Searching for Resurrection 

          These days, many people have been experiencing what you might call “Covid fatigue.”  In spite of the availability of vaccines, Covid-19 continues to spread, and in some parts of Canada, a “third wave” has been declared.  Meanwhile, many people are missing their church family and would love to be able to gather together again.  Ironically, many of those same people are among those who are most at risk for a severe outcome if they were to contract the virus.

          As we have journeyed through Lent, it has been relatively easy to identify with Jesus weeping and lamenting over Jerusalem and praying fervently in the garden.  In fact, it is almost as though Lent has lasted an entire year!  However, Lent is always the prelude to Easter, for joy that comes after sorrow is always so much more intense.

          Many have imagined the celebrations that might take place when the pandemic has finally come to an end, and it is okay to gather together or to give somebody a hug.  While it is perhaps fun to imagine, we are not quite there yet.  Hence, the search for resurrection this Easter.

          Now, lest you should misunderstand, I am not saying that the resurrection of Jesus is any less real or less meaningful this Easter.  For, it is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that death does not have the final say for us – even in the midst of a pandemic.  We have still been set free from the power of sin and death – free to love as Jesus loved and to experience life in all its fulness. 

         When we focus on these things, it is easier to celebrate the resurrection, in spite of those things that we are missing or grieving.  As with so many things, it depends on where we place our focus.  Are we going to focus on all of the losses we have experienced and all of the things that we cannot do, or are we going to focus on the things that we do have and on the new life that comes to us through Jesus Christ?

          I am reminded of the apostle Paul’s desire both for Christ and for resurrection.  He writes:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings…, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11).

It is as if he realizes that truly knowing Jesus involves experiencing suffering as well as resurrection, for there is no resurrection without death.

          In a similar manner, we see in nature how new growth can come out of an old stump or a flowering plant can emerge from a bulb buried in the ground.  In fact, one of the best things we can do as the weather starts to warm up is to spend as much time as possible outdoors in the midst of God’s creation.  As you have the opportunity to do so, breathe deeply.  Breathe in the fresh, outside air, and give thanks for the breath of life, and for resurrection – both of which are gifts of God.

          As it turns out, there is resurrection and new life.  We just need to know where to look!

          In Christ,

          Pastor Lynne Hutchison