Easter?

a day of remembrance???

Easter weekend was pretty uneventful, and quiet this year. No visiting, no special church events, no chocolates. You see, two of my kids have been insanely ill last week and it carried into the weekend. So Rand's family was shut in the whole, so-called "passion week".

In between cleaning up vomit and soiled kids clothing, I put a great deal of thinking on the subject of Easter. You see, last Monday, my supervisor said:

-"This must be a big week for you Rand!"

-"It is?", I inquired.

-"Isn't it Easter next weekend?"

-"Oh yeah, it is...", I answered.

At that exact moment I realized something that kind of disturbed me: my boss, who isn't a born-again Christian (I wouldn't even call him a religious man), was probably going to make a much bigger deal of Easter than I was. I quickly started a spiritual self-diagnosis: was my love for God going cold like the church at Ephesus? was I too busy to put in remembrance the work of the Cross? what did I usually do in past Easters?

The questions abounded for a couple of days, and then it dawned on me: why Easter? As in, why make a big deal out of celebrating Easter? This question caused me to think about the validity of Easter as a day to "remember the work of the Cross"; the thinking went on for another couple of days. This is what I came up with:


1- Easter, like Christmas, isn't Biblical:


Ok...so Easter would definitely be closer to the actual date of the crucifixion (probably not this year though...Passover is next month in this Jewish "leap" year), but nowhere do we find in the Bible a commandment that we should celebrate Easter.


2- Remembering the work of the Cross should be done every day:


This is the point that explained why my boss put far more importance on Easter than myself. You see, for most people who call themselves Christians, Easter is the first time in the new year that they put any serious thought in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ. A born-again saint ponders on the work of Christ everyday, it is his hope and his salvation!

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." (1 Timothy 5:8)


3- The Lord's Day is the time that Christians ought to especially remember the work of the Cross:


It is said that Christian especially ponder on the Crucifixion and Resurrection on Easter, but even this isn't proper. The Lord's Day (Sunday) is the day Christians ought to especially remember the work of the Cross; and more specifically, this special remembrance should be done around the Lord's Table:

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in REMEMBRANCE of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in REMEMBRANCE of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do SHEW the Lord's death till he come." (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)


Am I starting a crusade against Easter? No, I've got better things to do with my time. But I must say that after all this thinking, I'm not a big fan of Easter. Why? A few reasons:


1- Because it is deceptive. Millions of deceived sinners (deceived by others of self-deceived, take your pick) pack Bible and wicked churches to get their "Jesus" fix for the year, and Easter is when most of them do it.

2- Many believers will neglect to attend all their church services (as well as the Lord's table), but will NEVER EVER miss Easter service. Talk about the putting the cart before the bulls.

3- Just like Christmas, with the mixture of heathen practices, Easter hardly remains a pure, holy day for Christians.


So my conclusion to the Easter question: It isn't a particularly holy day, and the Christian will do better if he learns to keep his Lord's Days holy rather than on keeping one "special" Sunday per year.

That being said, like Christmas, trying to shut Easter out is like trying to keep the tide from coming in; go for it if you like, but I sincerely doubt you'll be successful. Instead, why not use the opportunities that come with Easter. With the various family functions that usually come with Easter celebrations, be a witness! Talk to your unsaved family and friends about what the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ means to you. As far as I am concerned that is the best thing that can come from Easter celebrations.


And again, that is my spiritual 0.02$,

Rand