Preparing Our Homes for Holy Week (Part IV - Easter)

Preparing Our Homes for Holy Week – Part IV

The Culmination of Easter

Easter is finally upon us.  But does it feel like it?  It seems as if the last few weeks have been more trying for people, with stay-at-home orders, illness, children who are e-learning, work disrupted and churches closed.  How can we become an Easter people in the middle of the chaos in which we find ourselves?

The answer to that question lies in understanding and living out that first Easter.  In 2020 we already know how the story ends.  Yes, Jesus suffered and died, and we approach Good Friday with this knowledge of his resurrection.  But imagine living at the time, being Peter, or Mary Magdalene, or John.  Imagine going through Good Friday and Holy Saturday thinking that your best friend, the person with whom you had spent the last three years, the man whom you witnessed performing miracles in front of your very eyes, was dead.  A gruesome, tortuous, unjust kind of dead.  You know he was innocent, and you believe that he’s not only a man, but your Savior!  All of your hope, joy, and peace was connected to Jesus, and now he’s gone.  How immense the kind of utter anguish you would feel. 

And then think about the circumstances in which we find ourselves today.  We too face uncertainty, confusion, worry, and grief.  In a way you could say we are living our own Good Friday. 

Pope Saint John Paul II, a man who also saw a number of Good Fridays throughout his life, said in 1986,      
                We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty        
                and pain.  But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the   
                glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of
                his Death and Resurrection.

                We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song! 

Pope John Paul reminds us that life isn’t a bed of roses.  You can’t have an Easter without having lived a Good Friday.  Yet we cannot abandon ourselves to despair, but should rejoice in hope – the hope that comes from knowing how this story, and all stories, end for those who believe.  Even though we don’t know how our current Good Friday will end, we can rest assured that a resurrection awaits those who believe. 

So how do we live as an Easter people?

First, pray.  If you haven’t been praying, start with something, anything.  There are many resources available online and through our parishes.  Check them out.  If you are already praying, what is one more thing you can add to your prayer life?  It needn’t be grandiose.  Simple is good.  Just continue to grow in prayer, as it is how we stay in relationship with Jesus.

Second, acknowledge the sorrows, and share your joys.  Years ago my mom once told me, “When you share your sorrows they’re divided, and when you share your joys they are multiplied.”  You know what?  She’s right.  If times are really tough for you right now, don’t try to cover them up.  Share what burdens you with a trusted friend or family member.  You need the support, and by sharing what bothers you, you then give someone else an opportunity to be Christ for you.  We need each other, especially during trying times.  So share what troubles you, and share the blessings as well.

Finally, find something to rejoice in.  We need to recognize the resurrection within our own lives.  We know the end of this story, and therein lies our hope.  God is not defeated.  He reigns!  Let him reign in your heart and learn to recognize the hundreds of ways that he blesses each and every one of us every single day. 

So however you celebrate Easter this year – with eggs, bunnies, chocolate, or alleluias, recall that first Easter, and the joy and exhilaration that Jesus’ friends must have felt.  Let us live like an Easter people, knowing that this Good Friday will eventually pass, and that God will help us to become a stronger, more faithful Easter people if we let him.

P.S.  Now, if you’ve not figured out already, I love to live my faith through food.  I love to cook.  And on a day like Easter I would be remiss not to include some favorite Easter culinary delights. 

In years past we enjoy the tradition of having a lamb shaped butter.  It sounds a bit hokey, I’ll give you that, but I kind of like the quirkiness of it.  In years past I’ve purchased a premade butter lamb, but this year being a bit different I think we’re going to make a homemade version of it.  We’ll see how it goes. 

We’ve also given up a lot of sweets and chocolate for Lent, and so we wanted to make a really decadent dessert this year to celebrate.  We’re making this Chocolate Cassata, which is commonly a Sicilian Easter dessert.  I hope it tastes as amazing as it looks!
Whatever you decided to do for Easter, remember to rejoice.  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!