Easter: Anna #25

 They saw that the stone

   had been rolled away. (Mark 16:4)

Dear Anna,

It happened early in the morning following Sabbath. A very ordinary day, when the women scurried to Jesus’ tomb, with their spices, to freshen things up; like we might bring flowers to the grave of a loved one. But when they arrived at the tomb, surprise! “The stone had been rolled away.” From that moment on, that ordinary day became “The Lord’s Day” (Rv 1:10).

“Easter Sunday” would come later. For the women with their spices, it was just an ordinary back to workday. It became a special day when the reality of our Risen Savior dawned on them. “Easter Sunday” is our invention. The Roman Church set the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, according to the West’s Gregorian calendar, as Easter Sunday. That’s why Easter jumps around. Our Pilgrim forbearers would have none of it. For them, Easter was too pagan—with its goddess name and strange calculations around the vernal equinox. They didn’t like Christmas either. For them, Sunday, “the Lord’s Day,” was enough.

It is okay for some to follow traditional days and others not: “Do not let anyone condemn you,” writes the Apostle Paul to the Colossian church, “in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow, …but the reality is found in Christ” (Col 2:16–17). Our Christian faith does not require of us any dietary laws, or observance of special days or festivals. The Puritans were right about that. Nevertheless, I enjoy our Christian traditions of Christmas and Easter. We can’t have Winter without Christmas; and, we can’t have Spring without Easter; can we?

Easter reminds us that, every Sunday is a little Easter when the church gathers because “Jesus has risen” (Lk 24:6). That means that what happened on the Cross was God’s doing. On the Cross God was dealing with us and maybe even Himself. Easter Morning vindicates Good Friday.

Just musing, Papa