Though Easter has come and gone, we are still in the midst of Easter season, and furthermore, we are an Easter people. We live on the other side of the cross, and we know how the story ends. That’s not to say, though, that we have all the answers. We can, however, rest and find courage in the Easter story.
Just after Jesus made his way into Jerusalem where shouts of “Hosanna” (meaning literally, “save us, O Lord”), there was trouble. There was trouble in the form of betrayal pain. There was trouble in the form of an unfair and bogus trial. There was trouble in his own group of friends not fully understanding the enormity of what was about to happen.
His response to all this trouble was prayer. Fervent prayer.
In these times when we are isolated, sick, unable to join in communion and fellowship with our churches, loved ones, and friends, it is now, possibly more than ever, that prayer is the most important practice of our lives. It is now that seeking God is what we and our communities need.
Jesus, in his final days, had many unanswered questions and unrequited requests. He asked for “this cup to be taken from him,” and yet the cup remained. His friends fell asleep while Jesus prayed ardently in Gethsemane and he asked them, “Could you not stay awake with me for even one hour?” Jesus cried out to God on the cross, “My God My God, why have you forsaken me!”
All of these urgent questions and needs … unanswered.
We too have questions. We too are crying out. It all culminates in the most important of concepts. We must trust.
Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
We have to somehow, in the midst of our fears and struggles, find ways that will — and have already — worked through you for the good of God. We must pray and find ways to be present in our community’s struggle, for those who have lost jobs, or work their bodies to the extreme as our COVID-19 heroes.
We are Easter people. We know what lies on the other side of the cross. We know what happens when the stone is rolled away. In the Easter season of 2020, there are so many questions that revolve around this pandemic, but we have to trust that there is hope in reaching the other side. As someone else said recently, “Our churches may currently be empty, but praise God, so was the tomb!”
The Rev. Charissa Ramey is pastor of Nameless Creek Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
