Jack of Harts

Some of you spent the weekend enjoying time with family. Some of you went to church. Some of you celebrated that Christ was reborn.

Some of you made fun of those who celebrate Easter for its religious significance. Some of you simply ignored the religious aspects of the holiday in favor of cute bunnies and eggs. A search on google for images related to Easter is an example of that. This was the only non-Egg or non-Bunny image I could find on the first few pages. Just this suggesting that there might be some other meaning to the holiday.

So what is the holiday? Well, for starters it is a Holy Day. Yes, that is the origin of the term holiday. Much like Christmas was once said as Christ Mass. But Easter in many ways is closer to its original form than many other Christian Holidays. It was a celebration of new life and fertility before Christianity was a going concern, and that is where the egg symbol comes from. The egg-toting bunny is a purely Christian addition, and bringing eggs and presents to the good little children much like Santa Claus.

But all of that history comes down into one thought. What is the meaning of Easter? Is it a time to get together with family? An excuse to get a day off work? A chance to mock those who celebrate Easter? For most of us in America, it is the time to remember that God sent his only son to die for us. To shield us from death. To give us new life.

And that is the reason for the cross. God could have remained aloof from us, speaking to priests in a temple and never showing his face. But he came to Earth as a man and grew up as the son of a man and a woman. A carpenter who built things with his hands. He brought a face to God, and he became one of us. He walked in our footsteps and then he died in them. And then he rose once more so that we would know the truth of his words. To be good to one another.

We celebrate the love of a God who cared so much for us that he was willing to sacrifice a part of Himself to give all of us new life and new meaning. That is why me and mine celebrate Easter.