I think there are years I experience a southern hemisphere Easter. Our brothers and sisters south of the equator do not experience the renewing, colorful, blooming, sometimes sloppy springtime that is so closely associated with Easter in our part of the world. In an article, "Easter in New Zealand", we read "The imagery around Easter is all about new life, new growth etc – and in the Northern Hemisphere this all fits. In the Southern Hemisphere however, Easter falls in autumn – the leaves are falling from the trees, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder and Daffodils couldn’t be further from blooming in the garden!"
Another writer raises this question, which would not even occur to me, "Here in the southern hemisphere, Easter is always celebrated at a time of waning and consolidation. So the question arises: Does the southern hemisphere celebrate Easter at the wrong time of the year?"
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. observed that acting for justice never comes at the right time for those in power: "Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was 'well-timed' in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation" (Letter from Birmingham Jail).
Thankfully the Good News of Easter, briefly proclaimed, "Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed!", does not depend on our timing or location on the globe. Nor do we have to be in a specific spirit-mind-body state to experience the gift of Easter. The resurrection is God's act of confirmation that Jesus is God's way of abundant life in this world. At Easter we affirm God's direct-action campaign of loving-justice for all who suffer unduly from the disease of sin and separation.
What we have to celebrate this Easter is how the momentum of the resurrection continues to work in the lives of Jesus' followers. And we celebrate how the earliest experience of that momentum inspired our spiritual ancestors through the risen Jesus' blessing that "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Thankfully, Easter happens all over the world, not just where we are growing and expanding, but also where we are grieving in colder, longer nights. On Easter God's love for the whole world is released into the lives of faithful people everywhere. So, we can't keep this Good News just to ourselves, nor confine it to certain areas. May God's blessing and love in the risen Jesus Christ sustain you wherever you celebrate Easter this year.
