Amidst speculation that Easter, this year, might be canceled, those who know our Saviour chuckle at the thought of such an impossibility. Easter be canceled? Umm… no. Not possible. Our God is the God of the impossible and since on Easter He overcame Death, I don’t think a little coronavirus global pandemic is going to hold Him back.
Will church buildings be empty? Probably.
Will egg hunts be canceled? Good chance.
Will family dinners be postponed? If you’re following guidelines.
But Easter itself–the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will go on no matter what is happening on this planet.
We spent a good portion of ours online–first at Sunday School, then Church and then with our grown children and our grandbaby. Hours and hours online. Group chats. Chatting about Espresso machines, wayward pups, listening to loud baby protests and attempts at being a T-rex. Yes, normally phone chats are not my favorite but today, it made me very happy and content. My heart is full. And this low-tech gal is very grateful for the technology that allowed me to be with my family.
We had a lovely dinner. My sweet husband usually blesses me by cooking on the holidays and today was no exception. He graced our table with garlic and honey wild-caught Salmon, roasted sweet potatoes (my absolute favorite) and delectable stir-fry veggies that give frozen veggies a good name! We used our fancy plates and gold flatware…cloth napkins! We laughed. We cheered my youngest on during his first all-over-the-place, hard-clue egg-hunt with the grand prize being a book from one of his favorite authors. The guys munched jellybeans and peeps. This girl enjoyed So Delicious Butter Pecan Ice cream. As is our custom on Sunday evenings, we read a scene from Shakespeare (The Winter’s Tale). And we topped of the evening by watching Amazing Grace, a movie about William Wilberforce, the great British MP who led the charge against abolishing slavery in the United Kingdom. A beautiful, complete day of bliss, all without leaving the house.
Easter comes each year with all her fun traditions and profound gratitude for a Savior who would leave His perfect “virus-free” world to come and save us who without Him would be utterly hopeless. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we can spend eternity with Him, starting right now! We don’t live in a perfect world yet, with perfect bodies–that is what we look forward to but we still have “His presence to cheer and to guide”.
Do you wonder why we are here at all? Do you try to find the meaning of life amidst all the fun, heartache and pain? Sometimes I do too. And sometimes I don’t want to be here. It’s too messy. It hurts. It’s just plain overwhelming. But I am slowly, very slowly, learning that it’s like a dress rehearsal. I am practicing for heaven. I am practicing gratitude and unconditional love and trust. And I fall a thousand times and sometimes I stay down longer than I ought. Sometimes I lose track of who I am and why I’m here. There is despair. There is despondency. There is depression. And then the glorious Light. The Light of Easter. The Light of being lavished with unconditional love no matter how flawed I am. The Light of hope–it won’t always be this way.
All the ugliness is called sin. And it happened thousands of years ago in a garden far, far away when two people chose to go their own way rather than God’s. And God, who has always been and always will be, decided even before the fall that He would have a rescue plan, to rectify our mighty faux pas. And it involved pain, ugliness and death the likes of which none of us has ever known. He sent Jesus, the son, to earth, dressed as a baby to grow up in this world of heartache and then, after just a little more than 30 years, to die the most horrendous, unjust death anyone ever has so that we wouldn’t have to stay separated from Him. He loves me. He loves you. That much.
One day, because I have trust in Jesus death, burial and resurrection to cover my sins, I will live completely in the light. Always. At all times. Like it will never be dark. No sunburns, no pollution, no disease, no death…it will be completely, totally amazing and I am very looking forward to it. I am so glad I don’t have to be good enough to win this prize because certainly I would flub it.
So don’t you see, Easter can’t be canceled. We may be separating alone, via Skype, or with our big family of eleven children but it will go on whatever craziness is happening across the world. The power of the resurrection will be celebrated by everyone who calls Jesus Savior no matter where we can or can’t go. Year in and year out. For better or for worse. In sickness and in Health. Sound like a marriage? Now you’re getting the idea. And though weddings have been postponed during this unusual world event, there is no stopping this wedding. You are invited. Everyone who wants to attend is invited. But few will come. I sincerely hope you will be there.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness
Morning by Morning new mercies I see
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me.
Chisholm and Runyan’s Great is Thy Faithfulness
Decidedly Different 