Easter: What's the Point?

 

Illustration by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.

This has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now.

I celebrated the recent Easter holiday by going to church and then spending the afternoon with family. We did the things that many families do. We ate together, colored eggs, and hunted for eggs with the grandkids. We ate too much candy. It was fun!

But I have been thinking: what was the point of all that? I mean, really, was (or is) Easter any more than just bunny rabbits and jelly beans? For some, I guess that was probably about it. But I'm willing to bet that most people, the adults anyway, recognize that Easter, as a holiday, didn't start out that way. 

For many, Easter is a time of remembrance. A deliberate decision to recall, and consider, a moment in time when something happened that was, to say the least, extremely out of the ordinary. 

These are Jesus' words to His disciples in Luke 24:46-47.

. . . and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (New American Standard Bible)

There are two really important points in this passage. The first is that Jesus would die and then be resurrected from the dead three days later. The second is that forgiveness (from sin -- that's a discussion for another time) would be available to anyone, people from all nations and all walks of life, through the name of Jesus.

There's always a lot of discussion about forgiveness; why it's needed and who gets it and how. But I think it's that first point that really rattles the mind.

Rising from the dead. Resurrection. You see, Easter -- as an event in time -- is really about an empty tomb. It's not about a dead body, or a mythical or stolen or misplaced body, but a resurrected one. Easter is not a story about a "nearly dead" or a "mostly dead all day" Jesus but a REALLY dead Jesus who was, on the third day, really made ALIVE again. That's an unsettling truth because, as the Bible says, just as Jesus was resurrected, so will we be also -- all on one day, the same day.

Prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus gives His followers this to think about.

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me...I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:1,6)

There we have the Point of Easter. A Jesus who is resurrected from actual death by God, His Father. A Jesus who later brings others -- those who believe in Him and believe that He is who He says He is -- with Him to His Father, God.

It's a lot to take in. Not everyone who knew Jesus or His disciples bought into the idea that Jesus would be the Way to God or that He would be bodily resurrected after death. Not everyone buys into that now!

But Easter was and is about an empty tomb. Resurrection.

THANK YOU!!! (Also, DAY 40)

 

I am now officially a cancer survivor. Through a serendipitous turn of events in December of 2021, I found out I had a small tumor in my stomach. I started chemotherapy in late January 2022. Gastric surgery in April was followed by more chemo in May and June. I wrapped up treatment in July of 2022. I was certified good-to-go and went back to work on September 1st.

My follow-up tests this past March 2023 show that things are still looking good. It’s now been 15 months since my diagnosis and 7 months since I returned to work. I’m still a bit underweight but my color is back (sort of) and I no longer tire as easily as I once did. I feel almost normal.
My wife and I could not have come this far without help. I have been blessed during this whole time with the support of family and friends. The prayers on my behalf, cards, calls, and gifts my wife and I received, especially during my surgery and chemotherapy, were always comforting and, often, amazingly timely. If you are one of those who reached out to us -- thank you. You’ll never know how much you were appreciated then and how much you are appreciated now.
Jay

DAY 39 - Back to the Drawing Board, Start Here

 

I received my final chemotherapy treatment on Friday, July 22nd, 2022. The portable infusion pump, which went with me when I left the treatment center, was removed Sunday morning the 24th. And, as usual, the chemo fatigue, loss of taste and appetite, and general weakness hit me the following Monday and lasted through the week. 

DAY 38 - Back to the Drawing Board, Influencers: Mark & Sherlock Holmes

 

I am usually slow to make friends.

That I was shy and backward was definitely true when I was a child. It was also true throughout most of high school and early college. Thankfully, there were periods of reprieve, times when I was less self-conscious and found it easier to meet and make friends.

However, third grade was not that time . . .

DAY 37 - Back to the Drawing Board, One Hat

 

We all wear many hats. 

At least, that’s what daily life tells us, right? And all we do is spend that daily life, one day to the next, switching from one hat to the next.

DAY 36 - Back to the Drawing Board, Influencers: Uncle Arnold - Superman

 

My Uncle Arnold was an Influencer. 

My mother’s only sibling, Uncle Arnold Kirkbride was an Influencer long before being an Influencer was even a thing. But he was not like the Influencers of today. Instead, he was an Influencer in what he encouraged me to do.