A Prayer for an Unusual Easter

Easter is not how we imagined it this year. It’s not how we usually do things. But, Lord, you have mercy for all of us just the same. You have joy for us just the same. You have glory for us just the same.

For those who have kept the fast this season, for those who have lapsed, and for those who have given up more than they ever expected, Lord, we thank you.

For those who put that extra effort to make things seem a little more normal, a little more cheerful, a little more beautiful, Lord, we thank you.

For those who dress in their Sunday best and gather the family around to stream the Easter service, Lord, we thank you.

For those who stay in their pajamas and sing hymns in front of their computer screens, Lord, we thank you.

For those who are tired and reluctant to celebrate the resurrection while still feeling trapped in the tomb of isolation, Lord, we thank you.

For those who have brightened this world with chalk drawings, encouraging posters, contactless gifts, and parades, Lord, we thank you.

For those whose fingers are tired from sewing masks, hands are fatigued from writing letters, and arms are exhausted from the lack of hugs, Lord, we thank you.

For those who have worked to supply, feed, treat, serve, and protect the rest of us, Lord, we thank you.

For those on the front lines of healing this terrible virus, who are risking their life and health to keep people alive, Lord, we thank you.

For every other day of this challenge, we come to you with prayers we desperately need to be answered, with hurts than need healing, with anxiety that needs soothing. But today, Lord, we come to you to give thanks for what you have done on the cross for us, and what you are already doing in this world for us.

For in your sacrifice we have victory! In your triumph we have life! Death, which lurks around every corner, has lost its sting on this day, and we can now taste eternity.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life reigns! Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

We give thanks, and we celebrate that you walked out of that tomb. And we know, dear Lord, that we, too, will walk out of this and every tomb that comes our way.

Amen.