Bringing Hope During the Easter Season

As we walked through the Easter story over the past few weeks, I have been wrestling with the ideas of hope and joy in the midst of darkness. As difficult as the journey through the coronavirus pandemic has been for a lot of people, it has, in some ways, enhanced my appreciation for the Lenten season and the hope of Easter. Lent is supposed to do for Easter what Advent does for Christmas; it prepares our hearts to celebrate by instilling in us a longing for Christ. Most years, people give up red meat or chocolate for Lent, and the cravings that follow are supposed to remind us to crave God and His presence. Those cravings are fulfilled on Easter as we celebrate the Risen Christ. We declare that the tomb is empty, life has defeated death, and hope reigns supreme. Our longing is replaced with satisfaction and joy.

But this year, for many people, it feels like maybe we are stuck in Lent. We are still longing for the thing that has been taken away. We are still isolated in our homes, missing our friends, and overwhelmed by loneliness. While social distancing and self-quarantining have become the new normal, there are a lot of people who are struggling with loneliness right now. Imagine being a widow who lives alone and you can no longer go to the Senior Center, visit your grand kids, or celebrate at worship. You can’t go on walks with your neighbors or eat dinner with your friends. Plenty of people are lonely, and with loneliness comes depression, anxiety, and fear. Easter has come, but their longing has not been satisfied…they are still lonely.

But we are the Easter people. We are the people of hope and joy, and this pandemic gives us the chance to recreate the Easter moment for people in our community and our church. We can pierce the despair and darkness of their lives with the hope and love of Christ. So, how do we do that? How can we, the Easter people, bring hope to those who are hurting? Bring joy to those who are despairing? Offer the light of love in the midst of their darkness?

Here are a dozen suggestions off the top of my head.

1. Create artwork or a photo collage that can be sent in the mail.
2. Make one daily phone call to chat with someone who you know is lonely.
3. Call someone and pray with them on the phone.
4. Put together a care package and deliver it to people’s door steps.
5. Offer to teach someone how to use a video chat service.
6. Take your kids and decorate the driveways of neighbors, family members, church folks with chalk.
7. Make driveway visits. Stand in their driveway while they are on their front porch as you talk and share.
8. Window games (see the picture below). Our kids played tic-tac-toe on porch windows with some close friends.
9. Offer to buy and deliver groceries for someone.
10. Drop baked goods off on someone’s front porch.
11. Decorate someone’s mailbox with balloons.
12. Hand write a card to mail every day.

I’m sure you can come up with your own great ideas as well. What you decide to do isn’t the important part, choosing to seek out ways to bring hope and joy to the those who are lonely, depressed, and feeling hopeless is what matters. We are called to encourage one another, to lift each other up, at all times (1 Thes 5:11). This is a difficult time for so many; let us live as the Eater people and offer hope and encouragement.