Justin March leads the Bethany Lutheran Church Men’s Ministry and sends a weekly email message to the Men’s group every week.  Justin has generously permitted us to post his weekly reflections here.  

“Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, you may have all this world, give me Jesus.”

Easter is coming, but I am struggling with how different the holiday will be this year. Easter egg hunts, Easter Bunny deliveries, and family gatherings are just a few of the things we will be missing. And as I think about the events that need to be cancelled, I cannot help but fell somber in these trying times.

But, as I listen to the words of this great hymn, I am reminded that you can take a lot of things away, but Jesus is not one of them. You can take away our services at Bethany, you can keep our suits and dresses hung up in the closet, and you can even make us celebrate Easter in our homes. But guess what? The foundation of Easter remains, and everything Jesus did for his people cannot be erased.

So, go ahead and make the Easter Bunny stay home. Go ahead and close our church doors. And go ahead and separate our communities. I am not going to focus on what is being taken away anymore. I am not going to waste energy on what should or could be. And I am not going to wallow in my sadness as I think about the traditions that are being stripped from me and my family.
Just give me Jesus. As the lyrics state above, you can take a lot of things away from God’s people, but we still have Jesus. The Easter message still reigns! We can still be filled with the promises Jesus gave us when he was sacrificed on that cross! And we can still love one another as Jesus loved us then, loves us now, and will love us in the future!

So, continue to celebrate Easter. A lot of things have been taken away this holiday season, but the chance to spread the Easter story is not one of them. Invite people to church through online services, show them the Bible passages that bring the Easter story to life, and pray with them so they too can find the hope and faith needed in these troubling times. There is so much fear, so much sorrow, and so much loss in this current world, but this is the holiday where we have a chance to make it better. And when you share how the events of Holy Week have changed your life, you may just hear them say these 3 simple words…”Give me Jesus!”