Area churches celebrate the resurrection of Jesus

The story of Jesus’ resurrection is one that does not change.

Each year, pastoral leaders draw materials from the same set of Bible passages to retell that story on Easter Sunday, considered the most important celebration for those of Christian faith.

But how to best bring new life to the nearly 2,000-year-old story each Easter Sunday depends on who you ask.

The Rev. Dr. Jay Carr is 30 Easter Sundays into his ministerial career, and this year marks his fourth with United Methodist Church of New Lenox.

“I always start with ‘What thought do I want them to leave the church with? What nugget of truth?’ ” he said. “The story is the same every year, so I start with that and then I work backwards. Every year, I take whatever is going on in the world and put it into context.”

The first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing falls within Holy Week, Carr said. On Monday, thousands will gather again at the finish line for this year’s marathon, he hopes, with a renewed sense of hope.

“The great evil that was visited upon the marathon a year ago has been a great opportunity for good to prevail. That is, in many ways, the Easter story,” Carr said. “I’d caution anyone not to over-spiritualize what happened in Boston, but there’s a connection that can be made. I’m always looking at the world to help people put it in context with what the Gospel message is.”

Just as families and friends of those who died in the bombings will gather together on Monday with a renewed sense of hope, Jesus’ disciples did the same on Easter morning, Carr said, eventually realizing that evil did not win.

“Ultimately, evil does not win, and God’s love ultimately won,” he said.

Father Chris Groh, a pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Joliet, said his Easter Sunday homily will focus on renewing the Catholic faith.

“On Easter Sunday, new Catholics make a profession of faith and current members renew their baptismal promises,” Groh said. “It’s a time to affirm who God is and who Jesus is.”

The story of Jesus speaks for itself, he said, which makes it hard to compare it to anything else in today’s society.

“It was such an incredible event. It was something the world had not seen before. It gives us hope and promise that when we die, we are raised to new life,” he said.

For Father Jyothi Raja Kocherla, who’s in his second year at St. Mary Nativity Church in Joliet, each Easter Sunday is a “new story” for him.

“It’s always a new one for me,” said Kocherla, who often goes by “Father Raj” among members of his congregation. “Each year, I see a new risen Jesus.”

Father Raj said his Sunday homily will focus on Holy Week being the “basic foundation for Christianity” and a time to reflect on the basic principle of love.

“Easter is the foundation. If Jesus had not died, there would be no meaning of faith. There would not be faith,” he said. “Many people came to this world and they did many things and many wonders. They did, but no one died and rose again.”

Carr said hope is the underlying message on Sunday when he talks about family and friends of loved ones who died in the Boston Marathon bombing.

“Because of Easter, we have hope no matter what we have going on in our lives personally, because Jesus rose from the dead,” he said.