Easter gives us promise and hope for the future

As I reflect on the Easter story, I go back to Good Friday and I think of Jesus' followers and all they had lost. They had lost their leader, their teacher, their friend. In losing Jesus, they lost their sense of purpose, a purpose for which they had given up jobs and family and homes. They lost the hope that he represented, hope for a better world. We, too, have lost much in the days and weeks leading up to Easter. Some have lost loved ones. Many have lost jobs. We have all lost the freedom to come and go as we please, and gather with family and friends, and the ability to carry on with life as usual. Yes, much has been lost. The promise of Easter is about turning what was lost into new life. For the first followers of Jesus, the disciples and the women who accompanied him in his ministry, the empty tomb and the risen Christ gave them a renewed purpose and an even greater hope for the world as they knew it. What had been taken from them, causing so much pain and sorrow, was now transformed into a living presence that would inspire and guide them in the future. Their loss has now become their triumph. That same promise of Easter extends to us, as well. All that we have lost can also be transformed into new life. Surely, we will come out of this crisis with a stronger sense of the bonds between us, bonds with family and neighbor and perhaps even the stranger, knowing we all suffered loss together. Our loss can be transformed into a deeper appreciation for what is "essential" in our lives and in our world, such as toilet paper, and no longer taking for granted grocery store workers, healthcare providers, and the teachers who spend all day with our children trying to get them to learn. Mostly, what we have lost can perhaps lead us to deeper joy for the new life that waits beyond our current grief. Easter is a promise of hope for the future; a future where God is at work turning darkness to light, grief into joy, and death in all its forms into new life. This Easter, may we embrace that promise and hope. The Rev. Dr. Wayne Chasney is pastor of Monroeville United Church of Christ.