Easter or Resurrection Day?
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." -- Acts 5: 29-32 (NKJV)
The Holy Bible describes specific details, in both the Old and New Testament, about the Lord's Servant, His Son Jesus. The ancient prophet, Isaiah, spoke words given to him by the Lord about how Jesus would come to earth, suffer and die, and then "sprinkle" or shed His blood for the nations. And hundreds of years later, Peter, in the New Testament, along with the other apostles, testified before crowds that Jesus, after He was condemned and murdered, rose from the grave as Prince and Savior to Israel, sitting at the Lord's right hand.
For several weeks now, I have been hearing in my head the phrase "Be thou glorified!" I sense that the Lord is calling believers to listen, learn, and intentionally reflect on Jesus and receive Him in our hearts. We are called to understand His Holy Name, His holy purpose, and His incredible sacrifice to save us. And, His example as He walked on earth clearly demonstrates how we are to be His hands and feet in the here and now. We are the ones called to point people to Jesus as we Glorify His Holy Name!
So, what does that have to do with Easter? Is it tradition that we celebrate or the Resurrection? Growing up, our parents bought us kids special Easter outfits, Easter bonnets, and shiny new shoes. They took lots of pictures of us outdoors, pointing to daffodils and tulips blooming in our yard, all on the big Easter holiday. We woke up early on Easter Sunday morning to find Easter baskets filled with colorful dyed eggs and chocolate candy, marshmallow peeps, and even a giant chocolate rabbit. Often, we went to church as a family and later enjoyed a holiday meal together. I am assuming that for most people, this kind of celebration is likely how they view Easter.
But now for me, as an adult and late bloomer in the body of Christ, but most definitely a born-again believer, I wonder about this materialistic yet too familiar side of Easter. We have embraced that all too comfortable "feel good, eat ham, and enjoy baskets of sweets" idea that permeates our culture on many holidays, including Christmas. Where did we, the people who call ourselves Christians, shift away from understanding the true meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection? How did we make the quantum leap from Resurrection Day to a culture embracing giant inflatable "Easter" bunnies in the front yard?
Maybe this background will help. I was curious about the origins of Easter, so I googled the word, Easter. This source, Wikipedia, suggests that the term Easter originated from the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess, "Eostre". Centuries ago, the people engaged in Pagan worship of the Goddess Eostre. Interestingly, on or about 325AD, as the Church evolved, the Council of Nicaea established a common Paschal or Easter observance, a religious holiday, on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. The Vernal Equinox is a date on the calendar when night and day are nearly equal in length around the Earth due to the Earth's tilt on its axis. In 2025, the Vernal Equinox will take place on March 20, 2025, at 10:01AM.) Clearly, man's idea, not the Lord's.
Further, according to Wikipedia, centuries long ago, the custom of dying Easter eggs began in Mesopotamia, ("between two rivers", Tigris and Euphrates), where eggs were dyed red in memory of the blood of Christ shed at His Crucifixion. And, depending on which calendar is followed, the Gregorian, Julian, or Lunar calendar, the celebration of Easter will typically fall sometime between late March to mid-April.
Ok, so in my cursory review of details, the origins of Easter as a religious holiday were largely a man-made floating calendar date that corresponded with certain aspects of the lunar calendar. While that can be interesting, I prefer to point our eyes back to Jesus and the Resurrection. Be thou glorified! We honor and worship Jesus Christ and can never thank Him enough for His tremendous sacrifice made on the Cross! Hallelujah! Praise be to the Lord, our heavenly Father, for the Resurrection and the sprinkling of the precious blood of Jesus Christ over the earth!
As Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV), "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Let us all look at the Easter holiday in a new light, the light of the Resurrected Son of God, the living Christ Jesus. He is the Light of the World! Let us embrace the Light and grow in our faith celebrating the joy of Resurrection Day as we move forward, in unity with the Lord, as new creations in Christ Jesus.
Questions for Reflection:
1. Where did we, the people who call ourselves Christians, shift away from understanding the true meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection?
2. How did we make the quantum leap from Resurrection Day to a culture embracing giant inflatable "Easter" bunnies in the front yard?
