EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION

[cappie]

Going into my local supermarket on Boxing Day I couldn’t help but notice that  there were Hot Cross Buns on the shelves, then the chocolate bunnies and eggs appeared so, it must Easter! Not really, as we know. As with most Feasts of the Church the secular world not only misuses them but misunderstands them as well. For most people in our country the Festivals have become associated with an abundance of chocolate things, and not with what we are actually celebrating, how the Love of God the Father in Christ Jesus His Son conquers all in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Two images should be in our minds and hearts at Easter: the Cross and the Empty Tomb. Jesus could not walk out of the Tomb on the first Easter Day unless He had been killed on Good Friday. And He was killed in the most horrible way, for the Romans had devised Crucifixion to degrade, to humiliate, to punish and eventually kill the Victim. This is the part of the Easter Mystery that Easter Bunnies, Easter Eggs and fluffy little chicks never acknowledges. We do have an uphill task at Easter. Most people seem to acknowledge that Jesus was a good man, even that He died, but when we start to talk about Him not staying dead but rather Him being Resurrected, for non-Christians, problems arise. So, what should we do?

It has been suggested that if we would just drop the resurrection bit and concentrate instead on the wonderful teaching of Jesus and His example of generosity, compassion and love then everybody would find Christianity much more believable.  Yet the trouble would then be that this simply wouldn’t be Christianity at all.

The faith of Christians depends on the Resurrection from the dead of Jesus, and always has done, right from the first Easter Day when the Risen Lord Jesus greeted Mary Magdalene in the Garden.

 After the crucifixion, the body of Jesus was taken down from the cross by some of His friends and put in a rock tomb closed with a heavy stone. Yet, when the women came to anoint His dead body on the third day after His death, His tomb was found to be empty; and there is more. He was seen by His followers alive, not a ghost, not a zombie, but a REAL LIVING MAN; they met Him, saw Him, talked with Him, touched Him, ate with Him.

So certain was their belief that nothing could make them recant it. Not ridicule, nor torture, nor even death itself. They couldn’t do it because they were absolutely convinced that it had happened. Plenty of clever and powerful people at the time of the Resurrection had a personal stake in proving the disciples wrong. It shouldn’t have been difficult to prove that a dead man had stayed dead, especially when you have at your disposal the resources of the greatest empire at that time in history. Yet they didn’t do it because it couldn’t be done.

Today billions of people around the world believe and respect the witness of those first disciples of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, John and Peter, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Doubting Thomas who doubted no more, St. Paul on the Road to Damascus. These apostles and disciples saw the Risen Lord Jesus and knew Him to be alive. So today men and women of all ages believe that Jesus is Risen from the dead, and because of this faith their own lives have been transformed by a relationship with Jesus - a relationship that wouldn’t make sense if He were dead! Ultimately, we Christians don’t put our faith in a dead hero from the past, but in someone who is alive and active in our own lives and in the world.  

This past week,  on social media there was a photo of a McDonald’s that had painted across their front window the Tomb, the stone rolled away and the words “Christ is risen — Alleluia!” Not a bunny or chick in sight! There is hope indeed, but we all must get in the act. Yes, we get into the greeting struggle. “Happy Holiday” can and does cover the days of observance of many religions.

But “Happy Easter” is ours — even Christians who are not in the pews on Easter may still have some Easter spirit in their bones. Let us remember that in Scripture there are no mentions of the Easter Bunny and there are no chicks. Easter eggs we can allow; they are the exception because the egg is a symbol of new life! Christ is Risen — Alleluia should be in our hearts and on our lips. Alleluia,

[little2add]

my  Easter Sunday Alter