Easter Sunday tends to tweak a few more thoughts and emotions from me than most...I assume. I look at congregations that meet in the buildings that the Church meets in and they are larger on Easter than any other day of the year. Those of us that go on Sundays to the buildings where the Church meets are a touch holier than usual as we verbalize the fact that we are "grateful that He is Risen" and "death has been defeated!" Then, we leave, and the question becomes, "are we grateful the rest of the year and do we live it, the resurrection that is, or do we just celebrate it?"
Easter...google the word and you will come up with a litany of websites and people within those sites explaining the history. I have heard and read many differing opinions as to the origin of the holiday. Historically, the earliest version is that Easter was a goddess of sex that is what became of the wife of Nimrod after her death. The story goes that she came back to Earth in an egg after she became a goddess. The worship of her is tied into the worship of her son, Tammuz(ironically not Nimrod's), who himself was worshipped as a god and babies were sacrificed to him on December 25. The babies were conceived on an altar to him as virgins were raped by priests on the day that Easter is celebrated. It is interesting that as far back as the tower of Babel there is worship that centers on mother and son, but that is another matter entirely from the one at hand...maybe...
There are more pagan traditions centering on the origins of Easter from the Greeks seeking to please the goddess of Spring, Eostre, to the Saxons, Eastre, etc. the list is quite long, but it is safe to say that Easter is a pagan holiday whose origin has nothing to do with Jesus, His death, burial, or resurrection. The symbols of Easter have an almost unholy universalism with culture after culture having extremely similiar symbolisms and beliefs associated with springtimes, gods and goddesses, and rejuvenation. The point is, until the Catholic church decided to be relevant in its attempt to assimilate their faith into whatever culture they were working with at the time, what we enjoy at Easter time regarding rabbits and eggs and even the date, had nothing to do with what Jesus did as He stepped out of the tomb.
So I observe this and wonder if we should celebrate Easter at all. After all, what Jesus did as His role in the Trinity, will last for eternity...and we should live it, not celebrate it.
There is a root of a thought that is starting to grow within me. It goes something like this...The very idea of a celebration is that it comes to an end. It starts with preparation and anticipation, it climaxes, and it is over and we clean up so we can start our "regular" life again. That is not the purpose of the cross, the burial, and certainly not the resurrection. It is designed to give us life as it was meant to be, for an eternity. It was never meant to be for a day. There are some of you reading this and are probably angry and you have thoughts like, "How can you say this, I am grateful everyday for what He did for me." and, "There is nothing wrong with my kids enjoying an easter egg hunt." Let me ask you something, "It's currently the day following Easter, what have you been thinking on all day?" What will you be thinking on next Saturday, next week, or next month? The economy, your job, your family, the kids grades, how they are going to go to college? What drives you? His resurrection or your life? His resurrection or your desires for your kids? His resurrection or how bad things are for you?
Here is the point, until we live like there was a resurrection, the celebration for a day means nothing. His blood is enough, His death was in our place, He became sin for us, and took the wrath of Almighty God in our place, and His Resurrection defeated death for all eternity...if we believe in Him. If you do, for real, live it every day...be as joyful everyday as you were on Easter Sunday. Live everyday as breathless and in love with Him as you were on Easter Sunday...and if you don't know Him as I do...you can. Read John 3...the whole chapter...you must believe...should you have questions on believing respond with contact information...
Live life as if every day was Easter...because He has risen...everyday!
