Easter Came Just the Same

          As I have thought about what to say this year for Easter, I keep thinking of the classic Christmas cartoon most of us have watched dozens of times: Dr. Seuss’s classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” In particular, I am thinking of near the end of the film. The Grinch is at the top of the mountain where his home is, his overloaded sled that was hauled up by his little dog with the antler tied to his head, filled to overflowing with all the stuff he took from the Whos of Whoville. The sun is rising. Christmas day is dawning. And the Grinch anticipates hearing all the Whos crying boo-hoo as they see all that had been taken away from them. The Grinch thought for sure he had ruined Christmas for the Whos in Whoville.

            But, what does he hear? What does he see? All the Whos of Whoville gather together in the public square, join hands to make a circle, like they always do, and sing with joy their Christmas song. The Grinch can’t understand it. Even though the Whos had no decorations, no packages, boxes, or bags, not even a can of Who hash, they still came together to sing. Christmas came. It came all the same.

            So here we are. And a grinch called the coronavirus has come to our town and taken from us what we have always had when we celebrate Easter. Of course, this grinch does not act out of spite and meanspiritedness like the Grinch of Dr. Seuss. The grinch, the coronavirus, just does what it does with no concern for us and our Easter traditions. Still, the effect of the coronavirus has kept us out of our churches. We aren’t at church wearing our Sunday best. Little boys and girls aren’t running around in their Easter dresses and suits. Not an Easter bonnet in sight. No Easter brunch at the restaurants. No Easter egg hunts. No gathering together to sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, “He Lives” and “Up from the Grave He Arose.” We can’t go into the sanctuary to be overpowered by the fragrance of all the Easter lilies, while the pastor thinks, “Oops, I forgot to take some Benedryl.” No Easter cantatas. For myself, this is the first time in my life, all fifty-one years of it, that I did not enter a church sanctuary on Easter Sunday. Some of you reading or listening to this can claim an even longer time of attending church on Easter until this year. What traditions are you not having this year?

            The coronavirus, like the grinch, has taken much of what we have always had as part of our Easter celebrations. And yet…that doesn’t stop Easter from coming. Instead of gathering in our churches, we gather around computer screens or television screens. We hear those traditional Easter hymns in a different way. We might even sing along in our living rooms. We read again the scriptures that recount the resurrection of Jesus. Today’s Easter celebrations are certainly different. But we are still celebrating Easter. The coronavirus can’t take away our celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

            A few weeks ago, I was walking my dog. We were walking up the street and, as I looked around and saw all the dogwood and pear trees full of blossoms, and all the flowers popping up in everyone’s green lawns, I was struck by the fact that the coronavirus can’t stop springtime. New life, renewed life, emerges, even in the face of a pandemic. That gave me a real sense of comfort. Not everything was turned upside down. Not all was lost. Coronavirus is not all powerful. It can’t stop spring from coming. And on this day, as the sun rose, Easter came…it came just the same.

            I invite you to watch a special Easter presentation that some of my friends and I put together. Click on this link: https://youtu.be/jvI6xxvfZow .

            Over the next several weeks, as we remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, leading up to the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, my hope for you is that in spite of all that has been taken from us in this season, we still have each other. We still have Jesus. We still have the promise of everlasting life. The Spirit of God remains in our midst. Nothing, not even the coronavirus, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our risen Lord.

            Christ is risen! Truly he is risen! So, in any way you can today…rejoice!