I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this Easter. Never before have we experienced an Easter like this in our lifetime. Physically separated as a church body, singing praises in our houses alone. Easter is usually a time where I find myself truly reveling in what it means to be part of a church family, being able to stand in a room of other believers from all different backgrounds and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus together as one united body! So this year, sitting in my living room alone with my 3 year old, trying not to focus too much on the fact that there were no other voices around me singing, nobody to start a too-long conversation with during the passing of the peace, and nobody else speaking the liturgy in unison along with me, was painful. I felt the loss greatly and found myself in tears more than once. However, this feeling of loss has made me realize the need for Easter even more than I ever have before.

In some small way I feel like I can understand how the apostles must have felt during the Saturday between Jesus’ death and resurrection. Just like then, we are in a waiting period and we do not know what we are exactly waiting for; we are experiencing loss of what we thought we knew and what we most likely took for granted. We might even be experiencing, to some degree, a feeling of hopelessness. I also know many of us, including myself, are feeling fear in the face of the unknown. We know we must keep moving forward, but we don’t know how. However, unlike the apostles, we now know that Jesus defeated darkness and death and was raised again, and man, does that change our story. With Jesus no longer being just the crucified man, but the resurrected Messiah, we have hope! Hope that does not look to the fleeting world around us, but to the steadfast and eternal God above us and with this hope comes peace. Jesus himself said to his disciples in John 14:27, before he was to die on the cross, ”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” The very first words spoken to the apostles after the resurrection were from an angel who declared, “Do not fear!” With sin and death defeated, what have we to fear?! Nothing.

Though this season feels, at many times, like a season of loss and fear, we must remember that we are still Easter people. Whether we are together physically or separated, we are still united in life, in death, and in mission. Easter goes on with or without us. The resurrection still happened, Jesus still defeated death and ascended to heaven. The resurrection is still the ultimate truth, and because of that we can have hope in our times of mourning, find strength in our weakness, have no fear in the unknown and know that love and life triumph over death. Jesus is on the throne and is making all things new!

~Rachel Whippo