Resurrection Morning!

Good morning! Christ is Risen!

Every year, Westerners celebrate the Resurrection of Christ with colored eggs, chocolate rabbits (which I have absolutely no aversion to whatsoever) and plastic grass stuffed into pastel-painted wicker baskets. We take photos of our children in ducky outfits and white shoes and if you are really religious, you get up early to go to the "Sunrise Service" candle-in-freezing-hand. That, at least in my own memory and experience, reflects the modern tradition of Easter worship.

Is that an oxymoron? Modern tradition? Traditions of Modern America may be better. I dunno. I don't see much difference. I don't see much of the Paschal tradition in Easter anymore. Far be it from me to judge, so I simply make the observation.

The word, "Easter," I have a bit of a problem with, though don't think it's a big enough problem to start a quarrel. The name derives from Old English, Eostre. A referral to the month of Eostur-monath on the Germanic calendar which was named in honor of the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess, Eostre. The month is only ever mentioned in Bede's De Temporum Ratione, and is perhaps even an invention by the Venerable Bede (what a cool name) in order to help bring Christian festials into pagan cultures. And even if that is the case, I personally think a lot rides on a name. So I will go with Resurrection Sunday.

Whatever the name though the purpose must be understood. Are we not celebrating Life? It is the קרבן פסח Korban Pesach, or Passover Sacrifice which we have actually come to celebrate! Paul makes this case over and over, Christ made it, and Peter makes it. God gives His message all through the Book (we are not just given the New Testament, we must study the Old if we are to understand the New!) and we are called to rejoice in it! Mankind turned from God, the source of Life, in our sin and became slaves to it, just as Israel became slaves of the Egyptians, and we cry for release! How can we be released, how can we regain life, when we have stripped ourselves of it? To whom can we turn? Who has the power to resurrect the dead?

God, the source of all life, is overflowing with His Own Being. He is Life, He is Love. He is so full of it that He can give it out and even in that, each of us is different, with seperate life and individual personalities. And God alone can provide the lamb, the lamb of sacrifice. Both in the escape from Egypt and the eternal sacrifice.

Once we turn from Life, there is only death. That is why the wages of sin is death. Sin isn't just doing wrong. It isn't really "missing the mark." It's trying to shoot your own arrow in the first place. None of us have the strength to pull God's bow. Even our good deeds are counted as filthy rags, our own "righteousness" will never be counted in our favor. God must save us. We must stop this self-saving crusade we venture on. God must save us.

And save us, He has. Do you need life? He has so much of it that the grave couldn't hold Him. He has so much that through faith and trust in Him, the grave can't hold you either! We must have the Lamb without blemish, the Lamb willingly led to the slaughter, and only One has Life enough to provide and only One is pure enough to be the Ultimate Sacrifice. Had Christ died and sacrificed for us and never risen, would that have been enough to save us from our sins? Probably. We would be without sin perhaps, but perhaps we would yet be without life as well.

Yet God lives, Christ lives, and therefore, yes, we live. Should we not celebrate that not just once a year, not even every Sunday? But with every breath we take, give thanks to the God of the Resurrection!
He is risen indeed! Thanks be to God!