Easter
Holy Week: Part 6
I was researching Easter and found that Christians historically celebrated Jesus’s resurrection not just yearly but, instead, weekly (on Sundays).
The annual celebration of Easter is actually associated with the March Equinox, and gets its name from the Pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre who heralds dawn, spring, and fertility.
But, in my digging, I found that a lot of languages use, for Easter, some derivative of the Greek and Latin word “Pascha,” which references the Passover feast of Exodus 12. Some languages (including Chinese and Korean) use a word for Easter that translates as “Resurrection” or “Resurrection Festival,” which makes a lot of sense.
The most interesting word for Easter I came across is the Georgian word “Aghdgoma,” meaning “the rising up.”
And I love that translation of Easter: The Rising Up.
Jesus rising up from the grave to conquer sin and death, thereby setting humanity free from its imperfections.
The Son of God rising up from the dead to usher humanity once and for all into a right relationship with God, our Creator.
The metaphorical Sun rising up to bring a brand new day to a humanity once clothed in the darkness of its errant independence.
On Easter, we celebrate a rising up that was planned in eternity past by a God who is present with us in this very moment—a God who is drawing us to Himself for an eternity future of love and belonging.
A rising up where the Father welcomes home His prodigal kids, overwhelming any and all wrong choices we might have made:
“‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ (Jesus telling the story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:22-24, NIV)
This is our feast, our celebration, our rising up. This is our joy, our Resurrection Festival. This is our Easter, our coming of dawn, of spring, of new life.
The Cross cannot keep our God down. The chains of sin and death cannot hold humanity any longer. The gates of Hell cannot contain the perfect and perfecting love of a God who made Himself a man, who submitted Himself to one of humanity’s cruelest punishments, who took on humanity’s sin and shame and brokenness and burden, and then, through His rising up, declared for the rest of time that there
need.
not.
be.
distance.
between.
humanity.
and.
its.
Creator.
any.
longer.
We are embraced, we are made right, we are perfected, we are saved from anything that would keep us from our loving Father—a Father who sees us, who is filled with compassion for us, who runs for us, who throws His arms around us, and who kisses us profusely (Luke 15:20).
Can you just picture the God of the Universe celebrating today by lavishing kisses on us, His kids? How wonderful! How hilarious! How awkward! How undignified! How improper! And also the wonderful truth about how He feels about us!
The songwriter John Mark McMillan writes it this way: “So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss / and my heart turns violently inside of my chest / I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way / that He loves us.”
Brennan Manning writes: “[Christianity] is not essentially a philosophy of love but a love affair” (The Ragamuffin Gospel, my emphasis added).
All because of the rising up. All because of the resurrection. All because of the dawn, the spring, the new life. All because of God’s perfect and perfecting love for us, His kids. A love affair.
Today we celebrate Easter. We celebrate the rising up, the resurrection, the new life, the feast, the fresh embrace, the kisses, the love affair.
He is risen. He is risen, indeed.
📚