LET'S PARTY - EVENTUALLY

There was no party at the empty tomb in the garden where Jesus was buried.  No balloons, no decorations, no dancing, no testimonial speeches of congratulations, no greeting cards, and no festive meal to celebrate.  That was because nobody expected this.  There was no time to relish the event with the chocolate candy or the Peeps (thank God!) or sweet pastries, or champagne toasts.  That was because nobody could yet figure out what in the world was going on – into what mystery were they being drawn, or even whether this latest development in the Jesus story was a good thing at all.  Was this the beginning of a completely new kind of life and glorious promise?  Or was it the next chapter in the horror story of the week that would not end?  So there was no party, because there was no explanation.  The gospel accounts of Easter do not use words like celebration or laughter or even relief.  Instead, they testify to fear, confusion, doubt, division, debate. 

All anybody really knew is that the world stood at a precipice, a tipping point right there and then, and each of their individual lives and futures stood with it.  So what was “it”? What is “it”?  And what was anybody supposed to do about it, then or now?

One thing was certain on Easter morning:  the proper response to the empty tomb was not to throw a party – not yet.  In fact, the first witnesses ran away.  In at least a couple of the gospels, they are told to go away, to share what little they knew with their companions, and to await the encounter with this newly-raised savior. The savior in all of the places where he now is, how he now is, as he now is.  There and then will be the time for the parties – where faith is shared, the Holy Spirit is poured out as a heavenly gift.  Where miracles will occur and preaching will win over all those who sincerely seek God.  Where hospitality and charity begin to defeat violence and isolation, where there’s truly reason for confident celebration because resurrection is something truly to be experienced by the communities and in them, here and now.  And so we mark this calendar, this Easter night (morning), of the year 2022 not only with solemn remembrance and story-telling, but also by recognizing and responding to all the amazing assurances and the sturdy hopes – yes even in 2022, maybe especially now more than ever.   We will party because we are the people who can be confronted with an empty tomb and a painful, powerful, divine mystery, and begin to truly understand what has happened in Jesus’ defeat of death and the world’s evil places.  The world is turning now inexorably toward the light.  Let us pray gratefully on this Holy Night (Day) and then let’s party.  And may both of those things keep us moving outward to share our Easter with those who are still waiting for it.