Dear Friends,
Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
If I were to ask you to sing right now, would you sing a hymn? Which one? Go ahead! Sing! It’s a glorious day, the day of Christ’s resurrection! Sing a song of joy and jubilation!
The glorious news of Christ’s resurrection is recorded in our gospel reading in John 20:1-18. Pray this prayer of illumination, if you wish, before you read our passage for this Easter day: Almighty God, by the power of your Spirit, roll away the stone and reveal to us the Word of Life and Love. Amen.
I miss church; I miss worshiping with you. Easter is designed to be loud, joyous, uplifting, and especially, communal. And yet, we are apart. It doesn’t feel right.
All three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – observe essential holidays every year, and this year, they’re very close to each other on the calendar. The eight-day observance of Passover began last Wednesday evening; we celebrate Easter today after forty days of Lent and Holy Week; and the month of Ramadan will begin on Friday, April 24th. In each of these faiths, people gather to remember the religious events that shape and define their spiritual history and that express their respective faiths.
But this year, everything is very different. Synagogues, churches, and mosques are closed up tight. Covid 19 doesn’t distinguish among religions; faith communities, like all communities world-wide, must self-isolate. Faithful families must limit the size of their in-person celebrations to those already living in their homes. It goes against everything we know, and yet, it’s the most faithful, generous, loving thing we can do at this moment in time. We are the people who celebrate an empty tomb on this day. An empty church is far from what we want, but this year, it’s how we protect ourselves and each other; it’s how we love one another! Thankfully, it seems to be working both here and in other countries around the world. But it still hurts.
We’re weary of home. Spring has arrived in all its glory, and we yearn to see all its signs – daffodils and forsythia covering the hillsides along our highways, in the mountains, on the trails. Blossoms are probably also nearby, in our yards and gardens, but we still long to just get away and be in the fields and mountains that are the hallmark of this beautiful part of Virginia. Seeing everything blossoming and unfolding is a wonderful way to re-connect, to remind ourselves that just as the seasons continue, so will we. Every year, Nan and I are touched anew that Virginia’s road crews have gone to the trouble to plant fields of daffodils along the major roads. It’s fantastic, and it’s also immensely reassuring – we are, and remain, a loving, caring people who are spurred to share the restoration and solace of nature’s beauty.
Many of our friends here have told us about their mini-road trips through central Virginia’s countryside. Taking a drive is a great way to remain isolated from the world and still be in the world. It’s safe. Enclosed in a car, everyone maintains their proper distance from others, and it’s a fine way to get out of the house for at least a short time. If you decide to take advantage of this lovely day and go for a restorative drive, please drive by Bird Street, pause, and say a prayer at 148. Pass other houses of worship. Empty churches on Easter! Who could have imagined? Pray for those communities of faith as well. It’ll be hard to be unable to go into our church, to be unable to greet everyone and share the triumph and victory that we celebrate so joyously this day. It may not feel right, but closing our doors is the right thing to do.
All that said, it still just feels wrong to be so alone. But remember how alone Jesus was, even when he was with his disciples. At the Last Supper, he was unable to share what was to come. He was alone at his trial and alone on the cross.
I’ve never really thought much about this until this year, but aloneness is actually quite a theme in Easter. Mary Magdalene came alone to the tomb. She called for Peter and the unknown disciple, “the one whom Jesus loved,” and they went with her. They each reached the tomb separately, alone. When each of them saw that the tomb was empty, the two disciples left, leaving Mary alone, weeping at her loss and what she must have thought was a terrible desecration. Everyone was alone, including the disciples mourning together or separately in Jerusalem.
In her desolation and lonely grief, Mary could not recognize Jesus when he came to her. But all he had to do was to say her name for her to recognize him. Her aloneness was instantly broken.
Even if we have family members isolating with us, we’re all lonely and alone on this day when we should be together with our church family and our extended families. Again, I miss you all, and I know that you miss one another. But we have only to listen to hear the risen Christ say our names to know that we’re never alone.
As you listen for the voice of the risen Christ, remember Jesus’s new commandment: to love one another. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34b-35) In this extraordinary year, and for this extraordinary Easter (though, of course, every Easter is extraordinary; how could the Easter event be anything else?), we must pay careful attention to that final commandment. Jesus commands us to love one another; he doesn’t specify all the myriad details of how to do so. This year, we have discerned in love that we should shutter our centers of worship as the best way to care for one another and all of God’s children.
But there’s no need to mourn that we are alone, that we must be away from each other this year. “Woman, why are you weeping?” The angels say at the tomb. (John 20:13) It’s not really a question; it’s a statement. There’s no need to weep. Jesus is risen! Jesus is ascending to God. We are here, perhaps alone this year, but we’re safe in our isolation, and we’re safe beside the risen Christ.
Empty tomb, empty churches – both are signs of love!
We continue to pray for all who risk their lives to care for us – for health care workers, all first responders, those who deliver our mail and our food, all those, seen and unseen, who bravely reach out in this pandemic season.
We pray for our leaders, for their wisdom and strength.
We pray that the love of Christ will be a blessing on all family gatherings this day, whether they’re in person, by phone, or on through the internet on Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype.
We pray for our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters whose celebrations this year are also affected by the restrictions of coronavirus. May they find the same love and fellowship through their faith that we find in Christ Jesus.
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for one another.
Let us pray together:
Living God, long ago, a faithful woman recognized you as the risen Lord and dared to proclaim the good news of the resurrection The world was forever changed. Teach us to keep faith with Mary Magdalene, that our witness may be as bold, our love as deep, and our faith as true. We give thanks for the blessings you bestow on us. Many people are working too much to heal people suffering from Covid-19, while others go without work, in order that the global spread of this disease might be lessened. Alleviate the pain, we pray, O God, of all who suffer. Help us to understand that the loneliness we feel comes from our communal work to love you and each other by helping to keep the virus from spreading. In the resurrection you broke the power of death and opened the way to eternal life. As the empty tomb witnesses to Christ’s triumph over death and your divine act of love, embolden your church to be a testimony to this enduring victory. Help us to understand that even though we can’t gather together on this holy day, we close our doors with love, and that alone or together, we are always a community that proclaims to the world, “Christ is risen, indeed!” Amen.