Dear friends,
Trumpets! Organ! Introits! Lilies and daffodils and tulips! Easter eggs half-hidden in the pews! Throw-back bonnets! Smoky clothing from standing near the fire-pit at sunrise! A flowering cross carried in by Nils Arnheim!
When I think of Easter at Edwards Church, I think of all these things. Mostly, I think about all the people behind these expressions of Easter joy. When I begin to imagine what Easter will be like this year, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, my first response is sadness. I want the trumpet and the flowers and the Easter eggs. More importantly, I want to see all the people, to give each of you a Happy Easter hug!
The sadness I feel at this loss is real. Perhaps you feel it too. As is often the case, beneath the sadness is an opportunity. Beneath this loss is an opportunity to reflect more deeply on the story that is the reason for the flowers and bonnets and the glorious introit.
The Easter story is actually a quiet story. A few women sneaking quietly through the streets of Jerusalem before dawn, as they go to their beloved teachers’ tomb… Their whispered fear when they find the stone rolled away… Their silent wonder as they struggle to comprehend what has happened…Their out-of-breath explanation to the other disciples hiding away in a room… Mary’s solitary encounter with Jesus in the garden… Two disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus…
The Easter story is a quiet one, a story of individuals and small groups awakening to the miracle of the resurrection, to the gift of new life.
This year, as we gather via Zoom for Easter worship, we have an opportunity to experience that awakening in a new way, perhaps a bit more like the first Easter. We will be in our own homes—some of us alone, some in small groups. And we will be together, via live-stream, to share in the wonder of the Easter message. I trust that God will be with us, at work in this unusual Easter in a special way. I trust that we will come to know the Easter truth with a new depth.
The Easter story is a quiet one. And it is deserving of a loud, colorful response. When we are finally back together, worshipping in our sanctuary, we will find a way to celebrate the good news of Easter loudly and colorfully and in a great big crowd!
Peace,
Debbie