Published: March 19, 2008 06:53 pm            

Randy Sheridan: Thoughts on Easter, the Resurrection

Few dates on our annual calendar elicit as much emotion and feeling as Easter. The significance of the Resurrection upon mankind is mind-blowing. If it had never happened, Christianity would simply be a mythical legend passed from generation to generation.

But just how did such a powerful part of Christian history evolve into what we today celebrate as Easter? Is it part pagan, part Christian? Are some of the practices we associate with Easter purely harmless or do they detract from the real meaning of this cherished event?

Believing it to be the inspired written words of God, the Bible offers complete insight as to the history of this grandest of occasions. Let’s go back in time to the liberation and rebirth of the Jewish people from Egypt. They celebrated their deliverance annually in the spring of the year in what became known as the Passover.

You may be asking the question, “What does the Passover have to do with Easter?” Glad you asked, because there is a unique correlation of the two celebrations. Let’s take a closer look.

Just as the Passover commemorates the time when God rescues the people of Israel from slavery and Moses leading them out into a new life, so it is Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection that gave birth to Christianity. Both celebrations are appropriately themed around the idea of rebirth.

Someone has asked a valid question as to why Easter is not always the same date each year and why it falls so early this year. It is known as a “moveable feast” because the date changes every year. Easter can fall on any date between March 22nd and April 25th.

The reason for this variation in the date — Easter is based on the lunar calendar (the moon) rather than our more well-known solar calendar. This is the calendar that the Hebrew people always used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our calendar.

Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the full moon either on or after the Spring Equinox, which is March 20 or 21. If the full moon happens to fall on a Sunday then Easter is celebrated the next Sunday.

I’m about ready to feast on one of the 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies (ears first) that are made this time of the year. If the world’s chocoholics have beaten me to the bunny, then I will happily settle for a handful of the 16 billion jelly beans consumed during this season of the year alone. Of course, I prefer Jelly Bellies — grape and pina colada, please. Oh, and you can have my Marshmallow Peeps.

Did you know that this year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! Since the previous occasion was in 1913, only the most elderly of our population (95 or older) have seen it this early. And none of us has ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be 2228, about 220 years from now, if you care to stick around. You could eat a lot of chocolate bunnies between no and then.

Without getting too detailed about the association of the egg with Easter, suffice it to say from the very earliest times, the egg has been considered one of the more important symbols of rebirth. An old Roman proverb states, “All life comes from an egg.” As Christians, we understand that all “new life” comes from God.

Whether you have boiled eggs, hot cross buns or roasted lamb during this season — let it be a feast centered on remembering the great sacrifice that was offered for all mankind. Other religions are often centered on the taking of life, whereas Christianity is fixed upon the idea of one life being offered so that all might receive eternal life.

The Easter season begins on Easter Sunday and lasts 50 days, ending on Pentecost. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday; it’s the day Christ was marched outside the city and nailed upon the cross.

The name Good Friday was derived from “God’s Friday” in the same way that goodbye is taken from “God be with ye.” It is good because the curse of the first Adam was broken by the sacrifice of the second Adam — Christ.

So enjoy a sunrise service or church service of your choice this Easter, and as all of creation begins to awaken from its dormant state and new life emerges, let it serve as a reminder that Sunday is coming!

Has the season become commercialized much like Christmas? Perhaps, but it is still the holiest of all days to most followers, because without the Resurrection — it would just be another holiday.



Randy Sheridan of Burleson

is a speaker, counselor and

mediator. He can be reached

at drsheridan@aol.com.

        

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