It’s Easter no matter what!

It is Easter Sunday! The Sunday where we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord by getting together and worshiping and then eating with family and friends . . . except this year is different. Everything about this year since March is different, why would we think Easter would be spared? We can complain about it if we wish, we can pretend nothing is different, we can  turn our backs on the whole thing . . . but those actions will change nothing.

All the denial in the world isn’t going to make a physical-distance-causing pandemic go away. All our complaints and pretending isn’t going change a thing about the COVID-19 world we’re currently living in. However, the bigger and better thing to remember is that no pandemic, no isolation, no quarantine, no anything is going to make Easter go aware either. The fundamental truth of Easter, God in the form of Jesus Christ came to earth and became as human as us including dying as we all will to demonstrate God’s love for us. We don’t have to be in the same room with lots of others to celebrate that reality. We don’t have to have lots of people in our house to eat and visit and laugh with to celebrate that reality. If nothing else, our Easter celebration is now in keeping with many, many other Easter celebrations, including the earliest ones.

Those who were celebrating Easter in the first few centuries after Jesus ministry on earth were not celebrating the way we would like to, and yet they celebrated. Those who are in countries where it is dangerous to identify as a Christian, and yet they celebrate. There are people who are in such desperate poverty that they have virtually nothing, and yet they celebrate.

I don’t want to minimize the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering we are going through. For many of us our current situation is exacerbating physical and mental illness, creating new anxieties and worries, wearing us down with stress and the work of keeping going in this new normal. But, but, we can and will celebrate!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

“Easter! Let’s celebrate!” Knox and St. Mark’s Presbyterian joint service (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)

Blessings,