The New Old Way of Easter
(To see the earlier Blogs, Page Down)
We are all - Poles, Jews, Arabs, Americans, everyone - made by God in His own image with a soul that yearns, longs for Him. Nothing else will satisfy the longing soul. Christians around the world have had an unusual Easter season, and Jews an unusual Passover. Catholics celebrated the Triduum, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday at home, and all Christian services and Masses were available via internet. While all Christians yearned for Fellowship, Catholic Christians longed for the Eucharist, just as Pietre’s Polish grandmother had so many years ago.
The priest we heard today remarked that like us, separated in self-imposed isolation (in the Upper Room) was exactly how Jesus’ disciples celebrated Passover and Easter. I thought about the Jewish traditions of Passover, being at home with family, eliminating worldly distractions, concentrating on prayer and God; life based on Holy Scripture. A century ago, Christians did pretty much that same thing, before cars and super highways made escape a temptation. Follow that with options: posh dinners in public places, 18 holes on azalea covered golf courses, picnics on the beach, egg hunts and bar-b-ques in the neighborhood, or travel weekends of tournament play for the young athlete in the family; 100 TV channels. Oh, yes, and remember - we have to fit in church when it’s convenient.
It makes me wonder if this Easter there are more people than usual making worship a priority? There are no places to go, no events planned, no one in a hurry to do anything or go anywhere; not much discipline required to push a power button. Perhaps this Easter, in some ways, was closer to its origin than in recent years, perhaps our lifetime. Our current situation seems to have brought people back to their knees, acknowledging that only God can help us now! And because now we have time to listen to the longing of the soul that hasn’t been satisfied by cars, travel, money, success. It longs only to be filled with God’s love; without worldly noise, we can hear it. Easter, as always, is a new beginning. We must pray that we remember the lessons of 2020, and keep listening, for when we return to our old distractions it will require more discipline to listen to the longing, and remain on our knees. We need to remember what it was like to do without.