Sunday, April 12, 2020

Easter in a Time of Plague

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that the Easter story begins now, "towards dawn, on the first day of the week." I have been awake since 4:45 a.m. EDT, keeping watch for the mystical, staying alert for signs of resurrection.

For most of us, this will be an Easter unlike any other.  Most of us have never experienced Easter under stay at home orders.  Most of us have never been isolated the way we are now.

For some of us, this particular Easter may feel more like the tomb than like resurrection.  We are still waiting.  We don't know what the outcome will be:  will this new virus mutate and become worse?  Will our favorite schools, businesses, social institutions survive?  What will the new normal look like?  Can we bring some of our favorite aspects of the old normal with us to the new normal?

In many ways, these questions are the essential Easter questions.  Life changes, and often faster than we can process the information.  We're left struggling, grasping for meaning, refusing to believe the good news that's embodied right before our eyes.  We don't recognize the answer to our prayers, our desperate longings, even when it's right before our eyes.  We're stuck grieving in the pre-dawn dark.

The situation of this Easter may lead us to see the story in new ways.  What does resurrection demand of us?  How can we fulfill the promise of our lives?  How can we help transform the world we live in to be more like the world God envisions for us?

Something new is being born, and we are here to help shape it.  Alleluia!

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