Improvisational Easter

It’s nearing the end of Easter Day 2020. No matter how many plans were altered, observances modified, or traditions re-imagined, the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection holds true: The Lord is risen indeed!

Still, it has been odd, this celebration by substitution. As with pretty much everything in the era of The Virus, we have learned how to make do with what we have on hand. Just as we have figured out how to attend work and school without showing up in person, how to cook using whatever ingredients are in the pantry without stopping unnecessarily at the store, and how to get exercise without going to the gym, so too have we determined it is possible to experience a meaningful Easter even without many of the trappings we associate with a sensational celebration.

Though our temporary arrangements may not have been our preferred options, we now know that the tomb will always be empty whether there are live trombone players there to stir souls or not. New Life will always burst through whether someone is standing in the graveyard or not. Love will always win over death whether there are potted lilies to take home after the service or not.

At College Hill we sought to elevate this day above ordinary in a couple of ways. Draped in white fabric as a reminder that Jesus fled the grave and abandoned his burial cloth, the cross that is usually displayed indoors was moved outdoors to stand visibly as a sign of our faith to all who passed by. Though we could not gather, we still expressed our presence in the neighborhood with the ringing of a bell—a cheerful tone riding on the wind, announcing our unflappable joy.  Many of us viewed recorded and live Easter services via the internet and, perhaps, spent even more time worshiping God than we might have had we not been sheltering at home.

We made do with what was available. And what is ALWAYS available to us is HOPE. Hope comes not only with the Easter sunrise, but with EVERY sunrise. Even on a weirdly improvisational High Holy Day, our hope has been refreshed.

Alleluia!

Pastor Chris