One of the pastors at my church mentioned last week that people had been asking her if she is going away for Easter. She said she felt like replying ‘no! And that’s the whole point’. When she said that I felt a little pang of conviction, for I have asked the same question alot recently. Easter is just another holiday for most Australians, including many Christians. I wonder if they sell cards at this time of year in the US which say ‘Happy Holidays’ like they do at Christmas time.
The point my pastor was trying to make was that Easter is ideally spent with other believers in community, for that is what Jesus did on his last night on Earth. He spent it with his friends over a meal. But we see this time of year as a chance to get away and have a break. And in so doing we lose what Easter is really about: God coming to earth as a human, relating with us, teaching us, and above all, saving us. Reconciling the world to himself, and in so doing, reconciling people to each other, God is his own community – Father/Mother, Son and Holy Spirit.
Lord, help me to remember the reason for this season. You coming to die and then being raised to life, to give us the life that is truly life.
