As COVID-19 quarantines and social distancing mandates keep most of us home-bound and isolated from the ones we love, we’re all anticipating a much different Easter celebration than we’ve had in prior years.
While it’s usually filled with fancy dresses, elaborate meals, and jam-packed church services made to accommodate visiting family members and the ‘Creaster’ attenders making one of their two yearly appearances, this upcoming Sunday won’t be marked by a single one of those familiar traditions. It’s going to be quiet, intimate, and lacking in the man-made frills we’ve tacked onto a day that holds a much deeper meaning for those who call Jesus Lord and Savior.
In a viral Facebook post written by Erin Holmes, the Las Vegas mom brings us back to what the core of Easter is really about. Her simple but powerful words have struck a chord with the masses, now being shared over 46,000 times in two days.
Both gripping and grounding, Holmes’ centering message is exactly what we all needed to hear this Easter. Read it in full below:
“We are about to learn, for the first time as a generation, that Easter is not about…
A new dress
A fancy hat
Coordinating outfits
Big hair
Floral prints
Eggs
Decorative crosses
A well worded sermon
A hyped up music program
Selfies
Friends
Chocolate
New toys
Baskets of candy
Bunnies
Family portraits
Inspiring dramas
Packed churches
Breaking records
Guest retention
Fancy lights
Children’s programs
Family dinner
We are about to learn that Easter… or Resurrection Sunday… is about…
An empty tomb
Life over death
Fulfilled promises
Answered prayers
Victory over death
Triumph over hell
Crushing the grip of the grave
Hope for tomorrow
None of which require a single, solitary thing from the first list.
This year, Easter will be quiet, intimate communion with Jesus… and that’s ok.
May it change the way we look at Easter.
May it change the way we worship.
May it change the way we live our lives forever.”
