Christians celebrate Easter light despite COVID-19’s shadow
Published:Monday | April 13, 2020 | 12:23 AMJason Cross/Gleaner Writer
Though COVID-19 has caused the shuttering of churches nationwide and left houses of worship with a handful of congregants in their pews, Jamaican clerics rallied Christians to project faith in a time of disease and despair.
The global pandemic has infected more than 1.8 million people worldwide with deaths topping 113,000.
But even though Archbishop of Kingston the Most Rev Kenneth Richards conceded that COVID-19 “has caused a slowdown in everything”, he urged Catholics to keep alive the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“The Easter spirit was absent, generally, but I had a joyful celebration. The meaning of Easter still triumphs,” said Richards, who leads Roman Catholics in Jamaica.
“The true meaning is still there. The suffering and the passion of Christ is highlighted by the coronavirus.”
Meanwhile, Pastor David Henry of Swallowfield Chapel in Kingston drew on a wide range of symbolism in his homily, melding the high-minded spirituality of sin and salvation with the low-hanging fruit of Julie mangoes and star apples.
UNDAUNTED IN MINISTRY
Citing the pain of the crucifixion and the power of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Henry called on believers to be undaunted in ministry, even with churches affected by plunging in-person turnouts.
He urged them to rely on the Pauline message that “taunts death”.
“No more will we possess defective bodies, mere flesh and blood which age and decline, grey hairs, [be] susceptible to sickness and COVID-19, vulnerable to pain, fatigue, and stress. Instead, we will have magnificent bodies,” he charged.
Celebrating Mass at a near-empty St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis called for peoples worldwide to face down the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic in an Easter homily characterised more by sombreness than its triumphalism.
“After the Second World War, this beloved continent was able to rise again, thanks to a concrete spirit of solidarity that enabled it to overcome the rivalries of the past,” Francis said. “This is not a time for self-centredness because the challenge we are facing is shared by all without distinguishing between persons.”
But for locals like shopkeeper Christine Brown of Mannings Hill, St Andrew, Easter Sunday took a more laid-back turn than its usual contemplativeness.
With her church closed for three weeks and curfews limiting time for sales, she has spent more time watching television or playing games with her husband.
“The pastor is not taking any chances. I normally would be observing my faith, but this year, me and my spouse maybe play a bit of dominoes or go sleep,” Brown said, sharing that she has attended services at the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on and off for a decade.