AN EASTER MESSAGE FROM REV. ANN PERROT

     Easter Morning 2020

   April 12th

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Seeing the Light of The Resurrected Christ in the time of the Corona Virus.

John 20: 1-18

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      The stone has been rolled away.  The linen wrappings are scattered and according to John’s gospel, the tomb is empty.  Disciples are crying or running back and forth from an upstairs room.  Confusion and chaos abound and Jesus’ followers are terrified. “What will happen?  Will I, a disciple of Jesus be arrested too?  Will I be tortured because I was a believer?  Spat on by an angry crowd?  Tried in a kangaroo court?  Crucified on a cross?”  “I am petrified.”   

    I try to imagine how they felt on that fearful morning, or how they acted.  It wasn’t bad enough that Jesus had been crucified, now his body was gone.  I try to imagine the fear, the anxiety—the way they ran to the tomb and the way they all retreated back to the upstairs room, bodies sweating, hearts racing.  I try to imagine the feeling of uncertainty and mistrust. Mostly, I try to imagine their world turned upside down, unaware of what lie ahead.  But, I don’t have to imagine.  I am living it.  Unlike Jesus and the disciples’ enemies cloaked in uniforms, swords and Pharisee robes, the enemy before us this Easter morning is invisible.  Frightening, but invisible.  

       I listen to “Sacred Space most mornings and today the monks posed the question, “Where do you see the light of the resurrected Christ in the time of Covid-19?”  Before the virus, I could give a resounding, “On Easter Sunday, I see him everywhere!”  Church flowers, gorgeous choral voices, a grand coffee hour buffet, hugs to parishioners and a body that feels light with the hope of a risen Christ.  It took this virus for me to see that the places I have always seen the light of the resurrected Christ on Easter have been the wrong ones.  Of course most of us can see this light inside the walls of the church. But how do we see it as we cope with lockdown?

    How did those first disciples cope with their lockdown?  How are we coping with ours?  Can I see the light of the risen Christ in all of this?  Where was it on that dark morning when Christ’s disciples were huddled in an upper room?  Was their faith shaken to the core?   Is mine?  Was their chaos surrounding an empty tomb any different than the chaos and pain that now overwhelm families who cannot touch their dying loved ones?

   If I take a step back and think about it, how many people in the world have dealt with devastating situations like this for years, while I have watched from my safe, warm and privileged perch? 

• Do the Syrian people ever see the light of their God today as bombs continue to drop on men, women and children—devastating homes and livelihoods?Do they ever feel resurrected from looking at crumbling buildings and mangled bodies?

• Do the homeless, addicted, abused and food deprived ever feel any kind of a resurrection from persistent, relentless pain, longing for relief?

• Do those innocent women and children who are abused ever see the light of God trickle in to their violent and brutal homes?Places that are often defined by raging fists that pound with fury when the urge beckons?

• Do many people of color—who are asked even at this writing to remove their masks while in a store due to racial profiling ever feel any kind of resurrection from persistent racism?

• Do those running from rape and murder along the Mexican border ever see the light of the resurrected Christ while they endure years of agonizing and frightening uncertainty?

 No doubt we are in the throes of a virus that brings fear, sickness, death and uncertainty to so many every day.  For most of us the light of the resurrected Christ will return to us again if ever so slowly.  Those mentioned above can probably assure of us of that.  Some of them can even show us how to keep the light of the resurrected Christ in view, simply because they have had years of experience.

  I was asked this morning if I see the resurrected light of Christ in the time of Covid 19.  I do see it—in those ‘Health Heroes” who are on the front lines of the virus, tirelessly working to bring it to an end, and risking their own lives.  I see it in people donating thousands of dollars to bring food, protective gear and other items to those in need.  I see it in thousands of New Yorkers stepping out onto their balconies every evening to applaud and yell ‘Thank you” every time an ambulance goes by.  The light of the resurrected Christ seeps into every crack of heart ache, loss, pain, and fear every single minute of the day.  It is in the light of those who act in ways of love.  Acting in love does not mitigate the virus, it mitigates fear.  Michael Curry (Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church) preached this morning: “God works through the chaos—behind the scenes.  He is in the midst of all of it.”  Yes, the stone has been rolled away, and Christ has resurrected with a light that guides us and holds us on Easter and thereafter.   Easter Blessings, All

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