An Easter message

By The Rev. Kristy Coburn, Pastor, United Church of Christ in Abington

Easter is different this year.  There are no tulips, lilies, or daffodils decorating our sanctuaries.  The choir isn’t singing any high notes during “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.”  The children aren’t running around with their new outfits and Easter bonnets. Many are sad and heartbroken.  Our sanctuaries are empty.  

And yet, somehow, Easter still is, and will always be.  The Hallelujah Chorus is still singing, the flowers are still blooming, the children are still laughing and singing and running, and most importantly Christ has still Risen, proving to the world that love is stronger than death and that new life is indeed always possible.  

This is hard.  What we are going through is not easy by any stretch of the imagination.  Fear, uncertainty, and sadness are very real in the midst of this Global Pandemic.  But don’t forget that those emotions were very real for the disciples too on that first Easter morning.  And yet, the power of Jesus’ resurrection was still able to give them the strength they needed to move forward and spread his message of love to all the world.  It can still do that for us today too.   

Our sanctuaries may be empty this Easter Sunday, but so too was the tomb on that first Easter Sunday.  And that emptiness led to the greatest love the world has ever known. May it be so for us too, this Easter and always.