From Calais to Easter: Embracing Hope in the In-Between

Easter is here.

Today is the day between Good Friday, when we remember our Lord's death and Easter, when we celebrate his resurrection. It's an in-between time, where Jesus lies dead in the tomb, where hope is seemingly lost, and the promises remain unfulfilled.

As I reflect on this, I can't help but connect it to the individuals we serve in Calais. They, like Jesus, are stuck in an in-between. They've completed some of the most difficult parts of their journeys already, having fled dangerous situations and having been through things those of us in the West can't even imagine. They've made their way across Africa and the Middle East, over the Mediterranean, and across Europe to Calais.

And now they're stuck.

They're stuck waiting for the end of their journey, the promise of a better life in the United Kingdom. But rather than welcome or a safe passage out of their terrible circumstances, they are dehumanized, beaten, tear gassed, and treated as an infestation during their time here. But all they can do is wait. Wait for a better day, wait for a time when they can achieve their dreams.

To them, the destination is worth the pain and dehumanization and strife. The chance at a better, safe future for themselves and their children makes the suffering and the waiting seem almost trivial in comparison. Because they know their time will come.

And like them, we know the in-between seems dark, but the sun rises on Easter morning and with it our hope is resurrected. The pain and the suffering that Jesus and the disciples experienced seem like nothing in the joy of the resurrection.

This is the hope we preach. Because we know, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light" (John 1:5, Common English Bible). Even though the darkness seems impenetrable, the light is still shining. We rest in the hope of Easter, the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And we hold the hope of a future promised to us by our Lord, a future when there will be no more sorrow or sickness or death, a future made possible by the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The joy that comes in the morning with Easter.

So while we are in this in-between time, let us love our neighbor who is also in a place of waiting, seeking a better future for themselves and their children. Rather than shutting them out, let us open the door and let them in, into our homes and into our hearts. Let us bring a taste of the future promised by Jesus to our world today.

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