04/05/2026
A BLESSING OF EASTER JOY
A few years ago, I heard a sermon in which the preacher shared his belief that God’s intention for humanity, based on the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, was to be immersed in joy. He said, “We are a joy impaired, joy challenged people. We were created for joy and humanity has messed up that intention ever since.”
It seems that there is a lot of truth to that. The whirlwind of events that regularly flood the inboxes of our minds are truly overwhelming. It doesn’t matter what those events are. These days they are too numerous to count: wars, killings, draconian immigration policies, gun violence, racism and on and on. The feelings that emerge can be expressed in many words, often these: chaos, uncertainty, fear, anger, hopelessness, discouragement, and outrage.
But there is one word missing: Joy.
The journey from Lent to Easter has been completed. We have been intentional in making this annual pilgrimage with the usual disciplines of self-reflection, prayer, study, sacrificing something for Lent, or adding something to our disciplines because of Lent. The culmination of that journey is the annual celebration of Easter. Darkness has been replaced with light!
Remembrances of death have been replaced with declarations of resurrection! Winter is being replaced with the new life of spring! The burnt smell of ashes has been replaced with the scent of sweet lilies! It’s Easter!
But where is the Joy?
The circumstances that cloud and inhibit our joy are not unlike those that happened in the days surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. We gather on Easter Sunday and fill our services with words of celebration and hope. “Christ the Lord is risen today” is sung with gusto and blessed with the spice of a renewed faith in the mystery of God’s creative and resurrecting power!
But few words are spoken about the reactions of those who were there on the first day of resurrection. The biblical narrative, limited by the chapters of the gospels, only briefly acknowledges the depth of feelings being experienced by the followers of Jesus.
Peter denies that he knows Jesus. Mary stands weeping outside the tomb, so overwhelmed with her deep emotion that she doesn’t even recognize Jesus in her midst. Thomas, no doubt representing a significant number of doubters, will not believe unless he is able to see Jesus in person. Travelers on the Emmaus Road cannot recognize him until he breaks bread with them in their homes. Judas, so overwhelmed with guilt, takes his own life. These are the accounts that we know. But what is between the lines in those brief descriptions are the deep emotions that are best described by the very same words we use today: chaos, uncertainty, fear, anger, hopelessness, discouragement and outrage.
Even on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, there was one word missing: Joy.
What transpires over the weeks and months after that Easter morning is a transformation of the soul, a reaffirmation of faith, a reclaiming of the role these disciples play in the story. A weeping Mary races to find the disciples to make a renewed proclamation. Thomas is converted from doubt to a statement of faith, “My Lord and my God!” Fishermen are told to cast their nets on the other side, and once they had abandoned their personal preferences and biases they “knew it was the Lord.”
Unlike the psalmist who proclaimed in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning,” the resurrection narrative does not testify to an immediate “joy in the morning.” In fact, it is not until the penultimate verse of the Gospel of Luke that the word joy is used: “And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”
So, what is the point of all of this? What is the message of Easter for you?
It is two-fold. First, joy IS God’s intent for us, but joy will only be found in the midst of the struggles of life, not in spite of them. Conditions will never be perfect. The clouds and storms of life will always be present but so will joy. Amid the issues and problems, our challenges and struggles, is interwoven the possibility and presence of joy. Seeking the joy is not to deny the problems, downplay their significance, or run away from the need to respond to them. Far from it. It is to say that joy can - and should - be found in the midst of our struggle.
Second, the issues we are facing today can be all consuming. They dominate the landscape of our awareness. If we don’t know about them as they are taking place, we will most assuredly find out not long after. They occupy huge parts of our minds and hearts. And because of that, just like the disciples who were consumed with grief and fear even on the day of resurrection, we quite often fail to find joy in the moment.
But hear this. Joy is here. Joy is offered to you today. Joy may not be found in the morning, but Joy IS just around the corner. It may not be instantaneous. It may take time to find it. But remember – Joy is God’s intent for you and Joy is here.
Christ the Lord is risen today! It is an affirmation of faith, a promise of hope, and when discovered again, will offer you a wonderful reminder: We may be a Joy impaired, Joy challenged people, but YOU were made for Joy. We can always find Joy when we remind ourselves that God is greater than any problem we face.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High,
to declare your steadfast love in the morning
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
(Psalm 92:1-4)
May it be so!
Happy and blessed Easter to all.
The Journey Continues, . . .
Thomas J. Bickerton
Resident Bishop
New Hope Episcopal Area
The New England and New York Annual Conferences
