Easter 2020 - the allure of unusual times

Today - 12 April 2020 - will likely go down in history as one of, if not the most unexpected Easter celebration of our generation. Can the intensifying passion of our hearts make good the loss of communion in community? We close our eyes - easily immersing in scenes of gentle hugs, firm handshakes, the warm glow of smiles and soft background music - as our heightened senses begin to exude and bask in a collective overflow of renewed love for our risen Christ.

And we slowly come back to our sofa and living halls with echoes of virtual choirs, and an online service in wait. Our hearts remain affixed on the empty tomb, as the angel gives us a look as if to say - yes, it is now time to bow down and worship. Our spirits are roused, with a more tender receptiveness to the message of hope this year. Nothing has changed, yet everything is different.

Like many of us, I too ask what the new normal will bring. Not just for the house of God, but for how we will live, work and play in a post-COVID 19 world. Driving around empty streets is both serene and somewhat scary too, if you know what I mean. But I tell myself not to get too carried away, and that helps. After all, I know God is sovereign and at work in ways that is not my place to grasp, much less question. And seasons of crisis, as with this, have delivered bouts of repentance. Hearts turn to and plead with the Almighty for healing and mercy in place of righteous wrath from things gone wrong around us. And I find myself catching on.

In this unusual hour of clarity and confusion, three contemplations come to my mind. Motives, Memories and Mystery. 

Leading up to Good Friday, Easter and continuing, the MCO has transformed into a kairos window for me. I'm learning to accept invitations to embrace the Christ-life in the joyful play of my son; frayed nerves from tensions at home; work assignments completed well; online weeknight devotions and prayers with my cell group; and....wait for it...some "Brother Lawrence" moments doing the dishes (when and where I least expect it). While this is all well and good, God is challenging me to go deep. Plunging into these mundane events in conversation with God, forces out my true motives. Some of these I celebrate, others evoke disappointment and sadness. Above all though - this business of seeing my raw self truthfully exposed - is frightening at first, but beautiful and liberating thereafter. One thing I can now say with more conviction - truly, His strength is made perfect in my many weaknesses.

Memories. Psalms 91 and 23 have been precious bread and honeycomb for this journey. Praying through these passages birthed in me a firm spiritual assurance, confidence and hope like none other. I have been content to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and to rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I have declared from the depths that You are my Refuge and my Fortress, my God, in whom I trust... surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Your house forevermore. Wow. And then a jolting meltdown with the kids. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in my condominium. The growing strain of suddenly playing all-at-once the roles of husband, father, son and worker. I lift my weary eyes to the mountains, and a path clears amid the overwhelming undergrowth. This path is familiar. I have been here before. I then recall hearing faithful whispers to be still and of having emerged from the pit, knowing that He is God. And so besides the Psalms, I should pocket some memories of God's deliverance in times past for extended MCO travels ahead.

A final thought is the Mystery of it all. I mean, I know where I stand - that He is God the creator and I am man from dust - gloriously bearing the image of my Maker, yet standing in equal stead with grass and flowers of the field. And intuitively, I think I get it? The cleansing that my heart needs. What humanity has to endure with the divine signpost of COVID-19 warning of dangers if we remain stiff-necked. Even spiritual warfare has taken on urgency in "this battle that belongs to the Lord". Yet, in bowing low before our resurrected Christ, a sense of reverential awe descends upon my spirit. At once, the yearning for some semblance of control in 'trying to figure things out', begin to dissipate like clearing mists. What remains is a renewed mind of needing only to trust, somewhat like my 4 and 10 year olds being oblivious to fractured international relations, deadly geopolitics, economic crisis, the starving poor or crushing weight of anxiety befalling us in abnormal times. My desire is to stay in this space - with a meek and open posture before God - content to live on a need-to-know basis as the all-wise Father so decides to reveal.

Earlier in the week, my colleague shared a profound saying - "In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to". Rather than think about how society will operate post COVID-19 and indulge uncertainties, perhaps we are better off asking God to transform our current normals into new crisis-proof sacred rhythms of life.