Joy and Sorrow on Easter Day
It feels obscene to talk about resurrection, new life, and hope in the midst of so much death and despair. While the church calendar has moved on from Holy Saturday to Easter, for many of us, we are still stuck within Holy Saturday. We know Easter is coming, but we just don’t know when. It feels like a cruel joke to be celebrating Easter while many of us are staying within our homes, doing what we can to flatten the curve and protect ourselves, our loved ones and total strangers.
Talking about a God that defeats death while in the midst of a pandemic, when deaths continue to raise, seems as if I am making a mockery of those who have already died and the first responders desperately trying to save lives.
Talking about hope and joy right now is reminiscent of someone pulling a prank in the midst of a funeral. In any other context the prank may have been welcomed and funny, but right now it’s like, “Read the damn room, and put your water balloons away.”
So how do we celebrate the resurrection and also honor the fact that millions of people throughout the United States and the world are suffering right now? Is there a way to hold onto hope while also acknowledging the reality that many of us are still stuck in Holy Saturday and will be for the foreseeable future?
For me, the resurrection stories are not simply stories of unbridled hope. They are stories mixed with touches of sadness. This acknowledgement of both joy and sadness can aid us as we seek to celebrate Easter in a world still struggling with isolation and sickness.
There is joy as Jesus’ followers recognize that, “wait, Jesus isn’t dead, my hopes for the future and for a more just world aren’t dashed!” Mary Magdalene, can stop weeping in sadness at the empty tomb and boldly proclaim to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord.”
But in the midst of the joy there is also a twinge of sadness. Of course, once Jesus’ followers get over the initial shock and unbelief, they are ecstatic. Their Savior, Mentor, Friend lives. How could there be room for sadness in the midst of such unbridled joy? Well, because although Jesus lives…things can’t go back to the way they were before. Jesus’ resurrection is not like other resurrection stories in the gospels, where the person comes back to life and just rejoins their friends and families. This resurrection is fundamentally different. Yes, Jesus makes various appearances to his disciples, and in Luke 24 Jesus even breaks bread with some of his followers before disappearing. But after the resurrection Jesus’ interaction and relationship with the disciples is radically altered.
Yes, Jesus’ resurrection means that he is no longer physically bound to a particular time in place. He, via the Holy Spirit can be a comforting presence to all. (No, I will not go into a discussion, at this time, about the Trinity, one of the most infuriating, mysterious, yet also intriguing theological concepts within Christianity). And yet…they wouldn’t be able to physically hang out with Jesus in the way they had grown accustomed to. They wouldn’t be able to laugh, cry, and dance with him in the same way.
The paralyzing, devastating grief that overwhelmed the disciples after Jesus’ death is gone, replaced by joy that Jesus lives and an acknowledgement that they were not mistaken in placing their hopes of a better, more just world, in him. And yet, I can imagine a lingering sense of sadness, as things would, out of necessity be different, and change no matter how welcome and good, can still invite moments of grief.
I think, more so, in light of COVID-19, we need to recognize that joy and sorrow can co-exist. Joy, does not, completely erase sadness. So, while, on this Easter day, we can rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus and in the hope that God conquers death, we can also acknowledge our pain and sorrow. We can admit that right now, things suck. We can admit that we are lonely, anxious, grieving our previous lives and mourning for those we have lost while we are also hoping and believing that death and despair do not have the last word.
In other words, if you are feeling overwhelming joy and peace on this day, great! I hope you can hold onto that joy and peace for as long as possible. But if you are struggling to find joy today, if you are grieving, if you are depressed, that’s ok. You aren’t being unfaithful. You don’t need to put on a fake smile and pretend everything is fine. There is room, on this Easter day for both joy and sorrow.
