A Touch of Easter
AM Psalm 97, 99 • PM Psalm 115
Exod. 12:40-51 • 1 Cor. 15:(29)30-41 • Matt. 28:1-16
For my Morning Reflection in September of last year, I wrote about Mark’s resurrection narrative in Chapter 16.* Today my readings include the same story, told by Matthew in Chapter 28. In fact, all four Gospel writers tell the story, with variations in the details, but with one clear message. The tomb is empty; Jesus is alive! And as Easter people, we are to celebrate that truth.
When our children were little, I planned lots of family activities during Lent, hoping they might catch the religious significance of Easter, rather than, or at least along with, just the egg hunts, the bunny cakes, and the new clothes. One year, during the week after Easter, our six-year old son asked almost daily, “What can we do today to have a touch of Easter?” He was satisfied with anything—anything special, that is, from a bunch of flowers from the yard to a short game of table tennis—anything to make us feel that we had stopped and taken some time to celebrate.
The next great Christian holy day is Pentecost, when we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples after his Ascension. Wherever you are during these days, I hope you will find something to celebrate, every day. In a New York Times article just before Ash Wednesday, Margaret Renkl wrote about how she was planning her disciplines for the forty days of Lent, while dealing with such daily dark news as the impeachment vote and the firing of Lt. Col. Vindman. Lent is past now, and Easter Sunday is past, but her Lenten plans give us inspiration for these days ahead. “In times like these, it makes more sense to seek out daily causes for praise than daily reminders of lack. So here is my resolution: to find as many ordinary miracles as a waterlogged winter can put forth, as many resurrections as an eerily early springtime will allow. Tiny beautiful things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world, and I am going to keep looking every single day until I find one.”
Out our sunroom windows today, I see God’s grandeur all around. The crabapple tree is in full bloom; the redbuds and dogwoods are coming on. Nature has generously spread my woodland phlox and hellebores to shady spots I'd never thought of. Daily, as some daffodils fade, others open to the sun. This year I’m unable to be out there pulling those pesky weeds, but I have never seen our rocky hillside look more beautiful. I hope you find some way to celebrate Easter today as well.
Written by Kay DuVal
* For a further look at the Resurrection story in the Gospels, see “Quem Quaeritis?” by Kay DuVal in the St. Paul's Morning Reflections Archives, September 10, 2019.