An Easter Greeting

Easter Tulips

Easter is a more benign, less confrontational name than Resurrection Sunday. Everybody can celebrate Easter – but not everybody celebrates the word resurrection, because death is so tied to it.

In fact less than half, only 42 percent of Americans said the meaning of Easter was Jesus’ resurrection. We know it’s a religious holiday, but we aren’t sure why.

Well, I grew up knowing it was a religious holiday, and I knew that it was about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. But, that’s about as deep as my understanding went – for decades. One, because it didn’t dawn on me to think about its meaning, any more than I was thinking about the real meaning behind Christmas! Two, because I never saw a connection between what happened on Sundays, and on church holidays and me, or my life. Three, because I didn’t see death as an imminent crisis, Boomer baby that I was.

One day, I did. Out of the blue, I began to worry about dying – crazy, huh?

I think the song for “Fame” got me thinking: I was not gonna live forever.

Then what? Nada?  Torment? Or, . . . life and peace, and rest?

It’s funny how one little question can rearrange one’s priorities.

Or, one simple poem can turn a heart upside down and backwards:

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality . . .

And Why I Wish You A Happy One

Easter gets my attention more deeply each year more candles illuminate my cake.

Each year death sidles closer to me in the carriage my life is.

So, I pay closer attention to how the preachers describe the Gospel accounts of that first Sunday morning. I am sorry to say, I heard one say: What difference does it make what happened to His Body! Then nothing matters, period!

Simple sentences in the Bible say better than I can  why I learned to celebrate Easter

After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ~ John 14:19

So, I hope more fully in an ancient declaration in this post-Christian time:

Christ is risen – He is risen indeed.

For with this mystery, the whole history of the human race changed. (Luke 24:6-24) Changed, because death’s dreadful, terrifying power was broken.

Yes, I am still learning to celebrate Easter – I hope you are, too!

Happy, Merry Easter . . .