Oh, how we love Easter Sunday…the warmth and light, the colors, joy…and what shall we wear? What shall we have for dinner? So many things to be accomplished…when to color the eggs, where to hide them? Don’t forget about the children’s Easter baskets and new shoes. Oh, yes, and of course we’ll go to church. We’ll be glad in our new finery, singing the lovely hymns and admiring the lilies on the altar, but we surely hope that the sermon isn’t too long because we have get home to prepare dinner, or travel to relatives or friends. And let’s hope it doesn’t rain on Easter – not on our parade!
Do we know what we’re doing…what we’re thinking or saying about this most holy day and about Christ’s resurrection when we think this way? Do we understand why Easter matters? Do we really? Or do we want to just be happy and think only of what we believe are the loveliest things, pushing all the unlovely away. It seems we’re just not as interested in the hard part, the painful part – the bleakness and dark sin of Good Friday that preceded the triumph of Easter. It’s probably why Easter Sunday is the day of greatest church attendance and far fewer are in the pews on solemn Good Friday. No, let’s not think about that…too gruesome a thought of Christ on the Cross. What? You say He died for me? I’m not a murderer. I wasn’t there to crucify Him. No, not me. I’ve been a fairly good person – you know, I try to do the right thing. I’m not perfect but better than a lot of others. But, now Easter – that’s different – it’s about the kids and chocolate, isn’t it? Lots of chocolate. And it’s about visiting family and friends, having a nice dinner, and maybe a walk in the park after. Then there’s the flowers at Eastertime; don’t forget about them. Beautiful tulips, daffodils, lovely hyacinth – they’re the best. Of course, there are stuffed bunnies for the kids and jelly beans, marshmallow chicks. Easter is great, isn’t it? Yeah, that’s what it’s about…the good, happy stuff…too much sadness in the world as it is.
And as Christ hung dying on the Cross, he said, “Father, forgive them for they know what they do.”
So, let this Easter Sunday be different, if any of the above scene hits home with you. Think less about filling the house with Easter decorations and more about filling your heart with His Word and His love. Before any celebration, before you plan what you’re going to wear, before you have the children search for brightly colored eggs, find a quiet spot and truly search your heart to be certain that you really know, deep down, what Easter is all about. Make sure that you have given yourself totally to your Lord and Savior. Then praise Him, thank Him and love Him. Ask to be filled with His Holy Spirit and to feel the real joy of Easter, which is His Resurrection and His Presence in the here and the hereafter! For today, He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice….” 1 Peter 1:3-6a
By: Carol Ossenfort
