Reflections On The Monday After Easter

For Pastors, the  Monday after Easter is usually a day to rest and regather after the busyness and excitement of Easter Sunday.  

A quick perusal of my social media confirmed this, as more than a few of my pastor friends reflected on the weariness they were feeling today — a weariness also marked by a sense of joy.

I'm feeling that way today.  

I'm still a bit tired from a full Easter Sunday, but also buoyed by the joy I felt yesterday, and the wonder of waking up to a beautiful morning filled with the songs of birds and a gentle breeze blowing through the burgeoning green of the new leaves on the trees outside my window.   

According to the Church's historic liturgical rhythms, we are now in the Season of Easter for the next couple of months.  I rather like this gift from the mothers and fathers of the Church.  Easter should be more than merely one day of celebration. 

I recently read an article in the New York Times entitled "Is Christianity Making A Comeback?" that responded to recent polls suggesting that, for the first time in decades, the number of people leaving the Church in the US not only paused but actually reversed.  

If that trend continues, it might suggest that emerging generations are either returning to church, or giving it a try for the first time.  

My belief is that there is a longing in our current culture for something more.  In the midst of all the turmoil around us, many of us are seeking meaning and purpose, and to discover anew what is good, beautiful, and true in the world. 

We want to believe there is still goodness in the world.  We want to find purpose for our lives.  We want to know that God's moral arc bends toward justice, mercy, and grace.  We want to believe in miracles.  

I recently read a quote from author Willa Cather that resonated with me: 

“Miracles... seem to me to rest not so much upon... healing power coming suddenly near us from afar but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that, for a moment, our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there around us always.”

I believe that the Season of Easter gives us the opportunity to live into the meaning of Resurrection for us and the world around us.  The signs and symbols of the miracle of renewal are always around us.  

We just need to be willing to see them.  We need to open our eyes and hearts to them.  We need to pursue our longings for what is good, beautiful, and true.  We are Resurrection people, after all.  The world needs us to live into the promise of that calling.  

So open up to the wonder of Easter around you today.  Let yourself be a light to those who might be struggling to walk out of the graveyards of despair.  Easter is upon us, beloved.  Let's live like people who have been made new.  

Prayer: 

God of Resurrection, make us new each day.  Help us be beacons of hope and faith, trusting that you are constantly making all things new.  Give us opportunities to share the Good News that new life is here for all of us.  Amen.  

Reflection Questions: 

1.  Where can you find the defiant hope today to be a light of love in a culture of desapair?

2.  What would it look like in your life to live out the promise of Resurrection?

3.  How can I learn to pray for opportunities to share the light of God's renewal to others, and then act upon it?