9th March, 2008

LLOYD HARKNESS

Easter is Easter Sunday. We tend to think of Easter as an extended long weekend but Easter is resurrection Sunday. Even the origins of the word speak of a shining, the dawn of a new day breaking forth from the east. Resurrection day has no parallel. Jesus walking among his followers again after the horror of crucifixion has no parallel. Eternity, as revealed by Jesus in teaching and in life has no parallel.

Bede, ‘the father of English history’, suggests the term Easter had its roots in paganism and worship of the goddess of the sunrise, Eastre. Worship was clearly redefined when pagans became Christians and the light which was darkness gave way to ‘the light of the world’. Jesus is the ‘bright morning star’, the one who is bringing many sons and daughters to glory with him.

PICTURE: Langdu (www.istockphoto.com) "In the busyness of our lives we need to find ways to celebrate, commemorate, grieve and mount a silent vigil in preparation for the new day dawning with resurrection Sunday."

For us Westerners, living in the instant world, thinking of Easter as one day might be fraught with token acknowledgement. Historically, the lead-up to and the follow on from that one momentous day engrained in believers, the mind and heart expanding power of, Jesus' resurrection.

The 40 days prior to Easter was marked by fasting and penitence. It was a time of tuning into God and acknowledging your sin in His holy presence. Lent was a preparation for Easter. I wonder what our preparation involves these days. As the old cliché goes, ‘you only get out of something what you put into it’. This year I am asking myself am I preparing for Easter Sunday, am I preparing myself for resurrection?

Traditionally, in the final week leading up to Easter, you would acknowledge Palm Sunday, a celebration of Jesus entry into Jerusalem to complete his ministry; Maundy Thursday, a commemoration of Jesus' last supper; Good Friday, a grieving over Christ’s crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, a day of silence and vigil while waiting somewhat confused and uncertain about how God will fulfill His promise.

In the busyness of our lives we need to find ways to celebrate, commemorate, grieve and mount a silent vigil in preparation for the new day dawning with resurrection Sunday.

Easter Sunday was not the end of things either. For the next 50 days the realisation of what had occurred with Christ’s resurrection percolated in the hearts and minds of believers until the day of Pentecost. At Pentecost the power of the Holy Spirit brought that percolation to a bubbling overflow that saw men and women bear witness to the new life mankind could have in and through Jesus.

We need a Holy Spirit percolation going on in our lives to build to an effective testimony of the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Nothing else can bring about repentance and saved lives. Resurrection changes how we see the world.

How will we see or experience Easter this year? Having a Protestant background, which is sometimes bereft of the potent force of symbolism, it is interesting to note some other traditions that with an open heart can be infused with Holy Spirit power:

• Holy Saturday services which begin in total darkness at midnight and then have candles lit to represent Jesus rising from the dead. In some traditions the candle is carried from the church and people start to light other people’s candles. In this way the power of Christ’s resurrection is spread throughout the community;

• Holy Saturday services where the congregation renews its baptismal confession of faith;

• Easter sunrise services, some of which are held in the town’s graveyard where not only the timing but also the place point to resurrection;

• The use of banners, incense, hand bells and flowers, particularly the lily as Jesus is ‘the lily of the valley’ who has defeated death;

• A triple kiss accompanied by a statement declaring ‘Christ is risen’ and the respondent saying ‘He is risen indeed’;

• Eating hard boiled Easter eggs dyed red in acknowledgement of Jesus’ spilt blood;

• Eating fruitcake which has 11 marzipan balls to represent the 11 faithful apostles;

• Easter bonfires lit at sunset. Death and darkness has been conquered;

• On Holy Saturday homes can be blessed by the priest in acknowledgement of the angel of death passing over the Israelites in Egypt. Death will no longer touch these households because of Easter; and

• Easter pageants which recapture the drama of Christ’s last days and climax with the resurrection.

Christians need to refresh themselves at Easter’s resurrection well and with the profession that Christ is risen receive the power that comes from experiencing ‘the Comforter’ he said he would give to believers until He returns.
If the ‘traditions’ briefly referred to here, or an adaptation thereof, help create the God-time which allows this to happen I would encourage you to do what it takes to ensure this year Easter is not given only a token acknowledgement.

(In Western Christianity, Easter always falls on a Sunday from 22nd March to 25th April inclusive.)

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