In my time as a parish priest people always thought Christmas would be the hardest time in the year for me but, in reality, I found Christmas quite easy. Yes, there were lots of services, but it is a wonderfully traditional time where people don’t want innovation, they want to do what they have always done. Christmas is a comforting, warm, and happy time, like an overweight labrador asleep in front of the fire; perfect for the middle of winter.
Easter on the other hand is much harder work, both practically where there is a lot of liturgical ground to cover in a few days, but also emotionally. If anything, Easter is more of feral cat; changeable in its mood and harder to read, and if you really engage with it, you will probably come out with a few scratches.
Easter leads us through the rollercoaster of Holy Week, from the high of Palm Sunday, through the betrayal of Maundy Thursday, the pain and grief of Good Friday, to the joy of Easter Sunday. Because of this I believe that not only is Easter the most important part of the Christian calendar, it has much to speak to us about as people.
Easter resonates with our experiences. Life is sometimes beautiful, but it can also be painful and most of the time it’s a cocktail of 101 different feelings and thoughts all jumbled together. For the Christian, the message of Easter is that God is not distant but deeply connect to us as people. Jesus lived as one of us, and he lived through the events of Holy Week, through the deep joys and deep challenges, through the hope and the betrayal. However we feel today, God knows and understands.
I hope Easter is a wonderful, happy and joyful time for you, but for those who are in the midst of pain and grief, struggle or challenge I say this; hold on, even in the darkest times there is hope. On Good Friday, it is hard to see the light of Easter Sunday, but it is coming. As a young man in my 20s and early 30s I used to speak those same words without a true understanding of what I was saying; it was not until I had experienced significant loss and grief personally that I was able to understand what those words really mean. Now I know that they are not easy, but I believe them to be true. Hold on, and if you feel like your grip might not be strong enough today, then reach out, sometimes we need someone to hold on to us.
One last thought, in the end, if nothing else, Easter is a great time to eat as much chocolate as you like and not feel guilty.
Easter blessings to you and those you love.
