Many have said, “This is a different Easter.” or maybe, “This is like no other Easter ever experienced.” And yes, this is different than Easters we have known. This year there are no church services, no choir concerts, no large gatherings, no raucous Easter egg hunts, no new clothes, no hugs, no handshakes.
However, I wonder if this isn’t, in fact, more like the first Easter than we can imagine. As we sit alone in our homes, perhaps fearful, perhaps anxious, not only for the virus but for all that we have lost,I wonder if this isn’t more of what it felt like on that first Easter Day. Each account of the resurrection speaks of a sense of foreboding. It took some time for the story of the resurrection to be owned by the followers of Jesus. The two from the village of Emmaus were plodding home from Jerusalem. The disciples were huddled in their rooms. The Romans continued to be a very real threat to any of the Jesus followers. The first Easter was not what we have made it. To be sure those who experienced the risen Christ felt a charge of excitement and joy but it was heavily mingled with confusion, sorrow and doubt.
For all I have missed the music, the gathering, the joy, the celebration of Easter, I feel that we have been treated to an experience that could deepen our understanding of our faith story. We stand on this side of Easter and centuries of traditions have been layered on to the stark scripture story. This year has been a gift to us. It have stripped away the cultural layers and reduced us to the story. This Easter has reminded us of the core of the Easter story, that of Jesus relating to his followers, speaking to them singly, in couples, or in small groups, appearing to them with the reminder that God;s love is greater than anything that can happen to the human body.
We missed a lot this Easter but I think if we take stock we can safely say we gained more than we lost.
