A
lways Lent but never Easter
I
by Adam Chandler
n the much beloved tale spun by C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the world of Narnia was in a state where it was always winter but never Christmas. Without Aslan the Lion present, the desolation of cold and snow lay upon the land. Christmas is prevented from coming for a whole century due to the influence of the White Witch, the pretender to Narnia’s throne. It is only once Aslan returns to Narnia that the snows melt away and the creatures imprisoned by the Witch are freed to celebrate. When the great Lion comes, the evil of the world peels back and the joy of Christmas comes again. The story of Narnia is, of course, mimicking biblical narrative. The world was once held captive by sin, death, and the devil, but Christ was born on Christmas Day to die on the cross and free us from our captivity to sin. The joy we experience in the Christmas story parallels the joy of the Narnians when Aslan returns to overthrow the White Witch. For us, the joy of this past Christmas—much like the usual joy we have on Easter—has been dampened by a cold and sober atmosphere. December 25 may have come around, but our typical family celebrations were restricted in order to reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Christmas Day came but festivity was in limited supply. And now what? This somber tone of celebration has extended towards Easter as well. Will Easter joy not come? Will the contemplative sobriety of Lent persist beyond Easter again, just as it persisted past the Easter of 2020?
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THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN March/April 2021
When shutdowns first began in Canada, we were in the midst of Lent 2020. And while time has marched on, the general atmosphere of sober thought, heightened prayer, and deep reflection over personal actions has remained. Even people outside of the Church were caught up in sober attitudes as the sweeping fear of COVID-19 hung in the air. The Canadian Lutheran came out with an article about this “Long Lent” that marked our peculiar new mentality. Even when shutdowns gradually gave way into reopening in
Will Easter joy not come?
Will the contemplative sobriety of Lent persist beyond Easter again, just as it persisted past the Easter of 2020?
