The beach after a storm is a place of wonders. With a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, I get up before dawn and go outside as the sun rises. I find

A tree trunk lying askew, as if casually tossed by a giant hand

Gaping holes and deep gullies in places they hadn’t been the day before

The sand stripped away in some spots and piled high in others

Shredded beach umbrellas and bent chairs strewn every which way.

Amid the wreckage, life goes on.

Sandpipers continue their dance at the edge of the breakers

Gulls cry overhead

Pelicans dive and dolphins swim

Life goes on, changed and ever new.

With a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, women friends of Jesus got up before dawn after a weekend of storms and went to the tomb as the sun rose. They found

A stone rolled away, as if casually tossed by a giant hand

A gaping hole that had once been closed and sealed

The earth stripped away beneath the displaced boulder

Grave cloths strewn and scattered every which way.

Amid the wreckage, life went on.

Birds sang. Critters crawled.

And, so much more.

Resurrection was revealed in the simple calling of a name:

“Mary.” “Rabbi.” “My brothers.”

Amid the wreckage, Christ is risen. Life prevails. Liberation is loose in the world.

In this Easter season, this time of wonder that transforms our world,

In this Easter season, as we begin to emerge from the wreckage of pandemic

Our Liberator shows us how to live with eyes wide open

to see how the pandemic has changed the landscape

to lament what has been lost and broken

to witness the power of resurrection even in the wreckage,

especially in the wreckage.

Our Liberator strengthens us to live with ears wide open

to hear the pain and confusion of others

to hear their stories of freedom and transformation

to hear Jesus every time he calls us by name even in the wreckage,

especially in the wreckage.

Our Liberator delights for us to live with hearts and minds wide open

to celebrate how life goes on without demanding that it be the way it was before

to find beauty in the brokenness,

life amid the loss,

wonder in the old and in the new.

Christ is risen. Life is changed. We are free.

What will we do with our wild, wily and wonderful freedom?