When I was younger and growing up in Alexandria, VA, I remember one year it actually snowed on Easter. It was crazy to see it that late in the year. We got up and dressed in our best spring clothes so we could venture into the snow on our way to Easter Mass. I remember thinking that the day did not feel much like Easter. It was hard to really get into the mood of God making all things new on a day so cold and full of flurries. If I am honest, I think we rushed home after Mass just so we could get on warm pajamas and just watch TV for the rest of the day, snuggled up on the couch with blankets. It might as well have been a Sunday in January.
This year the odds are against it snowing on Easter where I live here in North Carolina. However, for far too many it might as well snow. To them, Easter has nothing to do with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, new life, or anything of the sort. It is just another Sunday. Some of them don’t care and never think of Jesus or God on any Sunday of the year. But for others, it will not feel like Easter because they have been forgotten. On this day they will sit at home, just like they sit every single day of their lives. They might be poor, elderly, disabled, or simply alone. On this day, there is no resurrection celebration because they have no real experience of the joy of life.
This is where good Everyday Stewards can make a difference. In the midst of buying candy and decorating eggs for baskets and buying new clothes to wear to Easter Mass, find someone who needs to experience the power of Easter. Don’t tell them Jesus rose from them, but show them. Instead of the cold of isolation, bring to them the warmth of new life.
-Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS