Do you remember last Easter? It was awful. No, I shouldn’t say that. I have fond memories of last Easter when Ed, the kids, and I loaded up the car with nearly a dozen loaves of Easter bread and drove about town, delivering it to friends we weren’t “allowed” to see as we all huddled in fear over Covid. We spent Easter itself at my parents with some of my sisters, one nephew, and a huge Easter dinner and Easter egg hunt. In that sense, Easter was the same as it always was. But we watched church on my laptop. Which was more than a little hard to swallow and left behind a very bitter taste. One that isn’t likely to be forgotten for a long time.
This past week, one of our pastors sent out a “Wednesday Memo”. I am very grateful that our church has six pastor/elders because if the decisions of the past year were left to this one pastor, we would probably be looking for another church. I appreciate the fact that this man truly has a heart that sympathizes with so many, but sometimes that can lead to bending when standing strong on convictions is the better choice. And what he had to say in the weekly blog truly rubbed me the wrong way. Is started out:
“I trust your Holy Week is going well. I know it can be difficult to stay focused with so much going on in the rhythms of life. That is why Christian community is so crucial. Please be sure to join us for our Good Friday worship gathering this Friday at 6:00 pm and Resurrection Sunday worship gathering at 10:30 am.”
Crucial? I thought. Obviously not. If you really believed Christian community is crucial, we wouldn’t have been sitting in front of our laptops last Easter as you closed the church doors and waved community to the wind.
I know, I know. I shouldn’t be so judgmental. Our church leaders were only trying to do what was right with the information at hand. And whether right or wrong, I think they are keenly aware they will have to give an account for those decisions before our God one day. But his choice of words were so bad in light of everything, I just wanted to throw something.
On the very first Easter, being together was crucialfor Christ’s little band of followers. For the past three years they had given up everything to follow Him. And now (they thought), He was dead. What were they going to do? Where were they going to go? Regaining the lives they had before was going to be very difficult it not impossible, and what about everything they thought they knew and believed? Gone. As far as they could discern, it was all gone. All they had was each other, huddled together in a small room afraid of being the next person the Pharisees got their hands on and hung on a cross. It was a fear much more real than some sickness you’d likely recover from. So, they stuck together. No matter what. It was the only thing they knew they had to do.
This past year has made it so easy for some to write off “community” as a Zoom meeting or a conversation on Microsoft Teams. I doubt Christ’s followers that first Easter would have found any comfort in being able to Facetime each other while they shivered in their little homes in fear of their lives. Being together brought them strength, comfort, and endurance. They weren’t alone. They had each other. So, yes. Christian community is crucial, and I hope we always regret 2020.
These past few weeks, I have laughed at the memories Easter dresses and horrible pictures from the 80s and 90s have brought to my mind. But as fun as reminiscing has been, Easter isn’t about a dress, or coloring eggs, or even amazing grey shoes with rhinestones. Easter is a time for God’s people to come together and worship their Savior who conquered death! Death! Let us never forget that we serve a RISEN SAVIOR!!!! And if Christ has conquered death, then we ought to never forsake gathering together and celebrating. For there is nothing – nothing! – we have to fear.
Amen.
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