On Monday, April 15, 2019, an electrical malfunction caused a fire that ravaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The disaster drew worldwide attention, all the networks covered it. Images were plastered across every social media platform. The fire occurred on Monday of Holy Week. Many found the event even more tragic because it was Holy Week. As if there was some greater meaning to the disaster. As if the joy of Easter would not be found that year. 

But did you know, on that same Holy Week in 2019 there were other churches that burned as well? Three historic African American churches in Louisiana were burned to the ground. But these fires were not caused by electrical malfunctions but by acts of hatred fueled racism. You probably didn’t hear about these fires. 

Greater Union Baptist Church was one of those that were burned. A great deal of history went up in flames: treasured artifacts and documents dating back to 1889. But this congregation did not see the loss of the building as the end of the story. On the day of the fire, they gathered together in prayers of thanksgiving that no one was hurt and offered prayers of forgiveness for the perpetrator. The next Sunday, they celebrated Easter in a Masonic Hall just down the street. The congregation of Greater Union Baptist Church gave witness to the force of love in a time of hate. They did not look at the fire as a loss or a death. Theirs was a resurrection faith. 

What was essentially a little congregation of Jesus’s closest followers had experienced a devastating tragedy as well. Their teacher, savior and friend Jesus had been arrested on trumped up charges, beaten mercilessly, and murdered in a most horrific way. All their hopes were dashed. All seemed lost.

But…and notice this is the very first word of the Easter passage. It’s a simple word, but a powerful one. It reminds us we haven’t heard the whole story just yet. It certainly was the case that first Easter.

But on the first day of the week, a group of women went to the tomb at early dawn. Still reeling from the events of Friday, numb, not speaking much but supporting one another. They brought with them fragrant spices and ointments that were used to ritualistically anoint dead bodies.

Upon their arrival, they found the stone was already rolled away. Jesus was not there. He was not to be found in the tomb. He was not lying dead where he should be. An angelic figure appears and asks, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.” 

No, the tomb is not the end of the story. To fully understand the meaning of the Easter event requires us to pivot our focus in where we place our energy and faith. To look for experiences of life instead of empty tombs of death. To search for new paths, always looking to new life with promise and hope. 

Let this Easter season be a time when we give witness to the end of hate, war, division, injustices, all the -isms that separate us. A new season when we look to peace, justice and love for each of God’s children. Let the Good News of Easter resonate in us and in our world. We can do so in the faith and the promise of that first Easter declaration, “He is not here, but…he has risen.” Alleluia!

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Todd Hackman is senior pastor at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Monroe.