Easter Perspective: Behind Locked Doors

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Behind Locked Doors

It was still the first day of the week.  That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them.  He said, "Peace be with you."  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.

John 20:19-20 (CEB)

No scheme of Hell, no scoffer's crown

No burden great can hold You down

From "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher

It was Sunday evening, and the Disciples were gathered together in the same room where, just a few days earler, they had eaten dinner with their Teacher for the last time, just before He was arrested by the religious leaders and executed like a terrorist by the Roman governor.¹  That morning, Mary, a friend of Jesus, came to tell them that, when she went to visit His tomb, it was empty.  Later on, after two of them went to the tomb to check the situation out for themselves, Mary came back to tell them that she had seen Jesus alive and well.²

The Disciples had locked the doors, because they knew that, when the religious leaders discovered that Jesus' body was missing, they would come looking for them.

Then, somehow, Jesus suddenly stood among the Disciples, despite the locked doors, and said, "Peace be with you."  He showed them the scars from His crucifixion, and their fear turned to joy, as they realized that somehow their Teacher was indeed alive.

I suspect that, for many of us, Easter just doesn't seem like Easter this year.  On any other Easter Sunday, we might have risen early for a service at sunrise.  We might have worn our best clothes to church and sung joyful songs about the Resurrection.  We might have gathered with members of our extended families for dinner.  Earlier, we might have waved palm branches at church on Palm Sunday, gathered for Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, and watched children search for Easter eggs at some point during the week.

This year, because of the current pandemic and the restrictions necessitated by it, many of our Holy Week and Easter observances were simply not possible, at least not in the traditional sense.  Many of our pastors and worship leaders have graciously streamed services online for us, but, truth be told, watching worship services online just isn't the same as gathering for worship in person.

Maybe, this year, many of us are like the Disciples on the evening of that first Easter Sunday.  We're hunkered down in our homes, literally or figuratively behind locked doors, because of the threat that looms on the outside.  We're confused, and we're anxious.  We've heard rumors of Resurrection, as it is Easter Sunday, but we aren't really seeing it for ourselves, especially when we hear the latest numbers on the news.

Maybe, like the Disciples, we need a message of peace and a reason to be joyful.  If that is the case, then let us pray for peace and joy, keeping our eyes open in the hopes that we will somehow experience the Resurrected Christ in this difficult time.

The Easter story is a reminder that, in the words of Frederick Buechner, "The worst isn't the last thing about the world.  It's the next to the last thing.  The last thing is the best."³  It is a reminder that, in the words evangelist S.M. Lockridge, "It's Friday... but Sunday's coming!"  Jesus' story didn't end with the Crucifixion, and our story will not end with COVID-19.


Notes:

1. John 18-19
2. John 20:1-18
3. Frederick Buechner.  The Final Beast.  1965, Harper and Row.  p. 175

The photograph of the keyhole has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.