easter 2021

Last weekend, Easter arrived, and I wasn't ready. 

Ash Wednesday turned up, and I had not given fasting, death and mourning much thought. 

Maundy Thursday came, and I had not prepared my heart to think about sacrifice and self-denial. 

Good Friday followed, and I had not spent time dwelling upon my sin and my desperate need for the Cross on which my Saviour was nailed and slain. 

Holy Saturday was next, and I had not grappled with the depth of sadness that had seized the hearts of Christ's followers at the day of his burial, the state of waiting believers are called to as the disciples did while the body of Christ Jesus lay in the tomb. 

So, by the time resurrection Sunday came around, the celebrations felt shallow. My heart and mind were disconnected from the immensity of this occasion to those of us who believe. 

Unlike past years, I struggled to rejoice in the goodness and profundity of the Easter story. I chirped "He is risen indeed!" when fellow believers declared the truth of the resurrection, but I honestly struggled to bridge the gap between the risen Christ and my life as a Christian today. I recognize this may sound ridiculous. After all, our faith is effectively founded upon the resurrection, so how could I feel so disconnected from the celebrations? 

Perhaps your faith is stronger than mine, and you are able to jump into the depths and heights of Easter rejoicing without much preparation. Such is just not the case for me. 

And I have a hunch I know why. 

This was, in fact, the first year in many that I had not practiced Lent. Reasons varied from overwhelm surrounding the wedding and work, an inability to get organized and commit to a fast and, I confess, a rather smug attitude that I've given up enough this year with COVID. Yikes. 

But I don't think it is a coincidence I felt so bereft of joy and anticipation when Easter came and went. 

I think there is a reason that the liturgical calendar commits a total of forty days leading up to Easter to dwell upon the Cross and the theological concepts surrounding this Christian holiday. For over a month, the Church is invited to read Scripture, confess, repent, fast, pray and worship before we celebrate the empty tomb. And while I maintain that the practice of Lent is by no means an obligation to Christians, I believe Church fathers and mothers knew all too well what I found to be true this year: our wayward hearts need to be anchored in the truths of the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ far before Easter actually comes around. 

Typically, Christians of the evangelical tradition are shy about Lent. There is a far greater emphasis upon the joy of the Sunday than the suffering of the Friday and the limbo of the Saturday. To be fair, our focus upon the resurrection is not all wrong. It is no coincidence our depictions of the Cross are empty - we are resurrection people! But we also, sadly, are a bit too keen on skipping over the injustice and suffering of the crucifixion and getting to the part where death was defeated. 

I confess - I am tempted to do just this. The work of Christ on the Cross is uncomfortable, messy. But our faith hangs on all three days. Beholding images of the slain Christ is jolting, yes, but I am finding that it is also a way to better grasp the power and beauty of the resurrection that followed. 

This year, I became convinced of the importance of Lent - how crucial it is, for me at least, to spend forty days before Easter to set my heart on the vastness of Christ's sacrifice in light of the depth of my sin. 

But here's the redemptive conclusion: despite feeling really perplexed at my lack of preparedness for Easter this year, the power of the resurrection is still and always at work. I might have felt disconnected from the celebrations at first, but the resurrected King still reigns - my detachment can't change that. Christ's resurrection power - the same power that ensured death couldn't hold Him- is at work everywhere around me. Whenever there is forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, freedom, healing, new life - the power of the resurrection is at work. 

This, the resurrection, changes everything. It extends grace to me as I trudge through Easter. It turns strangers into family. It brings joy to the grieving. It gives hope to the lost. 

The world might be broken and news might be grim, but the power of the resurrection is everywhere around us. 

Good news indeed!