WHAT IS EASTER TO YOU?

Chocolate eggs and bunnies fill the shops.

Hollywood blockbusters fill TV schedules.

But try to find a religious card and you will be busy until Christmas.

Many people do not know the story of Easter and many others believe in the paranormal more than in God.

The idea of Jesus is challenging to many. 

Say you believe He rose from the dead after having been asked in a secular situation,

and you can expect condescending smiles.

To encounter Jesus is existentially challenging. It can be scary and uncomfortable.  

It is much safer in today's society to say you are an atheist.

I love munching on chocolate bunnies

and hiding colored eggs for the children to hunt for as much as the next guy.

But on Martin Luther King's Birthday, I like to think on the man and what he represented and what it cost him.

Likewise the same with Jesus on Christmas and Easter.

Did you know the word “Easter” doesn’t have anything to do with the Christian celebration?

It is derived from the name of a German deity, Estre or Ostra.

She was the goddess of the rising sun and spring, and was celebrated in springtime festivals.

Bunnies represent fertility and are associated with the re-awakening of the land in springtime.

Bunnies were first associated with Easter celebrations in the 1500s,

and by the early 1800s, German bakers were selling Easter bunnies made from chocolate and pastry.

The tradition of the Easter Bunny bringing gifts to children Easter morning is also from Germany, where he was known as Oschter Haws.

Initially, the bunny left his treats in a nest made for him by children.

 Later, the tradition merged with the notion of the Easter basket.

Most people who walk beside you on the street or drive past you on the highway are not religious.

They doubt that a historical Jesus even existed. 

If a religious teacher did offend the powers-that-be 2000 years ago and get himself executed, it means less than nothing to them.

They will shake their head at you in scorn if you ask them if they believe Jesus rose from the dead.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the importance of the resurrection in his letter to the Corinthians:

"If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

You see, long ago we broke the terms to our lease on Eden.  We got evicted.  Jesus paid the back rent and rose from the dead as concrete proof that He had done it.

Still, Easter holds a significant message for us all, religious or not.

It's a message of hope and reconciliation.

"Jesus Christ risen from the dead."

there is life after death but more than that it's the possibility of forgiveness and a new start.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?