that's Easter we were going to celebrate but try to celebrate with the darkness of Good Friday and all the suffering and the loss and then the long hours of waiting and good Saturday followed by the burst of new life on Easter day but this is something that we
will experience in our own lives that our communities will experience and that our country will hopefully experience in terms of this virus we can't see the end of it yet there's still tremendous costs to be paid so we're still in Good Friday in a way and but we
know that will come a day when we can see an end in sight and when that day comes we will then be looking towards and when we have this pandemic under control and we can start thinking about beginning again in the new life that will begin again in
our communities and in this country you no matter what your reality is people we know things are going crazy the toilet paper is gone people are buying up the water everything so regardless of what your reality is don't shun your reality you don't overlook your reality embrace your
reality and know that there is a higher reality and that higher reality is the fact that there is a tomb that has nobody in it and that body is seated at the right hand of the Father praying for us giving us the power to get through this I
feel like what can be a desert for a lot of us what can be a very long hard season can be a place where God gives new vision can set us up for the future and it can allow us to actually dance like we've never danced before so
while I don't want to sound overly optimistic and sound like we're ignorant to the pain I also know that usually the desert moments and the painful moments are our crucibles where God enlightens us to beauty this Easter will look much different but I will I will say this
that we still should gather we're together thank God that we live in a day and age of technology in which we can still make those social connections wherever we can you know I prefer the term physical distancing over social distancing though it is right and wise for us
to quarantine ourselves and distance physically sheltering at home I think that's one way we love our neighbors to protect them from the spread of the coronavirus we still socially need one another so do your best to connect as much as possible and celebrate the fact that the message
of Easter is that the momentary separation the death brings through the cross of Christ ultimately brought us together in Christ and brings life and so I know this is difficult and different make lemonade out of lemons try to connect through technology with your family friends and loved ones
use those old methods of connecting like actually picking up a phone and calling a friend or a family member but celebrate most of all the fact that Christ is with you you know one of the titles that was ascribed to Christ is Emmanuel God with us so even
when we don't have others around us friends and family members we're never alone Christ is with us Apostle Paul celebrating Easter in prison Chanin a love happiness on that island I think we have to draw for my faith heroes I know that Easter isn't about a building and
Easter's and about going somewhere it's not about eating lamb with men it's not about the celebration it's about what Jesus has done and that cannot be taken out of our bosom that is forever in our hearts and so no matter where we are we can celebrate it I'll
be in a hotel room I'm in New York City Radian Williamsburg I'll be in a hotel room overlooking all the Manhattan to kind of declare the resurrection of Jesus as we overlook Manhattan and it'll be me and the camera guy and that's my Easter celebration and I'm fine
with that because there's a greater party going on on the inside I know we're all longing to go back to normal and we're excited for going back to normal and I hope that what the the UH the revealing the unveiling of koban 19 is doing to us revealing
you know how reliant we are on the minimum wage workers how much our you know economic system is precariously based on the ability for people to live paycheck to paycheck I hope that what that does for us is recognize that we don't go back to normal in the
same way that you know Easter morning is not Jesus going back to normal Jesus does not come back from the dead and then go about doing his ministry Jesus does not come back from the dead so that the disciples can continue to just follow him around Judea and
Galilee but rather we go forward we are transformed by what happens to us so that we act in the world for the freedom and liberation of others that's where Easter is taking us and calling us and where Jesus is taking us going back to normal has ever been
an option going on going forward into a new normal where we're more aware of how we need to care for each other is I believe where the spirit will be leading the church and every follower of Christ
