Easter is passed. And what an unusual Easter it was. No dressing up for Sunday morning worship. No Easter Sunrise breakfast at the church. No big family gatherings. But in reality, while these things are important and meaningful, the true message of Easter may be more real to us than ever.
The reality of death touches all of our lives at some time. But seldom is it so front and center as it has been during this pandemic. The COVID-19 news is constant, the changes in our daily routine can be disturbing, the social distancing serves to separate us from our family and neighbors. And every day, we get updates of how many people have died from the virus. The news of death has become a daily part of our lives.
And this is why I say, this Easter’s message of life may be more real for us than ever. For what is the message of Easter but life, even in the face of death?
I want to share some words of the apostle Paul that give us the hope of Easter in the face of death.
“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians15: 55) Jesus won the victory over sin and death when he rose again on that first Easter morning. And so, even though at some time we all will lose someone we love, this hope of Easter can help take away that sting.
Again from St. Paul, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14)
My wife Julie Rae and I will often comment when we see a death scene on TV or in movies, how sad it is that there is seldom any hope shared in those scenes. Oh, sometimes there’s the suggestion that the deceased is in some vague “better place.” We are truly blessed to live with the power of the resurrection as the basis of our hope.
And I conclude with a statement from St. Peter. He’s the one who, during the trial, denied he even knew Jesus. Yet after the resurrection he was on fire for the Lord. He wrote this, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” ( 1 Peter 1: 3)
“A living hope” is a great phrase. Like the crucified Jesus who lives, our hope lives in the power of the risen Lord. May we all know the grace and peace and power of Jesus. And may the promise of Easter, even in the face of a pandemic, produce in us a living hope.
