As Easter fast approaches people anticipate putting on their “Easter bonnets,” (metaphorically speaking, of course) and heading for their annual church meeting to celebrate the risen Christ. I use the word “annual” because for many Easter is the only day of the year they make the effort to attend church. Even if they don’t want to acknowledge Christ’s existence the rest of the year, deep in their hearts they do believe Christ died, was resurrected, and He is alive.
Then another group stays away from church on this day because they believe Easter has a pagan origin and no self respecting Christian would celebrate it. This is nothing new. A scholarly debate over Easter’s origin has been going on for millennia. For thousands of years both Christians and pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the Spring Equinox. Some say the name Easter came from the German word “ostern” which means sunrise. Some think it refers to some ancient Northern European Saxon goddess of fertility. Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring, which was “eastre.”
Actually a pretty good case can be made for Christian and pagan explanations. But to shy away from something just because it has a pagan origin when that is no longer the intent or meaning of what is taking place can be quite limiting – especially since many of our everyday customs can be traced back to paganism. This would include things such as wedding rings, cross symbols, holidays, wedding ceremonies, handshakes, covering your mouth when you yawn and so on. Even the word Sunday is derived from a pagan deity, as are the other days of the week.
Then yet another group stays home because they simply do not believe Jesus Christ existed. Or if they do believe he existed, they don’t believe he died for our sins. Or if they do believe he lived and died, they don’t believe he was resurrected. Many chose to believe this because intellectually speaking it isn’t logical that it happened. Even Thomas, one of the disciples who lived with and followed Christ succumbed to this deceptive thought process. Where do you think the phrase “doubting Thomas” came from?
John 20:24-31 tells us that Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus first showed himself to them after he was resurrected. Thomas said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later Jesus came to the disciples again and this time Thomas was with them. Jesus did not rebuke Thomas but lovingly said, “Reach hither your finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believe.” Thomas conceded that indeed this was the risen Jesus Christ, “My Lord and my God!”
Some intellectuals say they won’t believe anything they can’t see. But relying on just what we see can be deceiving as well. Do we really believe a master magician produces a tiger out of thin air? We don’t know how it’s done, but there’s the tiger, just the same. With spiritual matters we might think we have to see to believe but sometimes it’s better to believe, then God allows us to see. Jesus told Thomas, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
I think that’s one of the messages of Easter. God asks us to believe the unbelievable. Jesus lived. Jesus died. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus lives.
