I’m still recovering from Easter. Not just from the festivities of the day which were grand, not just from the spiritual journey through Lent and Holy Week. It actually took me a couple of days to realize that while we were singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” that leaders were threatening to blow up bridges and destroy civilians. Such a stark contrast and it peels the shine off the joy. Is Easter more than an idle tale, as the scriptures wonder? (Luke 24:11) Can it be true that God’s love wins while nations totter on the brink of war?
I love what Fred Craddock says about Easter. A biblical scholar as well as a wise preaching professor, Craddock once mused that Easter is not confined to one Sunday but is also a season in the church year that lasts 50 days. We know that Lent lasts 40 days – from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. But we sometimes forget that Easter lasts longer – from Easter until Pentecost (May 24). Craddock says that we have some time to decide how we will respond to the announcement that God raised Jesus from the dead. We have 50 days. Craddock claims, with what I picture as a wink, ‘if you need more than 50 days to decide how you will respond to the announcement, you can probably apply for an extension.’
Some of you read the morning paper right before you read this column. And some of you are reading this from a hospital waiting room. Easter does not pretend that there is no death or sadness or worry or pain. My colleague Anna Carter Florence says that even our own human grief can be a form of resistance. We cry and express our sadness that life should not unfold like this. We worship a God of compassion and peace. On Easter we celebrate that God raised up a man named Jesus who turned the other cheek and loved his enemies. Easter gives us the courage to keep practicing the way of life Jesus revealed to us with his own human flesh. Sometimes Despair and Hope seem like siblings.
Grace and Peace,
Carla
