What does Easter mean in a world like ours?
Photograph by Anna Shvets via Pexels
Rev. Margaret Marcuson
People of goodwill want to make a difference in the world. We feel a heavy burden of responsibility. We have work to do! We’d better get busy. When things don’t go well, we feel discouraged and even despairing. I’ve talked with many people lately who are fearful. They are not sure what to do. Another day, another scary set of headlines. Chaotic politics and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere. Setbacks for immigrant rights. Ukraine. Gaza. Sudan.
Current events may frustrate, outrage, or frighten you. Challenging situations and people in your personal life can also overwhelm. You may worry about a family member who struggles. Or your own health. Or the future of your church.
A voice from the past that can help
We’re not the first to face times of global uncertainty. Brother Lawrence was a monk in 17th-century France. He wrote a tiny spiritual book, “The Practice of the Presence.” It is still read today, 350 years later. He lived in another time of war, disease and climate change. Brother Lawrence lived through three bubonic plague epidemics. Not only that, but a changing climate also led to many deaths. Instead of global warming, it is now known as “The Little Ice Age.” He was a soldier in the Thirty Years’ War when he was young. He was wounded and had chronic pain for the rest of his life.[i]
Brother Lawrence found his way to a Carmelite monastery in Paris. He lived and worked there for half a century. He was a humble kitchen worker and sandal maker.
There he discovered a way to be aware of God’s presence through everything. This practice resonated with those within and beyond the monastery walls — and down through the centuries. The “practice of the presence” is a simple practice. You bring your awareness back to God throughout the day, over and over. That’s all. It doesn’t require hours of sitting in prayer.
The “practice of the presence” transformed Brother Lawrence. And he shared the practice with others who also experienced this transformation. He extended his perspective on God’s presence beyond the individual to the world as a whole.
With Brother Lawrence, we trust that Love is still active in the world. The Easter story has power year after year because it gives us hope.
Love is still active in the world
Brother Lawrence’s good friend and spiritual protege, Joseph De Beaufort, remembered his response to hearing about great injustices. “Rather than being shocked by it, he was instead surprised that there weren’t more injustices, given humans’ capacity for malice. He would immediately lift his awareness to God, knowing that God could remedy the situation…Confident that Love is very just, and is still active in the world, after he prayed for those involved, he didn’t worry about it anymore, and remained in peace.”[ii]
Easter means it’s not all up to us. With Brother Lawrence, we trust that Love is still active in the world. The Easter story has power year after year because it gives us hope. In our most despairing moments, the Resurrection reminds us of God’s promise of new life. The God of the Resurrection is present and at work. Even when it doesn’t look like it. Jesus’ followers waited through dark days after the Crucifixion. They must have been in despair. When Easter dawned, they didn’t yet know the good news.
Trusting that God’s love is active doesn’t mean we sit and do nothing. After Easter, Jesus’ followers had work to do. World and church history show us the promise of Easter does not mean an easy path for faithful people. However, God’s love and power are at work beyond what we see or know.
As the angel said to the women at the tomb, “Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 28:5)
Rev. Margaret Marcuson helps ministers do their work without wearing out or burning out, through ministry coaching, presentations, and online resources.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
[i] Nicolas Herman (Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection), Practice of the Presence: A Revolutionary Translation by Carmen Acevedo Butcher. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2022, p. 11-14.
[ii] Ibid., 158.
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