Easter Sunday. Day of joy, day of Christian hope of new life in Jesus.

     Here, outwardly, it was just another Sunday.

     Easter is supposed to be the day the Church rejoices in its greatest celebration, the Resurrection of Jesus. God conquered death; he is eternally with his people to guide them through their lives. His people are supposed to respond with joyful shouts of Alleluia, He is Risen!

     Regardless of these theological supposed to statements, Easter Sunday did not appear to be much different than any other Sunday. Other than a small procession from the cofradía to the church with a statue of the risen Jesus, there were no special events.

     The music chosen for the Masses were songs of resurrection and joy. The priests focused on the hope that Christians have through Jesus’ rising from death and being with his people in peace and love. Prayer groups and praying individuals thanked God for the gift of eternal life through the risen Jesus. The resurrection was piously remembered, but it was not publicly recreated through the pageantry that accompanied the preceding Holy Week. For such an outward, public people, it was noticeable that there was not much to indicate that this day is the great Christian festival of new life.

     Why? Why is Easter not the day of gaiety it is in the United States? Why is Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ death, celebrated with greater depth and public, personal involvement than Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ rising from death?

     This is not a new question. Many people observe that it is easier for oppressed people to identify with crucifixion than with resurrection. Good Friday passion plays are well known. The Jesus portrayed on Latin American crucifixes is distinctively tortured and even grotesque.

     It is not difficult to see that people who know pain, poverty, and oppression will recognize the painful, poor, and beaten Jesus. In him, they see themselves. In him, they know that God is with them and understands their lives.

     What would it take for the resurrection to be both a personal and a communal event? What would it take to celebrate Easter in the streets with the same festivity as Good Friday? What would it take to recognize the Risen Jesus in their midst?

     These are haunting questions. Haunting, because they are questions for the world, not just for the people of San Lucas. They are questions that involve every aspect of life, from local to global agriculture, commerce, industry, and finance.

     The people will live resurrection, will live new life, will recognize victory over death, when they have it. Yes, they have it spiritually. They have the guarantee of spiritual freedom and the assurance of eternal life. Nevertheless, it seems that until they have earthly freedom and the earthly resources necessary to live as they want and need to live, they will not make a point of putting time and energy into publicly celebrating Easter.

     Life is viewed holistically here. Spiritual reality is tied to material reality. Relationship with God is intimately connected to relationship with family, with neighbor, with friend, with enemy, with land. Material experiences are incorporated into spiritual life. Spiritual experiences are incorporated into material life. These are not two lives; they are one and the same.

     This is why Good Friday is the climax of the year’s communal celebrations. These people have been economically, socially, and culturally crucified, and they join with Jesus on his cross as he joins with them on theirs.

     They do know joy; they do know God’s personal love. There is a lot of laughter in the streets and in the houses. But this joy does not seem to intersect the formal Easter celebrations. This joy seems to be personal, lived out amongst friends, family and small fellowship groups. When spending time in assembled worship, the pained eyes of Jesus being led to his death and being nailed to his cross are easier to recognize and make more sense than the renewed eyes of Jesus standing in their midst and saying, "Peace be with you; my Peace I give you."

     Thus, Easter brings more personal joy than social celebration.

     What would it take for the festival of new life to be communally celebrated as deeply as is the remembrance of death? It would take the reality of uplifted, renewed life in every aspect of daily living.

     The people need to be financially free. They need to be politically free. They need to be culturally free. They need to have the resources necessary to live who they are. They need to be seen and celebrated as beautiful sons and daughters of God. They need to be encouraged to develop their lives as individuals, as families, and as a community.

     Any aspect of the world that has any impact, direct or indirect, upon the lives of the people of San Lucas must reflect justice, respect, acceptance, appreciation, and love. These are the things Jesus demanded and died for, the things he embodied; the current structure of world politics and international/intercultural relations bears the face of a Jesus still battling hell to bring these ideals to reality. The world is still a place where Jesus is crucified and buried. The resurrection of his people while still on this earth is a hope yet to be fully realized.

     When will they truly celebrate the beauty of Easter as a community? When they recognize and experience it in the world around them.

     When they know resurrection in their bodies and homes, they will understand it in the church. When the connection is made between the material and spiritual realities of Easter, when the Kingdom of God brings together heaven and earth in their individual and communal lives, then Easter will be the great celebration it is meant to be.

     Then not only Easter but every Sunday, every day, will be a feast of the joy of new, eternal, endless life with God.