Easter Hope in Uncertain Times

Tomorrow will look differently than any Easter Sunday I’ve ever known. In my most recent years, the day has been marked by a blur of joy. There has been the early preparation of sunrise services, the fast tempo of songs about the resurrection, and the warm fellowship of the church potluck. I always looked forward to picking out a new dress for myself with a bright color to match the feel of the day. Even in my earliest memories of Easter, I remember the fellowship, the songs, and the bright pink dresses with maybe one too many ruffles for my taste.

This Easter Sunday, I won’t be waking up at 3:30am to play piano for the sunrise service. I didn’t shop for new dresses. I won’t be preparing a dish for our church potluck. There will be no in-person fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. It will likely be a lazy morning with a big breakfast for my family of three. We will watch our online service as we’ve been doing for the past few weeks, probably all three still in our pjs.

But while we cannot honor most of our treasured traditions this years, we can still, wholeheartedly, honor our good and glorious God.

The joy of Easter Sunday is not made complete with potlucks, Easter egg hunts or our favorite hymns. The joy of Easter Sunday was made complete thousands of years ago.

God, in his providence, has essentially forced us all to be still this Easter. He has stripped away everything that can distract us. He has removed the rush. He has uprooted our time-honored traditions.

So what is left?

Everything we’ve ever needed. Let’s embrace this gift of stillness God has given us. Let’s pause and remember why the cross is important and why it gives us hope.

The one and only God, who created the universe, is holy. He is perfect and righteous. You and I are sinners. We fall short of the glory of God, each and every one of us. By our own merit, we stand condemned in light of our holy God, destined to spend eternity forever separated from him. That is our hopeless reality without the cross. That means the worst thing we could ever face is not the coronavirus. It is not the death of a loved one. It is not financial ruin.

The worst thing we could face is standing before a holy God as unredeemed sinners. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves righteous. No amount of good works is enough. No family name is strong enough to pass the test. No bank account is large enough to bribe him.

On our own, we are utterly hopeless. And God is just to condemn us.

God’s wrath against sin demanded payment. It justly demanded a sacrifice to satisfy the debt our sin had created. So in this hopeless state, God did the unthinkable. He sent his own Son to be born into this world. His Son grew up to live the perfect life we would never be able to live. He would fulfill the law we were never able to fulfill. Jesus had done what we could not do. Because of this, he would be the perfect sacrifice. Jesus willingly went to the cross. He went through immense physical pain and torture that he didn’t deserve. And as he hung, battered and bloody, on the cross, our holy God poured out all of his wrath on Jesus, his Son.

That’s what we deserved. That was our punishment. And Jesus willingly took it upon himself at the cross.

Three days later, he rose from the grave, and everything changed. Because of Jesus, we now had hope. Hope we had never had before. This hope is secure. His work cannot be undone! Our debt has been paid. Our lives have been ransomed. Jesus stands as our advocate and one day, when our time on this weary world is over, we will stand before God justified, righteous, and redeemed – only because of the cross.

This is the hope that cannot be stolen by pandemics. It’s the hope that cannot be shaken by a volatile market. It’s the hope that cannot be lost in unemployment. It’s the hope that we hold in all things.

This hope is why Easter Sunday is so joyous. It’s why we celebrate. We do not lose that joy when we lose the traditions of one day because the joy of Easter Sunday is the joy the believer has every day of their life.

I mourn the loss of gathering together with my church family. I wish we could rejoice in this glorious hope together! But God has intentionally given us this Easter in the exact manner we see it approaching. Let’s all be still and know that he is God. Let’s worship, unhindered by busyness and rush.

Let us praise our King who rose victorious from the grave. May he receive all honor and glory that is due his name.