesn’t move on from them, rather he comes back to them.

Jesus stayed for the city laid out before him. For the people moving around the Temple Mount, for the surrounding towns like Bethlehem, for his home in Nazareth. Jesus stayed for those who would betray him, deny him, and abandon him. And he stayed for you, for me, and for all of creation.

I find myself thinking about what it means that we follow a risen Savior who stays.

Because the truth is, after Easter, the temptation is still to leave. When ministry feels uncertain. When congregations are navigating change or conflict. When the future isn’t clear. It can be easier to step away, to look for something more certain, more successful, more comfortable.

But resurrection doesn’t call us away, it sends us back.

Back into our communities.
Back into relationships.
Back into the places that aren’t finished yet.

As disciples of the risen Christ, we are called to stay, not staying in harmful or unhealthy situations but staying present. Staying engaged. Staying rooted in our call to one another and to the communities we serve. Staying when relationships are hard. Staying when the future feels unclear. Staying long enough to listen, to accompany, and to trust that God is still at work.

Across our synod, I see this kind of resurrection staying every day. Leaders showing up again after hard conversations. Congregations continuing to worship, serve, and hope in seasons of uncertainty. People choosing connection over fear.

This is what resurrection looks like in real time.

We give thanks that we have a Savior who stays with us, in joy and in grief, in certainty and in doubt. And because he stays, we are free to do the same.

In this Easter season, may we be reminded: Christ is risen, and Christ is still here.

And because Jesus stays with us, we are called to stay—with one another, with our communities, and with the work in which God would have us do. 

In the name of the One who stays, 

Pastor Kelsey  

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NT-NL synod staff are excited to engage in-person on Sundays for worship. As good stewards of time and travel dollars, we will be utilizing online meeting formats in our new hybrid reality when possible. If you would like to schedule a meeting with the bishop or Synod staff please contact them directly.

Bishop Gronberg:

April 19: 50th Anniversary, New Life in Christ, Duncanville
April 19: Senior Sunday, First Presbyterian, Fort Worth
April 24-25: Synod Assembly, Advent, Arlington
April 26: Central, Dallas
April 28-30: Field Day PTA Captain, Westcliftt Elementary, Fort Worth
May 4: First, Longview Meeting, Synod Office, Irving
May 8: Journal of Lutheran Ethics Advisory Council
May 9: Parish Lay Ministry Academy
May 16-19: Wartburg Seminary Board of Directors
May 23: First Communions/Confirmations, First Sagrada Familia, Garland
Mary 24: Affirmation of Baptism, Trinity, Fort Worth
May 30: First Communions/Confirmations, San Gabriel, Alvarado

Pastora Bañales:

April 15: San Gabriel, Alvarado
April 20: Ecumenical Latina Women Network
April 24-25: Synod Assembly, Advent, Arlington
April 28: Latinx Pastors Meeting

Pastor Fitting-Snyder:

April 18: NT-NL Candidacy Meeting
April 19: Faith, Flower Mound
April 21: Leading Worship Workshop, Baylor University
April 24-25: NT-NL Synod Assembly, Advent, Arlington
April 26-May 1: Vacation