A Bright & Gloomy Easter
I never would have imagined that my first Easter as pastor would be preached to an audience of one. I never would have imagined a room full of empty chairs. Easter is normally one of the biggest days of the year, with the building packed full of people, but this year was different. Like most churches, we spent Resurrection Sunday online. Families sat in their cars in the parking lot (six feet apart of course), watching “together” on their phones. Inside the church, it was just me and the sound guy, which brought a mixture of emotions.
For Christians, Easter is always a joyous occasion. We celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death, and we praise Him for the same victory He offers to all who trust in Him. This Easter still brought the same joy, but it also carried a painful reminder. Christ sealed death’s fate on the cross, yet the sentence has not been fully carried out. Our inability to hug and shake hands became a powerful object lesson I never could have delivered from the pulpit.
This year’s Easter brought a special reminder that even though the shadow of death’s axe lay before our celebration, the bright and shining sun of resurrection still lies waiting behind it.
