Resurrection Day

Here we are, with another holiday upon us.  At the risk of sounding like Scrooge, I am going to just say it.  Sometimes I dread holidays.  As far as celebrating goes, I am going to be honest and say that I enjoy Thanksgiving the most.  You know why?  It is about celebrating with family and friends those things that we are most thankful for.  There are no expectations of gifts, there is no hustle and bustle leading up to it.  It just comes - smack in the middle of the week, without a lot of fanfare, and our only "job" is to eat, spend time with each other, and reflect on our blessings.  My kind of holiday.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love all the things we can do around Christmas, to prepare for Jesus.  I love having a little one in the house who is learning all about the delight of the Babe in the manger.  I love Christmas music and Advent activities, and I love, love, love giving gifts to others - including my children.

With Resurrection Day quickly approaching, I love sharing the story of Jesus' death, burial, and Hallelujah, His resurrection, with my children.  Next year, will be especially
wondrous, because Patrick will be old enough to enjoy Resurrection Eggs and he will really be able to take in a lot more of the story than he can this year.

What creates major stress for me around the holidays is the conundrum that surrounds Christian holidays.  One of my new favorite bloggers is Jen Hatmaker, author of the books Interrupted and 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess.  She recently wrote two back to back blog posts titled "The Easter Conundrum Part 1 and 2".  She says it much more eloquently than I ever could, so be sure to go over there and read what she has to say.

Are you done?

Something to think about, isn't it?

I have been struggling with these same feelings for years.  God led us to stop doing "Santa" when our oldest guinea pigs children were still pretty young.  They remember it a little, but our youngest three don't really have any memory of Christmases that revolved around the man in the red suit.  We still give our children presents, probably too many, but there are no illusions as to where they come from, and no broken hearts when someone "tells."

Now, with Spring, comes probably the most important holiday of our faith. It is paramount that the Baby was born.  Immanuel, in the flesh, living a sin free life wrapped in human skin, makes His sacrifice worthy of covering our sins.  But, without that sacrifice on the cross and even more, without the Resurrection, there would be no forgiveness.  Many people have claimed to be prophets of one religion or another, but they are all dead and their bodies returned to dust.  Not one has conquered the grave.  We serve a Living God!!

How dare we take His sacrifice, and reduce it to eggs and rabbits?  This is the same God who agonized for hours on a cross - naked, bleeding, suffering.  The same God who claimed victory over death and rose again!  All so we can claim that same victory.  This is the God who redeems, the God who restores, the God who lives forever!

This is the same God who over and over and over in the Scriptures admonishes His children to love.  Love Him, love each other.  Love Him, love each other.  The Bible is clear time after time after time.

In the English Standard Version, the word "love" is used 684 times.  There is a thread that is woven throughout the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  God starts out instructing His people to love Him, to put Him first in their lives.  He tells the Israelites that they were not chosen because they were greater or mightier than others, but because of God's steadfast love.  Then, throughout the books of the law we see God again, instructing His people to love, that things may go well for them.  In the books of the prophets, God sends man after man to share His everlasting love with a rebellious people.  He pleads for them to return to Him and accept His love.  David pours out his heart in the Psalms, telling us of God's everlasting love and mercy. Song of Solomon gives us the picture of the love between a man and a woman, the way God intended it to be.

Then, we come to the New Testament.  When Love itself comes down.  When the Eternal God, puts flesh on and steps into finite time.  When, for the sake of love, He endures the flesh and all its temptations and then the cross and all its shame.  You can't possibly read the gospels and not feel the love that Jesus poured out on all those around him.  The poor, the sick, the injured, the downtrodden, the prostitutes, the outcasts of society.  He loved them.  He loved them.

Then, just before He ascended into Heaven, He instituted the church.  His hands and feet, charged with living out the gospel that He died to present.  Books like James, written by Jesus' own brother, leave no doubt whatsoever that we must put feet to our faith.  We must live out, with actions, what we claim to believe or we are just deceiving everyone, including ourselves.  We can not sit in multi-million dollar buildings, wearing our Easter finery while people are suffering right outside our doors while we are too busy "worshipping" to notice.

Did you know that in America this year 90,000,000 chocolate Easter bunnies will be manufactured and sold for the holiday? Can you wrap your mind around that number?? 90 million!! Meanwhile, today 18,000 people, mostly children died of hunger related disease. 18,000 more will die tomorrow and the next day and the next.


I know it is hard to face, hard to take responsibility for.  This is what God has been doing to me the past few years.  Wrecking me for those around me who are suffering.  Wrecking me for the things that break His heart.

Please hear my heart on this.  In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with a chocolate bunny.  I like candy as much as the next person, and sometimes I buy it.  I am not out to guilt you into sacrificing your children's Easter baskets on some meaningless alter.  However, I don't believe that sugar coating the problem anymore is doing the job.  Plenty of those 90,000,000 bunnies will be purchased this year by Christians who will also sit in church this Sunday in hundreds of dollars worth of new clothes, with their pressed and scrubbed children sitting by them wearing smocked dresses and brand new shiny patent leathers.  While, just outside the doors of the church and around the world, the lost are still lost.  They are broken, confused, and disillusioned.  They are hopeless and wandering.  They are looking in on us and our lifestyle of excess and they do not see the Jesus we are supposed to represent!

We absolutely must  begin to see things differently.  We have the Truth and we owe it to those around us to share it.  We live in a broken, shattered world and we alone have the hope of eternal life.  We alone know Who holds the future in the palm of His hand.  Why do we continue to live like the rest of the world?  Why do we celebrate our most sacred holiday giving Jesus only a cursory glance between the egg hunt and the ham?  I am just ready to do things differently.  I desire to give Him more than the leftovers.  If we all stand together, we can show the world the Hope that He died to give them.

Are you with me?