Are You Surprised By The Resurrection Holiday Being Called Easter?
Good Morning Friends,
A few churches teach that Easter is a pagan holiday. It, like Christmas falls in close proximity to a key point in the solar year. Christmas, is honored as that time when Jesus the Light of the World came to the world. It approximates the time of the winter solstice and Easter typically falls close to the vernal equinox…springtime…a time of rebirth. At one point they were times of rowdy parties. So it is understandable that some might frown on the idea of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday morning. And this is especially so if you thought you were not celebrating Jesus, but unwittingly worshipping an ancient pagan deity. The issue is the word “Easter.” It is claimed to be derived from the name of a Germanic goddess of spring, Eastre. We have all sorts of words such as the days of the week and months that are based on ancient mythological and pagan gods. So that may well be true. There is a cultural subversion of our Biblical faith. However another explanation is that Easter derives from an Old German root, ostern, for dawn or east, which is the time and place of the rising sun. This is an equally good reason why a day commemorating Jesus’ resurrection would have begun to be called “Easter.” You see, Jesus is thought to have risen around dawn or sunrise on resurrection Sunday. So it seems plausible to refer to the Dawn of the Rising Son…Sun as Jesus. Regardless, of what we individually think, the reality is that today families of Christians celebrate in commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection joining with the familiar sights of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs serving as a reminder of the holiday’s very ancient origins outside of the Christian tradition. Are You Surprised By The Resurrection Holiday Being Called Easter?
Scripture: After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Matthew 28:16-29 (NRSV)
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 (NRSV)
Message: The New England Puritans regarded both Easter and Christmas as too tainted by non-Christian influences to be appropriate to celebrate. Catholics however celebrated the occasions. The fortunes of both holidays improved in the 19th century, when they became occasions to be spent with one’s family. This was done partly out of a desire to make the celebration of these holidays less rowdy. But Easter and Christmas also became reshaped as domestic holidays because understandings of children were changing and more emphasis was being placed on the importance of raising children. But now as our society becomes less religious, what are we to make of these holidays? Let us go back to scripture and retell the story of what happened that morning of the resurrection. I have shared the message from Matthew but you can search out other Gospel stories on the resurrection. It goes something like this: It was dark on that Sunday morning. But they could not sleep. So the woman got up and as they headed for the tomb the sun began to rise. Their path was lined with shadows that reminded them of the painful darkness that hovered over their souls even as they tried to remember the joy of Jesus. But instead their thoughts relived the terrible events of the last few days. The scenes were playing out again and again in their minds. But finally their faith in, their love for and their devotion to Jesus overcame them. They wanted to see the tomb….to see Jesus but had no idea how they were going to remove the stone. Jesus did not need the stone rolled away. He was already gone. But we need it rolled away. The women needed it rolled away so that they could see that the tomb was empty. Peter needed to see it so that he would be prepared to receive forgiveness. What Jesus said was true. This had to mean that Jesus was alive. And since John and the women saw him die, it must also mean that Jesus had risen from the dead… Jesus had defeated death. No one was going to take the body. That kind of conspiracy, based on a lie, would never hold together. They would be found out and killed. There was no other conclusion for the women and there is no other rational conclusion for us either. With the evidence today we must reach the same conclusion. Consider that we worship today. Consider that testimonies of the resurrection exceed 500 eye witnesses. Consider that no one produced the body to dispute the resurrection. Consider that support for the historic event is in the writings of others who were not even practicing Christians. This is not a story…but history…His Story. And that means that with the tomb being empty His forgiveness is full… we too are heirs to the Kingdom…we get a second chance. Friends, maybe we do not need to try so hard at Christmas and Easter…we just need to believe differently…believe that God really is in control so that more might come to believe.
Pray that our love and devotion to Jesus will be rewarded. Pray that we worship the resurrected Christ. Pray we be full of hope and eager to share the great and good news. Pray we see the light and power of the resurrection. Pray that every time we think we have gone beyond His grace that we remember that He died in our place for all of us. Pray we share in the new life made possible by the risen Lord…the indescribable joy of the salvation of our souls. Pray we experience the resurrection by facing the reality of death. Pray we serve a risen Savior. Pray we fight the good fight and keep the faith. Pray we are prepared for our own death. Pray not lift up false hope but lift up the power of the glorified Christ. Pray the stone rolls away from our eyes.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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