About those bunnies and eggs

Easter Monday Reflections

About those bunnies and eggs

Written by Dan McDonald

 

            There was a time when I might have gotten worked up about Christians mixing pagan practices with our observing of Christian events. I would have wondered if chocolate Easter bunnies and painted eggs really were appropriate for an event that would more appropriately be named “Resurrection Sunday.” There were also similar questions about a jolly old man in a red suit and for Christmas trees in observing Christ’s entrance into the world through his incarnation. There were times in my life when I had these tendencies. I saw someone expressing these kinds of questions on Easter morning and I got upset and cringed at the same time. A pastor friend had posted a simple greeting on Facebook, saying “Happy Easter. He is risen!” One of the first replies was the comment “A pagan holiday.” A condemnation of bunnies and Easter eggs quickly followed. I was upset because I just cannot go with that spirit these days. I also cringed because I was too close to that spirit in former seasons of my spiritual journey. This blog is an expression of why I cannot be that way any longer. I also hope it is an expression of a better way to look at how we celebrate these events. The fellow who expressed his worry that we were celebrating a pagan holiday is more than likely a sincere believer who needs a respectful answer showing him why our Easter celebrations are not simply paganized rituals given a Christian veneer. We owe him that much.

 

Easter Basket : by Marima/downloaded from Shutterstock.com

 

            One reason that I came to the view I have now is that I found my way of questioning the practice of others more harmful to myself than it was helpful to others.  I couldn’t be the kind of person who found fault in every detail of someone else’s imperfect spiritual journey without calling into question the legitimacy of my imperfect spiritual journey. My oldest brother, while not very religious had a way of being calm. When he passed away people spoke eulogies regarding how they found him to be helpful to them in some of their difficult seasons in their life journeys. He was the sort of person who faced things in stride. One of his favorite sayings, and how he viewed much of life was “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Isn’t that what we do when we look at people rejoicing in their Savior having overcome sin and death, only to begin anxiously worrying that they are celebrating Christ's resurrection with Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies? Something seems wrong with this picture. I want to say “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” What kind of Savior do we have? Is he one who is dishonored when someone mixes rejoicing in the resurrection with painting an egg or giving a child a chocolate bunny? Or is he one who would himself likely hand a child a piece of a chocolate bunny?

            I saw a better way hinted at this Easter Sunday morning, as our church recited Psalm 111. We expressed our intent in worshipping God saying with the Psalmist “I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart.” We will give thanks because as verse two tells us, “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” This Psalm then says to us “The merciful and gracious Lord hath so done his marvelous works that they ought to be had in remembrance.” This is the nature of Christian worship. We hear of God's marvelous works, we take hold of these works in our memories, and we give God thanks with our whole hearts. What greater event is there within Christian worship than to celebrate our Savior's resurrection from the dead? How do we go about to honor such a great event?

            This Easter Sunday morning Psalm 111:6 especially caught my attention. A modern version of the Scriptures probably expresses better for our current generation the emphasis of this verse than some of our older time honored versions. The RSV expresses the originally written verse with these English language words: “He has shown the people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.” As we rejoice in the power of his works he gives to us the heritage of the nations.

            That is such a beautiful picture of how we celebrate the great redemptive events accomplished by our Lord. The Gospel went into the world from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the world. It was preached to Jews and Gentiles, to men and women from every tribe, tongue, race, and culture. Those who believed on our Lord began to bring the things with meaning from their lives to lay at the feet of their newly discovered Savior. Our Savior did not separate the things laid at his feet into holy relics from suitable sources to be treasured and other things with tainted histories that had been used in pagan lifestyles. He accepted the gifts brought to him as if gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by great kings. He treasured what was laid at his feet. He then granted to the church that those things the believers of the world rendered unto the Lord might be shared with the people of God. The heritage of the nations were brought to our fellowship tables. As God redeemed a people, he brought their heritages to be washed and cleansed for use among his people. So perhaps chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs were of pagan origin. But the believers who brought them to the fellowship table in the service of the Lord brought them as their heritage to be given unto the Lord. We should imagine more and more such tokens of the heritage of the nations being introduced to our Christian fellowships and celebrations. We sit at a table where the Lord is present and there is spread before us the heritage of the nations. Amen.