Easter

It didn't feel like He rose this year
If I were honest,
I'd say that the last number of Easters have felt uneventful
The power of his rising from the dead
Snuffed out by the people he died for to begin with

With all the pastel dresses
and routine raising of the hands when certain song lines are sung

I feel simultaneously annoyed and convicted
Why aren't my hands raised? Everyone else is playing along.

I want that resurrection power alive in me
Every day
In every interaction
I want to wake up like I do on Easter and say, "Thank you for dying & living for me."

Yet, excitement wanes
We dip and dive
and mind what others think of us
We skip church because at some point
we realize they all kinda suck
The message has sort of been the same since childhood
Somehow this room
that's only filled
On this day
with people
who are supposed to look
and act
dramatically different
from everyone else in the world
Start to look
the exact same
As everyone outside those walls
And more often than not,
Worse

But He's alive
On cul-de-sacs in the suburbs
Where new babies are born
On city streets
Where rent is as high
As the kids who just got on my elevator
He's alive
in all the moments
When we feel like he isn't

Because he's not a showy God
He's a be still and know God
He's a "try me" God
An I've got you God
A generous giver of light & life

So may we rest in that gift
May we awaken a new person
An opportunity we have
Each day
New mercies
For others
For ourselves

Amen.