Easter and the New Normal
My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Alleluia! The Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Those words may seem jarring and out-of-sync with our present situation. Yet, I would maintain that they are more necessary than ever! With our social distancing, isolation, and quarantine, we are getting a glimpse of the darkness of the tomb in which Jesus was buried. But like the darkness out of which our universe was born, the darkness of the tomb can be filled with potential and it can explode with new possibilities.
Easter arrives despite our external circumstances! I am reminded of the Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In that story, Christmas arrived despite the lack of external trappings! My favorite scene in the story is that of Christmas morning. The Whos down in Whoville wake up in the midst of the external emptiness of their circumstances with their village pillaged by the Grinch who thinks that he has prevented Christmas from coming. Yet as the Grinch waits to hear the sobbing of the Whos, he instead hears a sound that he was not expecting. The Grinch hears the sound of singing as the Whos celebrate the coming of the spirit of Christmas into their midst!
Can we do the same? Can we sing an alleluia, if only in our hearts, to celebrate that the Christ-Presence has burst forth anew like the Big Bang of a new chapter of creation? While we do this, we cannot deny or repress the fact that a “new normal” has taken over our lives. We acknowledge that our alleluias are soaked with tears and sighs this year.
Easter arrives whether we are ready or not! On Easter morn, in the midst of a “new normal” with a lingering heaviness in the air, may we, like the Whos down in Whoville, emerge from our bedrooms and, at least, breathe an alleluia that a new day has dawned.
A Blessed Easter,
Pastor Medwid