What an odd sort of Easter wasn’t it? But perhaps a lesson to be learned…
An Easter of Empty Churches by Michael Doyle April of 2019, Notre-Dame was burning And in this, we were surprised and learning That there would be no Easter held there The question was would it ever reappear April of 2020, and our worse dread is reality The gates of so many churches shut in actuality By the perhaps felt necessary order of government But, if ever there was need for God sure this is one meant Not this Faustian bargain based on broad assumption That Church could not be held safely is the presumption The figure of Jesus of Nazareth hangs on His Cross As His believers suck this up as a fundamental loss In consensus, in a time of need we barred the door To the lepers, the believers, the rich and the poor Since the first Easter was ever knowingly celebrated There is a critical unease by believers so fated How have governments come to practice excommunication Based on the fear of COVID-19's untimely infection Still as it is, we the faithful, must find our capability To pursue our faith in homes and in our sustainability Perhaps in these home churches, the will to believe Will once again thrive even as we fearfully grieve Holding tight to the Word in our hope it will sustain Even as this pandemic delivers it's cursed bit of pain Hopeful hearts wait to fill the now empty, barren pews And meanwhile find spiritual comfort in all of its hues Knowing beyond knowing, that prayer shapes believing This is particularly true in a world filled with deceiving Through all the plagues and wars, we have prayed to the Son But there has never been an Easter quiet like this one We must show our love of others at a diminished distance Knowing that with Churches empty, we'll meet resistance How fitting to find in a way, empty churches like caves While in our hope we quietly contend that Jesus saves Is it at this moment of crystalline realization That we find the Church is all of us in our revelation (c) April 15, 2020 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
