The Long Winter - Easter 2020

12 April 2020 – Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10

It is the strangest sensation I don’t think I will ever get used to – and I don’t want to!  Usually Easter is one of those special Holy Days when so many who otherwise would not attend formal worship do make time to gather with others.  Though we lament these absences throughout the year, we nevertheless celebrate when they come on those special occasions because it is in those moments when the Body of Christ is complete!

Yet here I stand again in an empty sanctuary, looking forward to the day when this long “winter” we will have endured will finally come to an end and we can gather formally and reconnect in a meaningful way.  It will be for many - hopefully for all - the most joyous occasion we can share; that this which we can so easily take for granted has been restored to us!  Sort of like returning from a long exile cut off from our world and all we only thought we had and knew.

When that day comes when we can gather once again, my prayer is that we will then come close to understanding what the apostles endured in those days after Jesus had been buried.  He who had become for them their True Compass was suddenly no longer leading the way.  They were not only afraid of what may have been coming to them, they were also very disoriented, confused, unsure of what to do except to hide from the religious leaders until they thought it was safe.

It was as if all Jesus had taught them about life, love, faith, discipleship, and what had to come had been completely lost on them.  We may think it strange, but this “long winter” we have been forced to endure may give us some sense of what they went through.  Though we have not been hiding from the “authorities”, we have been somewhat hidden from an unseen, potential danger, unsure of when we can go back out in public, unsure of whom to trust during this “long winter”, unsure of our next steps.

Like the circumstances we currently face, Jesus’ disciples did not really know when their “isolation” would come to an end.  In their great fear, given what they had watched Jesus endure and thinking they may be next, it is easy to believe that whatever they had learned in the past had been completely lost on them in this self-imposed isolation, in this great sense of fear.  It was perhaps the greatest trial any of them had faced.

Trials are ugly things, especially when we cannot know when they will end.  Given that our consistent prayer is that we be spared these trials and temptations, as Jesus taught us to pray, we are often unprepared for those times when our trials cannot be avoided.  Nor should they be - because we have been shown the glory that awaits us, through the Resurrection of our Lord, if we are willing to face these trials faithfully.

The trial we currently face has lasted well beyond the couple of days the apostles endured, but we are no less disoriented, unsure of our next steps, maybe even a little fearful of what may come next.  I try to read the news and stay informed, but my confusion is often exacerbated by the conspiracy theories swirling about as to the origin of this Virus and what may be next. 

The Lord alone knows what will happen next.  Regardless of what we may hear, regardless of our political affiliations, we must – we MUST – become MORE aware of our Lord and His Eternal Word than we are aware of the news from Washington DC.  There is too much uncertainty, too much conflicting information, too much believing “this” one or “that” one only because of their political party affiliation.

If nothing else, our long “winter” has been extended perhaps because The Church has yet to take from what has happened what must be lessons learned and applied to our next steps.  As I had previously shared, we have endured much worse in this nation’s past.  Each time we recovered with lessons learned but soon forgotten. 

Each time we went right back to business as usual … until the next time, the next “winter”.  It is not unlike the many times Israel stumbled, faced great challenges, and prayed The Lord to come rescue them.  The Lord heard their prayers and restored them.  It wasn’t long, however, before they were right back where they had been, having forgotten The Lord, having forgotten His Law, and having forgotten themselves and their true identity in Him.  Until finally the Exile was upon them, perhaps the longest “winter” they had faced.  Until The Lord had finally had enough of their seasonal faithfulness.

Easter is the holiest Day of the Christian calendar.  Because Easter falls in the Spring, it is easy to see the earth awaken from its long winter slumber.  It is readily seen with our eyes that which had once appeared dead suddenly appear to be full of life, never having really died.  We celebrate these things as we should, but it isn’t long before we, too, are back to “business as usual”.  The Holy Day passes and is soon forgotten.

Maybe this time the “winter” we must endure is going to take longer.  And maybe it is that, aside from all the conspiracy theories, we need this extended “winter” more than we realize.  Maybe it is we are not yet fully awakened.  Maybe it is our Holy Father is determined that we will not so quickly return to “business as usual”. 

Maybe it is our Gracious Father knows that in the midst of our uncertainty, our disorientation, we need more time to find our footing, to reconnect to Him before we can reconnect to one another and the world we still have to live in and navigate.  Maybe it is our Solid Rock on which we SHOULD stand knows we are not yet prepared to stand, to cast aside all else – especially our worldly affiliations - and follow His lead.

Maybe it is this pandemic is among the great gifts we can possibly receive because we are reminded of what is written in the Scriptures: “The Lord disciplines those whom He loves and chastises every child He accepts” (Hebrews 12:6).  For it must be, as the writer maintains, “If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not His children” (Hebrews 12:8).

In the midst of this long “winter”, however, we still have Easter.  We still have the knowledge of the Resurrection, and thus it is we still dare to hope.  And when our Father has determined we are indeed prepared and willing to bloom in His Glory, He will set us free from this long “winter” so we may truly begin to live.

Let us remember always to give glory where glory is due.  It is Him and Him alone who is worthy of our praise and adoration and full trust.  Let us be unafraid to claim His Name, and let us never forget the long “winter” we endured for His sake.  Glory to The Lord our God, and peace to His people on earth!  Amen.