Easter was subdued and strange in Allen this year. There were no Easter church services this year. Stores were mostly locked and empty. Shopping centers in the cities are shuttered. There is no Annual Easter Egg Hunt in Allen City Park. If the long-time promoter of this event, Buck Gilmore, was still alive he would be surprised. But it was the Corona Virus—a Pandemic that has shut down much of the world. Who knew it could shut down all the churches in America? But it has.

Americans continue to rely on their faith in Jesus and his resurrection this Easter. Belief is anchored on Christians belief that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. Quite a feat if you think about it. I remember a time in San Francisco back in 1954 when my own faith in Jesus was given a direct challenge. I was in the Navy, stationed at Treasure Island out in the bay and on this day, it was Sunday. I wanted to go to church there on the base and after checking around with my buddies a little, could not find anyone to go with me so I grabbed my Gideon Bible (that had been given to me by the Gideons, of course) and walked toward the exit in our barracks.

Not so easy. A fellow student was lounging around with three or four other sailors and he looked at me like he had seen someone from Mars. “You going to Church, Bullard?” I answered a quick uh-huh and stopped. “I thought you were smarter than that, Bullard.” He went on and questioned my intellect while his (and some of my) friends laughed and grinned. “You know that Jesus died and rotted in his grave—you’re wasting your time.” I went on to church.

I don’t remember what the Chaplin said that Sunday, but I kept pondering what my old “Navy buddy” has said. “You’re wasting your time.” I remembered a story my dad told me about a funeral at the First Baptist Church in Stonewall. The service was about over when a stranger walked in the door and said in a loud voice. “Stop this service immediately. This man is not dead but is just asleep. I am here to resurrect him.” For whatever reasons they allowed him to try. He prayed and prayed some more, and it didn’t work. Finally, they escorted the man out of the church then proceeded to the cemetery and buried the dead man. As the story was related to me, I thought about what all is involved in the human body and its death. So complicated. And I thought of Jesus. He was raised from the dead.

But how do I know? Did Jesus really get raised from the dead? Was he really God’s Son? Is He alive today? What about us? Lots of questions but fortunately there are lots of answers to these questions in the Bible. I prefer to keep it simple and for that I like to listen to what Jesus’ Apostle John had to say. John had a lot of experience with Jesus. He walked and talked with him. Saw him heal the sick and raise dead people to life. John heard Jesus teach. He watched him die and met him arisen and saw Jesus ascend back to heaven. John was an eyewitness to all these things. He believed in him and had seen him at work. John wrote about Jesus’ lifetime of fellowship in the New Testament. It’s a short book in the Bible. It’s called 1 John. Read it.

I hope your Easter was good and we can all hope that our churches will be open soon. Meanwhile, maybe you can contact your pastor and see how you can help during these hard times.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

cwaynebullard@gmail.com