This was the Easter of isolation, the Easter of online services and drive-in church and quarantine.
This was also the Easter of distant connections, of preachers preaching over YouTube and Facebook Live, of praise teams singing due to previous recordings . . . and of choirs and singers singing separately, uploading their parts, and sending them to technicians who, through the magic of editing, turned it into a virtual performance.
The tech team at my own church did just that, combining a large handful of voices singing "At The Cross". I was amazed. And very touched.
In England, the Royal Choral Society did a virtual performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, keeping up their tradition of performing every year since 1876, except during the Blitz in World War II.
In England, the Royal Choral Society did a virtual performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, keeping up their tradition of performing every year since 1876, except during the Blitz in World War II.
This was the Easter where we sat isolated in our homes, much like the first disciples sat, but not with "the doors locked for fear of the Jews" (i.e. the Jewish rulers in that time and place). We have not cowered in fear but we have hunkered down in hope.
The disciples needed a real Mary Magdalene to tell them, Jesus isn't in the tomb! And even when two of them ran to the empty tomb, they still didn't believe He'd been resurrected. They still hid behind a locked door . . . but one that Jesus could walk through to tell them, "Peace be with you!"
We are not hiding behind locked doors this Easter because we fear being arrested and persecuted for our faith. Rather, we are hunkering down in hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, that the threat of disease will someday lessen enough for us to resume somewhat of a normal life and normal activity.
Some are making this Easter about violation of rights, violation of our First Amendment "freedom of religion". At least one church in suburban Louisville gathered in defiance of their governor's order banning gatherings of groups of ten or more. Perhaps other churches have met in similar ways, claiming that they are not afraid and that we should not live our lives in fear.
People, even Jesus left an area when people were thinking of killing him. He stayed away from places where he thought that he might be arrested. He was smart enough to tell Satan himself that the Bible said, don't put God to the test when Satan said that, "God will save you if you jump from the temple" and even quoted Scripture to 'prove' it.
If mosques, synagogues, and temples were being told they could gather and Christian churches were not, I'd be worried that my freedom of religion in the United States was being abridged and I would be very concerned. That might be a case for "we must obey God rather than man".
Some are making this Easter about violation of rights, violation of our First Amendment "freedom of religion". At least one church in suburban Louisville gathered in defiance of their governor's order banning gatherings of groups of ten or more. Perhaps other churches have met in similar ways, claiming that they are not afraid and that we should not live our lives in fear.
People, even Jesus left an area when people were thinking of killing him. He stayed away from places where he thought that he might be arrested. He was smart enough to tell Satan himself that the Bible said, don't put God to the test when Satan said that, "God will save you if you jump from the temple" and even quoted Scripture to 'prove' it.
If mosques, synagogues, and temples were being told they could gather and Christian churches were not, I'd be worried that my freedom of religion in the United States was being abridged and I would be very concerned. That might be a case for "we must obey God rather than man".
But defying a public health order is not the way to show that you have faith in God and will not let your life be ruled by fear. It is a way to make yourself look stupid.
Fortunately, most Christians I know have spent this Easter in isolation, in this hunkering down in hope, communicating through text and Zoom and Facebook Live and Google Meet and however else they choose to communicate.
Fortunately, most Christians I know have spent this Easter in isolation, in this hunkering down in hope, communicating through text and Zoom and Facebook Live and Google Meet and however else they choose to communicate.
Because we know that, no matter what, He is risen. He is risen indeed!
Okay, back to the snark alert:
It's the end of the world as we know it
Okay, back to the snark alert:
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine!
Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.
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