Happy Easter, Everyone!

Sunday, April 12, 2020 - HAPPY EASTER

We talk to our families in the morning to wish them Happy Easter. We've found new "family" members here, but  everyone stays at home. Not even friends nearby can share a hug. When we drop off or pick up food, we leave it on the gate.

There is life all around, this rainy season. Though it seems like all hope should be lost when we meditate on Good Friday, there are promises of hope everywhere. Nature is bursting with new life even in the hopelessness and defeats of the day.

Then on Easter morning we proclaim: "Christ is risen!" We say it to each other and respond, "Christ is risen indeed!"

Easter is the highlight of the Christian calendar. "It is finished," Jesus said. What does that mean to us? To the world?

As a community, we read the crucifixion and resurrection accounts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John's accounts. Two writers (Matthew and John) were disciples of Jesus and eyewitnesses. The other two gathered information from eyewitnesses so that they could accurately write down what had happened.

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You can only imagine what people saw, marveled, and talked about that first weekend. The writers recorded with precision what happened ... so others wouldn't forget or make up legends. 

Months after the resurrection, Peter retold what had happened. (Acts 10:34-43) Decades later, Paul said, "Go talk to the people who were there. The eyewitnesses have carefully told us what happened." (Acts 13:26-37)

Why not read the story for yourself? The level of detail is striking. Very few historical accounts are reported with more attention to accuracy or from four viewpoints about the same events.

We accept other snippets of historical writing more easily. As they are uncovered, tablets, papyrus, and old books inform and reform history for historians, archaeologists, and scientists.

Why is it easy to believe what is written there? Most accounts demand no heart-change from us, as this writing does.

The BIC Gathering is online, which is both easier and harder. The morning talk is compiled from separate clips by our team of young "digitals." They make everyone look better and make sure the communication is clear.

The nice thing is that this year, you can "go to church on Easter" at any time of day, in any outfit, and with anyone nearby ... and never leave the house. The teams monitor comments and respond to participants.

It's probably most authentic Easter of my lifetime, compared to the original weekend. That weekend, people were in their own homes, worried about what is coming. That first Easter for the followers of Jesus was not about shopping, new clothing, feasting, and the weird egg-dyeing traditions of modern celebrations.

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Our lunch is homemade crepes, salad, and chicken. The crepes take a while, even juggling two pans and piling them up every two minutes. There are veggies to dice, salad to chop (thanks K), and other prep that makes a simple meal come together. If you take time. We swap foods in this neighborhood - breads, casseroles, moussaka (thanks Alice), and other foods. We hang them on the gates and someone retrieves them from there.

My patience for cooking lasts 10-30 minutes. Then I want to be sitting and eating. Cooking is faster than going out so I prefer it most days. (Besides, the restaurants are closed.) I made elaborate dishes and cakes when the kids were little and I was still experimenting. 

Now "the nose knows." With a few basics, I can open some jars of spices or think about what taste I want, and before I know it, it's done. Let's eat!

When I cook for 70 (like on movie nights), it takes a few hours. That stretches my stamina across a big buffet. It's always worth it, seeing the happy and hungry line up. No more. I'd never do a restaurant unless I could choose a different menu every night - "what am I hungry for?"

We're cautiously greeting others - no big gatherings for now. We miss you, dear friends!

I'm starting to bake with sourdough. All last week, the starter simmered on the counter. Our Easter supper is chili and sourdough focaccia slathered with olive oil, olives, rosemary from the garden, and green onions. It's a quiet and satisfying day.

Monday

Our Daniel study has moved from the porch to Zoom. People are getting more interactive and comfortable with online platforms as this season of social distancing drags on. The full virus has not yet hit.

The BIC beta fish swims lazy circles in a 5 gallon cylinder at home. It seems happy enough. I marvel at its confidence that it will eat and rest today. No anxiety for God's creatures. Only trust.

Help is both a luxury and a necessity in the tropics. Most people are working part-time but many have lost their jobs entirely. For as long as we can, we will support our help with genuine (if limited) work in exchange for their usual salary.

Ibu Sumi irons the bugs out of the bedding after drying it on the rooftop. She stuffs the linens into bags (thanks Veronica) and zips them shut. Every bed change is self-enclosed: pillowcases, sheets, duvet covers in one bag. I've never had such an orderly (or small) linen closet before.  I have trouble pulling things out sometimes; it's so tightly packed. How does she do it? Don't know.

Read more:

Ever wonder what Easter is really about? Have you ever read the last few chapters of the gospels for yourself?

Why not read the last few chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Christian Bible? You can find them here. Go ahead. Explore!

*So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

*For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Isaiah 60:2

*Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back. Mark 16:2-4

Moravian Prayer: Oh, holy and risen Lord, the stone is rolled away and the light breaks upon us. May we bear the brightness and may we live as people rescued from the grave! Amen and amen!