Psalm Reflection: Easter Sunday (Cycle A)

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” - Psalm 118

I’m going to be honest, it is hard to live out this Psalm this week. It is hard to celebrate Resurrection and Easter, when our lives going forward will still look very much like Lent.

Easter will be different this year. We will not be in churches filled with lillies and Easter dresses. There will be no community egg hunts and no big family dinners.  

And maybe that is a good thing.

Maybe this is an opportunity for God to peel away all the surface layers of celebration and remind is what we are truly rejoicing about.

We rejoice because 2000 years ago we learned, for a fact, that death is not the end.

We rejoice because 2000 years ago, darkness and evil lost and continue to lose to Jesus, who is the light of the world.

We rejoice because 2000 years ago, salvation was won for us so that no matter what happens to our bodies, however and whenever we die, we can have eternal life with God and the communion of the saints.

What a gift that is.

Would it be nice to have all the smells and bells, dresses and dinners? Of course. But they are not why we celebrate. We rejoice because JESUS IS RISEN. 

This week, smile. Smile as much as you can, even through the isolation, sadness and difficulty. Smile because Jesus is Lord, His ways are above our ways, and He keeps His promises. Rejoice in the promise He makes to you of life everlasting. It is worth more than anything we are missing out on, and anything we might still have to lose or sacrifice. It is everything.

We are praying for you.

See you in the Eucharist.