A Happy Easter and What It Teaches

There is a lot of talk about death surrounding Easter, and the time leading up to it. It's a difficult topic because I imagine there is nothing quite so scary to humanity as the end of being. Of course, for Christians, Easter is a time of joy because it promises the ending to this existence will be followed by a new and better kind of life.

When I was in grade school, we didn't have spring break. Instead, we had Good Friday and the Monday after Easter as holidays. Now, it's difficult to even find stores closed on the actual day of Easter. With so many people afraid to die, it's interesting that little consideration is given to the event that can alleviate that fear, or at least, most of it.

As a child, I couldn't understand why it was called Good Friday because, I surmised, it certainly wasn't good for Jesus! But now I believe two things: 1) If Jesus hadn't died, He could not have risen and there would be no point to Christianity; and 2) Jesus experienced what most of us have in our darkest hours. When He said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He wasn't questioning whether there was a God, but maybe only that He could not feel God's presence and wondered why He was still here. (I don't know for sure if that is the case; I'll leave that to the Biblical scholars.) We sometimes feel that way too, and it's our plea to "do something, God!"

Our pastor gave a sermon two weeks ago that included his experience as a former hospice chaplain. Many times, people were ready to die but could not understand why there were still here. His response was provocative − to show others how to die. I'm sure they would have preferred the Charles Dickens's version, "...if they be like to die, then let them do it and decrease the surplus population." Unlike Jesus who commended his spirit to God and then died, it's usually not our choice when that happens. The difference too is that Jesus knew what he was doing and why.

Sunday, I will celebrate Easter and rejoice in its message. I know that faith has made me a better person, not perfect by any means, but better because I've been shown how to live and how to die.

Happy Easter to the World!