CELEBRATING EASTER SEASON DURING A PANDEMIC

The celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the middle of ferocious pandemic of coronavirus is very surreal. The coronavirus pandemic is a global disaster of monumental proportions. Usually during Easter celebrations, Christians all over the world rush to their places of worship with hearts filled with joy and thanksgiving. In the churches, the Word of God is shared, prayers are offered, beautiful songs are rendered, and dance steps pound the floor. There is an atmosphere of joy, thanksgiving and gratitude. The Lord is risen! The grave cannot hold the Lord its prisoner no longer. Let Christians rejoice! We are the Easter people and Halleluia is our song!

But the Easter celebration of this year is eerily quiet. Many churches are closed; most people are in unforgiving lockdown. Some Christians follow their religious services online, the mood is sombre, songs are muted, dance steps are rare.  As if the risen Lord quietly left the gloomy grave unnoticed. The Lord is risen! But we do not hear any bang! Coronavirus is uppermost in people’s minds. History will not forget in hurry the muted, subdued Easter celebration of the year 2020 – a year of forlorn hope and shattered expectations. It appears we are in this crisis for a long haul.

The coronavirus pandemic compels us to rethink the drama of human suffering and misery in the light of the suffering/death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The pain of infection of the virus, the sheer helplessness of medical staff, the cold separation from  loved ones, lonely deaths, impossibility of  final goodbye, hurried (Sometimes undignified) burial, hunger, job loss, social and economic collapse , all these point to the mystery of human suffering understood only in the light of the suffering of Christ.

The present crisis brought the best out of some and the worst out of others. From the heroism of medical staff, diligence of scientific research community, courage of workers providing essential services, uncommon philanthropy of the rich, generous Christian charity of the poor, we can affirm that humanity’s high level of consciousness is amply demonstrated. Humanity can rise above any challenge with unity, cooperation and collaboration.

The pandemic has brought to the fore myriad of endemic problems. Increased rate of human trafficking, domestic violence, cybercrimes, fraud, misinformation, economic exploitation, racketeering, artificial inflation, armed robbery are telltale signs of depravity of human beings and broken society.

 Easter celebration during coronavirus pandemic may be what the world needs to revive again esprit de corps, deepen love of God and neighbor, accept sovereignty of God over sovereignty of self. Hopefully the pains of this pandemic will rid us of rapacious greed, malignant individualism, unbridled capitalism, and unregulated globalization. The lessons of this pandemic must never be lost.