THE CROSS AND EASTER BUNNIES

The time of the year celebrated by most Christians as Easter is now upon us. Did you know that traditionally, Easter Sunday has the highest church attendance of the year? But as I thought about that fact, I wondered how many people really attend for the right reasons. There is no doubt that the day has been shamelessly commercialized by almost anyone who wants to sell anything. There were Easter baskets, Easter candy, and Easter clothes for sale in our stores as early as February. It seems that everyone wants to cash in on this traditionally favorite holiday. As far as favorite family holidays it ranks almost as high a Thanksgiving. All of the grocery stores have been advertising special Easter sales on traditional foods. Many people have their "holiday gatherings" all planned and many families will attend the church of their choice together that day.

Now understand, that I'm not saying that aspect of Easter is wrong, we sent a package of Easter candy to our grandchildren who live in another state. I just hope that each of us will take time to focus upon what is truly important at this time.

I started wondering about how the whole idea of candy, eggs and bunnies became attached to Easter. Here is the basic history: "The idea of an egg laying bunny came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhas," sometimes spelled "Oschter Hase." "Hase" means "hare," not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. In 1835, Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of a goddess called Ostara, but as a romanticist, he tried to connect contemporary customs to pre Christian traditions, knowing that no written sources of that time existed. Additionally, a goddess of that name is only mentioned in a single ancient source giving an ambiguous statement about an Ostara month." (Wikipedia)

I guess it boils down to the fact that we as humans like traditions, we like holidays and we like to celebrate. It doesn't take much to get us to set aside a special time to dress up, get gifts and eat great food. It really doesn't matter to most of us that "Easter" is not found in the bible. Yes, I know that it is in the King James Version of Acts 12:4, but the word actually is the word from which we get the English word "Passover," and is translated that way in the rest of the bible.

What's the point anyway? Well our traditional American Easter is just that, a tradition. Let's not confuse it with what is really important, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is through Christ's resurrection we have hope of eternal life, it is the proof that he has the power to overcome both Satan and death. That is what is really important!

Notice what the apostle Paul wrote in reminding people of this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the GOOD NEWS I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you, unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I PASSED ON TO YOU WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said." (NLT)

Chocolate Easter bunnies are great, just ask any kid! But the greatest, the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that we have a risen savior! Let's not lose what is really important in hunting for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies.

Russ Lawson

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