Resurrection Sunday!
We began this Lenten journey with ashes on our foreheads remembering that from ashes we came and to ashes we will return. Then, we took a 6-week journey reflecting on God’s ability to speak right through the middle of our ordinary lives. When entering upon this journey, who would have thought that we would spend over much of this Lenten season fasting from our ordinary lives? Who could have imagined we would be forced to reframe the meaning of practices like worship, prayer, sacrament, food, and community so significantly?
Collectively, we have experienced anxiety, grief, sorrow, and loss this Lenten season. Unfortunately, our Resurrection Sunday celebration does not coincide with going back to our ordinary lives, but will we ever return to life exactly as it was before this Lenten journey? I hope not. Lent should transform us and our relationship with God. For the rest of our lives, we will remember this Lenten journey. We will know where we were this Easter.
When we get to reunite at church, when we can go to the grocery store without masks on, when we can hug each other, and go out to eat, I imagine our hugs will be tighter, our kisses sweeter, and our meals more savory. Our worship will be more connected and our smiles brighter. Coming out of this experience, we will be transformed -- how could we not? And, what else might be transformed? My hope is that the disparity between rich and poor will decrease, healthcare might turn into a right rather than a privilege, and we will no longer take for granted simple things like sharing a cup of tea with a friend. After all, I cannot believe we have gone through this suffering for nothing. God will redeem this time. God is up to something long-term as God also responds today through the doctors, researchers, public health experts, grocery store employees, and other frontline workers.
So today, let us sing boldly in our homes, “Christ the Lord is risen today!” Let us shout, “He is risen!” Let us celebrate the empty tomb. Let us see that God hasn’t failed us yet - God hasn’t brought us this far to leave us now! Indeed, God will be with us throughout this experience and with God’s help we will be stronger, wiser, more innovative, and more collaborative.
So today, I leave you with one final question: What is resurrecting in our world?