Easter Sunday Joy and Hope
“Joy and Hope”
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Matthew 28:1-10
Easter Sunday, Year A, April 12, 2020
First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint, Idaho
Andrew Kennaly, Pastor
Today is Easter Sunday. Some 2,000 years ago, Christ arose from the tomb of Jesus. That Jesus died and Christ arose continues to reverberate the message of Resurrection. In many ways, this year’s observance gives us a unique perspective on those events experienced by the disciples as they hid themselves in Jerusalem behind locked doors for days and days. As we are having stay at home directives, we too face fears, anxieties, uncertainties about the future, a continually unfolding ‘new normal,’ and the world will never be the same. These times remind us of larger patterns and truth, showing us the interplay of independence, interdependence, and dependence, as we live, move, and have our being, yet are connected with all things in Christ, and infused, supported, and sustained by the love of God, without which we would cease to exist.
You see this in words like “we got this,” which is printed on a flag waving on the Space Needle in Seattle, home of the 1962 World Exposition Fair. That flag is waving over a city with empty streets, no traffic, closed businesses, and yet even the void is a tribute to humans caring for each other by staying home to help healing come and protect each other from spreading a virus.
Sayings like “we’re all in this together” are really helpful at pointing out something we don’t often acknowledge: our shared consciousness. Each of us is more than an individual, autonomous creature, but we are part of a collective, sharing conscious thought and energy from beyond ourselves. Other realms, dimensions, and deeper expressions of love influence and shape life.
In the church we have words that describe this, such as prayer, spirit, the communion of saints, and the great cloud of witnesses. Things that cannot be captured by rational thought alone come from this influence, such as forgiveness, transformed suffering, and love. “Resurrection” is a faith claim at its core, shaping reality through grace and the power of God, whose ongoing creativity continues to evolve our experience and help the world grow into the image and likeness of Christ, even as we are taught deep Wisdom to help us recognize this likeness is already here.
Sharing the Easter message around the world is important as we claim God’s gift of life abundant and support one another through a time of international crisis at multiple levels of society.
The World Council of Churches picks up on this in their Easter message 2020, saying,
“Dear sisters and brothers in the Crucified and Risen Lord, […] we […] convey to you the traditional Christian greeting, which affirms the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and its powerful liberating message, bringing joy and hope to the world, overcoming fear and uncertainty— Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! This year, we observe Easter in a challenging context amid painful situations. The COVID- 19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, is also affecting the way Easter will be celebrated. To protect our own lives and those of others, we cannot fill the streets with processions, nor will churches resound with hymns and liturgies, expressing and sharing our Easter joy with one another. Instead, we will share the mystery of Easter and meet the Risen Lord in our homes, behind closed doors. Many of our people are experiencing fear and uncertainty, as well as trauma, separation, isolation, loss of members or even death in their families or in their church communities. Yet, despite these traumatic and painful situations, the message of Easter continues to be a joyful one of courage and hope.” (https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/messages-and-letters/easter-message-2020)
How is it that people link struggle with hope, fear with courage, grief with joy, and death with life? That paradox is the Easter message. Holding that tension and affirming all of them are true at the same time is the gift of faith.
The World Council of Churches letter continues, this time focusing on how this year offers a unique perspective.
“The first experience of the disciples with the Risen Lord occurred in similar circumstances. Out of fear and to protect their lives, Jesus’ disciples gathered in a room, behind closed doors. And there the Risen Christ came among them, bringing his peace. As they were startled and terrified, “He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened?... See that it is I myself.’ (Luke 24:37-39). […] God in Christ continues to love and care for the whole world, overcoming death with life, conquering fear and uncertainty with hope. To those who may be tempted to explain the present situation as an expression of God’s punishment and wrath, the Easter message conveys that our God is a loving God, the source of life, not death, the God of life and love [….] Easter […] has always infused Christians with the power and courage to confront death, destruction, oppression, end enslavement [to] fear, doubt and uncertainty. As we are confronted today with the challenges of COVID-19, we assure you that in these days we are united with you in prayers and in affirming together our common faith and hope in the Risen Lord: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55, 57).”
Letters like that claim our unity in God, our connection through Christ, our shared experience through the Holy Spirit, as we participate together in the journey of life and the lessons we need to learn as our souls awaken to God’s everlasting love in Christ, which does not condemn the world, but saves the world to move beyond fears into life abundant.
In Luke’s gospel, the angels who greeted the women at the tomb ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Right now as society has empty streets, church sanctuaries and liturgies void of people, and familiar patterns disrupted, we are called to trust that Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” and to go, for “he will meet.” God’s creative Spirit is revealed, drawing us to redemption and new life. May we trust the journey, claim the hope, live the faith, and share the love as we follow and embody the Living Christ.
The light of the world is shining. Happy Easter!
And may God’s humble, love be glorified, NOW, even as forever. Amen.