An Easter Devotion by Debbie Clark
On this mountain our God will make for all peoples
Isaiah 25:6-8a
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear
And God will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
God will swallow up death for ever.
Then God will wipe away the tears from all faces…
Last year, early in the evening on Easter Sunday, I received a sad phone call from Ruth Carney.
That morning, she and Frank had been perplexed when they had gone to pick up Richard Whitmore for church. He wasn’t eagerly awaiting their arrival, and he didn’t answer the phone. Ruth and Frank came to church without him, hoping a family member had picked him up for a surprise Easter brunch.
We celebrated Easter gloriously that morning–a flowering cross, a brass quartet, an Easter egg-blessing hunt, and beautiful choral music. In our Celebrations and Concerns, we prayed that Richard was okay, out telling jokes and sharing a meal with his family.
By late afternoon, Ruth and Frank learned that Richard had not been out with his family. He had died in his apartment, sitting in his lounge chair. What a sad end to Easter!
A few weeks later, we celebrated his life in a Memorial Service in our sanctuary. So many people got up and told stories–about the hardships he had overcome, about his love of story-telling, about his deep faith. He was not afraid to die, for he trusted in the promise of the resurrection, the promise of eternal life, the promise that love is more powerful than hardship or even death.
His friends from Advocates donated a tree to be planted in Richard’s memory. We planted it in May, and immediately the weather grew unseasonably warm. The tree wilted. Over the summer, there were occasional signs of new growth, but it wasn’t at all clear it would survive. All winter, it looked dead.
A few days ago, I went over to look more closely at the tree. It has buds! It is alive! Out of death, new life emerges. Thanks be to God!
For signs of new life in our midst, we give you thanks and praise, O God of Resurrection. Amen.