(Google Images)
Honestly I really am not sure what to say for this one, or rather I am sure what to say, but this won't be a feel good just "He is risen" post. That will come but first I have to take care of a few things. I am in part tired of the hype of Easter because it loses the meaning of the most important story of all time. I will tackle a couple of things in this one before I get to the conclusion of the story so just travel along this journey or rant, whichever you choose to name it, if you want to. I will label the sections so if you want to just skip to the conclusion of the Part 3 of my posts then by all means skip over it and go there. Or if you will get offended, you may want to skip this next part.
1) Your Gonna Wish You Skipped It...
You have to choose which side of the spectrum you want to lean more closely to. Side 1 is the happy Easter bunny basket egg hunt side. Truthfully, if you are reading this pretty much Christian based blog of mine then you are not dancing fully on this side, but I need to still clarify what this side entails. This is the "Happy Holidays" side. This is the side where you let yourself get wrapped up in all the marketing and manufacturing of a holiday where there shouldn't have been anything. First of all, guess what your doing with your bunny and egg holiday?! Do you even know where the "Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" originated? I can tell you this one thing, it certainly was not from anything Christian related, quite frankly, it is from the opposite end of anything good really. Here is an article from Discovery about this very subject:
"According to the University of Florida's Center for Children's Literature and Culture, the origin of the celebration — and the origin of the Easter Bunny — can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate....Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth; eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to History.com, Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection. However, this association came much later when Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion in Germany in the 15th century and merged with already ingrained pagan beliefs."Hey so guess what people? Your eggs and bunny isn't really rooted from anything all that innocent. Okay look, don't point at me for being "That guy" who is "too serious" and a "fuddy duddy" or however you wish to falsely label me because I believe those labelled people are on the opposite side of the spectrum really. (Note I didn't say its the wrong side, but thats where those people lay) I do not believe it is wrong to have an Easter egg hunt, I had one as a kid and I enjoyed it, it was fun. But I mean on the other hand, I really don't like it either. I think it is one of the things we as Christians don't really know what to do with. Everyone, including myself because I just said it, says that it is okay, nothing is wrong with it, and yadda yadda yadda. But when will it get to the point in our culture when the bunny and the eggs thing REALLY trumps the actual meaning of Easter? And if this time ever comes can we look back and say "Why didn't I focus more on Christ than on bunnies and eggs?" Honestly I also don't know what to do about it either. If I am the first one, or if your the first one even, to speak up about it we are instantly labelled and well, we become "thoooooose people". And golly we just don't want that over our heads now do we? As America its now okay not to stick up for what you believe in. Watched the news lately? The metaphorical "bunnies and eggs" of our whole entire society are winning right now people and we are sitting back, eating our Peeps and taking Facebook "selfies" labelled "Happy Easter" (that will get some dislikes but when is "Happy Easter" about you and your self portrait? I know its innocent don't get me wrong and don't hate me but its just a point that fits in with what I'm saying and no taking pictures with family isn't what I am talking about its the lasting effort to somehow make anything that is about Christ about us. We all do it in different ways too though so don't worry) as the world STILL remains lost and STILL is hopeless. How in the WORLD is it easier to believe in a bushy tailed creature dancing around but not Jesus Christ? Where have we went wrong where Christ wasn't good enough so it was time to adopt Pagan beliefs? Label me what you will but I don't care, if you don't see anything wrong with this whole picture I made a case for, then read it again.
2) Now That Your Heated, Smile Because Now He's With Us!
I need not go into the whole Jesus being raised from the dead story. For Matthews account you can look into his gospel around Chapter 27 I believe for just one account of the Resurrection. I think what is most important about Jesus being raised from the dead is not the fact that Jesus is now out form the tomb, which is very important, but that the Holy Spirit is now with us. I think this is the most beautiful picture of the whole process of the birth, death, resurrection and coming of the Holy Spirit. Don't get me wrong it is very important to know all of those things and the accounts of those happenings but still I think what is the most beneficial to the Great Commission and leading people to Christ is that intermediary that is the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we would...well I don't know exactly what we would do. Make an empty decision without conviction and repentance maybe? That's really an unanswerable question, one of those that you don't know "what if" ordeals. But the beautiful thing is that it did happen and that it is our direct link with witnessing to others and feeling the presence and power of Christ within our hearts and our convictions as well. So the tomb being empty is a sign of victory for the followers of Christ! Can you imagine the in-between day? It's our Saturday but its the day where we don't know what to do. Friday is Good Friday and we discuss and contemplate the cross and what it means. On Sunday we celebrate His resurrection. Saturday? Watch tv? Eat good meals? Family time? I mean if its awkward for us, for the followers of Christ but mainly His disciples can you imagine how horrible that day was. The Savior you saw and believed in front of your very eyes is now dead and defeated! He now lay in a tomb sealed up for this entire day! I would be very depressed during this time. But there's the hope that Christ gave them though that they held on to. There was a hope that the Spirit was coming and by it they could act out their "spiritual" gifts that will be bestowed upon them and with this news their spirits were downtrodden yes but also their expectations were high for the arrival of what Jesus foretold. Then the Spirit came and by it some performed miracles and other gifts they had now been able to lead out by the power of God in their midsts. That is truly what I think about getting out of Easter. It was not only the death of death, but it was the birth of the Spirit. Not only that Jesus defeated the grave but now we have the power of the Spirit which is equal to that of having Jesus in the flesh. All we have to do now is to pray and go out and make disciples and do all we humanly can. There is a point where we do all we can do then the Holy Spirit of God has to move to actually change hearts. That to me is the true joy of Easter knowing I have God's spirit on my side within my midst now I feel unstoppable!
No comments:
Post a Comment