No Gratitude for Death
post-Easter thoughts
I attended an Easter service which concluded with a big musical number repeatedly proclaiming, “Thank you hallelujah!” I sat there mute, for a few reasons.
One, we’re in the middle of a constitutional crisis & quickly escalating fascism. I cannot be all “thank you Jesus” in the midst of that.
Two, I am not—& refuse to be—thankful for Christ’s death & resurrection. That doesn’t mean they aren’t meaningful to me, but the brutalities of empire do not inspire gratitude in me, whether they are followed by resurrections or not.
Three, I reject gratitude for an individualistic good—the idea of personal salvation—while so many suffer and die. I see Christ as being all about collective liberation, but the Church must also preach it.
Four, a gratitude response to the Cross too easily becomes a pass on personal growth and justice work. If Jesus “paid it all,” then what is there for us to do? Nothing, just tap out & give yourself a high five for your correct beliefs.
Holy Week should not be about how Jesus saved US, how Jesus protected US (& screw everyone else). The Passion & rising is not a goddamn continental breakfast where you get your fill and say thanks on your way out. It’s not a thank you thing; it’s a get your ass out there and do likewise thing.
It’s too easy to go from being thankful that Jesus died to being thankful that Black bodies hung on trees and being thankful that the current administration is flying human beings to concentration camps. No decent person is thankful for lynchings and naziism, but MANY people are convinced of their decency because they “love Jesus” while they simultaneously dehumanize others, and they don’t see one lick of irony.
Look, it was Easter, I get it. We had the darkness of Good Friday, & Easter is a party. But can’t we get amped up about the empty tomb as a call to resurrect justice for all, & not a fluffy message that turns another persons suffering into something we are thankful for?