Dear siblings in Christ:
Something strange and wonderful emerged over the years I was in parish ministry. I noticed that no matter how hard I tried, I could not work on my Easter morning message until the Good Friday service was over. I would try and try to prepare ahead of time. But no matter what I did, I could not summon the good news of Easter morning until after I had reckoned with Jesus’ last words, the utter despair and violence of the cross and the horrible silence of the tomb. Without fail, on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning the Easter morning message would come, the stone would be rolled away, the tomb would appear empty and Jesus would come to say: “do not be afraid.” (Mttw.28:10)
We are and have been living through one long Holy Week and Good Friday experience for over a year now. On top of that, we are witnessing the trial of Derek Chauvin and holding our collective breath to see what happens next. We are a people longing for the good news of Easter – vaccinations, in person gatherings, and justice to be served.
But I would like to suggest that we wait a little longer and not rush to the empty tomb. Let us allow ourselves a little more time to attend to and to grieve the horror, the violence, the loss, the uncertainty of the Cross. Let us take our time to gather around the table with friends – even those who will betray and deny. Let us pray with Jesus in the garden that God might “take this cup away.” Let us acknowledge the violence of the empire and its fear of a humble man whose words and healing were such a threat to domination and control. And let us grieve and wail as everything we loved or held dear or thought we could rely on is stripped away.
Then and only then will we be ready to receive the complete and utter gift that comes on Easter morning. Only then will we be equipped to dance with joy as we say to one another; “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” And only then will we be ready to acknowledge the truth of this line from Frederick Buechner’s poem “Grace”: “Here is the world./Beautiful and terrible things will happen./Don’t be afraid./I am with you.”
Holy Week and Easter Greetings to you. May your Holy Week ponderings make way for Easter morning joy and new life. May the time you spend with Jesus around the table, in the garden and on the cross prepare you to receive the gift and joy of the resurrection.
Blessings and peace,
Tisha Brown
And the entire Wisconsin Conference Staff: Franz Rigert, Jane Anderson, Rob MacDougall, Lorraine Ceniceros, Lisa Hart, Andrew Warner, Tracy Hauge, Nola Risse-Connolly, Susan Taylor, Deb Simon and Katie Komassa
