Most years there is much time, effort, and money that goes into making Easter a huge celebration. We may buy new clothes or have big family meals together. Churches will plan special programs, which are often more elaborate than any other program throughout the year. The largest attendance in church every year is Easter Sunday. Flower sales tend to spike around Easter as individuals and organizations seek to honor, bless, and beautify. All of this preparation is understandable, and appropriate, as Easter really should be a celebration.
Easter Looked Different in 2020
This year, of course, the celebration was much different. Some people dressed in new clothes they got from shopping online, or at least nice clothes, so they could take family pictures. Many others were wearing their pajamas well into the afternoon. Millions logged into online church services, but nobody was actually “in church,” that is, in a church building. There were no special programs, big Easter egg hunts, choir cantatas, or many of the other things we are accustomed to seeing on Easter. Yes, Easter was a little different this year, at least in this sense.
In reality, Easter was not any different at all. Our experience of Easter and how we celebrated Easter were perhaps different than normal. But, Easter remains Easter. Nothing changes the facts of the cross and the empty tomb.
Will “After Easter” Be Different Too?
So, let’s think about “after Easter.” Will after Easter be any different this year? For many, the days and weeks after Easter are focused on returning to the normal routine. Just as Easter Sunday is historically the highest attended Sunday for U.S. churches, the Sunday following Easter is usually below average in terms of attendance. The Lenten Bible studies are gone, replaced by…… nothing. Holy Week is replaced with Holey Week, a week full of holes. We return to weeks with holes where prayer, personal devotion, and worship should be. Year after year, we have a big celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then we return to a life lived, far too often, as if the resurrection never happened.
Truly Believing In The Son Of God
This year, as we move on from the celebration of Easter, an Easter that was very different in how we experienced it, I hope how we experience life after Easter will be different too. I hope we can remember the words of the Centurion who was involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. As he stood in front of Jesus, and “saw the way He died,” the Centurion said, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). This man was not a follower of Jesus. He had no reason to believe Jesus was anything special. He had even been involved in nailing Him to the cross. Yet, this man’s conclusion was emphatic. His testimony in that moment was that truly, certainly, surely, without doubt, this Man was the Son of God. As we move on from Easter, let’s move on with as much certainty as the Centurion. Let’s remember that even the way Jesus died, gave clear, definitive testimony that He is the Son of God. If we live in the certainty of that truth, maybe our lives after Easter will be all that Easter says they can be.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.