easter remembrance

Posted by Joshua S. Hill

April 6, 2007

I encounter throughout the year various dates that bring with it a certain significance for some reason or another within my life. And while I do not live my life through a remembrance of those lost, I do encounter one such day. Yes, for all you budding ‘quick-thinkers’ out there, I am of course talking about easter.

However many of you that read this blog with any regularity are Christian’s is unknown to me. So I apologize in advance for the seemingly stereotypical tendancy towards preaching on my blog. However I do not intend to make a habit of this. In my defense, this is easter, cut me some slack! :)

Many among you will no doubt have consumed a vast amount of chocolate. This may or may not be a regular occurence. For my father, it would simply be a natural course of events - only with the chocolate forming egg-shapes rather than blocks. However, my dislike for chocolate aside, I do not celebrate easter through the consuming of any chocolate products or by passing them on either.

Some may groan at the next comment, given the seemingly cliched nature it has taken on, but, I cannot abide the horrid commercialization that easter has taken on. It rivals St. Valentines Day in its gaudiness, and almost downright heretical leanings.

No doubt those in favor of the easter egg will attempt to tout one of the many origin stories that exist (see here), but even if there is a theological basis for the egg in my faith, it has turned in to a symbol such as the Cross, which is now nothing more than a hopeful directional sign to the reality of easter. No one really cares what it actually means, it’s just pretty, or tasty in the case of the egg.

Do I begrudge anyone else the enjoyment of easter and trading eggs? Of course not. Just as I hope to be tolerant towards muslims, homosexuals, collingwood supporters and all minority groups, I have no say in it. However I will endeavor to let it be known that maybe there are other ways to celebrate the death and resurrection of my savior.

Because that is what easter is actually about; remember? On the day before the Sabbath Jesus Christ was crucified at the behest of the jewish people. He was then buried in a tomb, and a stone rolled in front of the entryway. On the morning following that of the sabbath, Jesus was found to have vanished from the tomb, the door rolled away, and those women who had gone to pay their respects were met by angels, proclaiming what had been so often foretold and prophecied; that on the third day, Jesus would rise again. That day was the third day, and Jesus was indeed up and about.

The knowledge of this is, sadly, being eroded slowly and slowly by the complacency of Christian’s throughout the world. Not only do we start to face inwards, ignoring those who are not within the church and leave them to the cold empty space of a life without Christ, but we further that emptiness by following blindly along the tracks laid down for us by Hershey’s and Cadbury. Sadly, I feel as if I could guarantee that, if it weren’t for these chocolate companies, easter would be nothing more than a kooky religious holiday, observed by only the few die-hard people; those that are to be shunned and ignored, the last remaining few of a dying religion. A little too like the Jedi for my tastes, but a little too close to the truth.

Am I being overly dramatic? I do not think so. And even if I were guilty of a small amount of creative license in my views, I do not see that as a bad thing. If my point of view on easter is like a small pebble in someones mind, then maybe somewhere along the line an avalanche will be the result. We cannot let easter be relegated to a second rate holiday. Already the winds of change are signalling that Easter Friday may not be a day stores must close. We’re not there yet, but how long do you think it will be?

And, in reality, do any of the employees of the world actually know why it is that they don’t go to work on Easter Friday? Are they just pleasantly bemused by the idea, or are they aware that some 2000 years ago, the son of God was crucified on a cross for their sins? Are they in the line of jews; unwitting bystanders in the greatest crime of history, or are they like the disciples and followers of Jesus; weeping, sorrowful, and eventually aware of the magnitude of his gift.

A gift that, each day, we must take in our hands and walk with. Never to drop it by the wayside, or to place it aside for a spell. Think of the men and women who have served in the wars throughout history, and have had their lives saved by a friend, a ‘buddy’, who has taken a bullet in their place. They go on through their lives knowing that someone - someone they cared about, or didn’t even know - are dead for them. They don’t let their lives go to waste. They ensure that the sacrifice made for them is never forgotten, and the story is retold at family reunions, Christmas’ and birthdays.

So remember that sacrifice not only at easter, but on His birthday, on your birthday. At church, and throughout the week. In the way you live your life.

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