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Easter Bunnies and Christmas Trees

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and Easter commemorates the season of his death, burial, and resurrection, but are they based on fact? No serious scholar doubts Jesus of Nazareth had a birthday and a day on which he died but how certain are we of those exact dates?

Frankly, Christmas Day was chosen based on convenience. Of course, there is no doubt Jesus was born, but the exact date is wholly lost in antiquity. In fact, the Bible says Jesus was born while Herod the Great reigned, but Herod died in 4 B.C.! It’s more than likely that Jesus was born around 6 B.C. but, as for the day or the month, that’s anyone’s guess. The earliest Christians didn’t celebrate Christmas and, much later, when some of them wanted to create a holiday to celebrate his birth, they chose an existing pagan holiday and “sanctified” it with new meaning. 

On the other hand, while “Easter” with its bunnies and eggs was also a pagan holiday, the timing is pure coincidence. The events surrounding the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were linked to the Jewish feast, Passover, and have been celebrated every Sunday from the very beginning of Christianity.

Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery (Exodus chapter 12). On the night of the 10th plague, the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and painted its blood on the doorposts of their houses. The “death angel” passed-over their homes when he saw the blood sparing those within. Blood represents life, and it took the sacrifice of innocent life to set them free. Likewise, the historical Jesus died on the eve of a historical Passover giving his life to set us free.

Since Passover is a lunar holiday, the date on our calendar varies from year to year. Likewise, Christians have been divided about whether to celebrate the anniversary on the actual date of the event (which would fall on different days of the week every year) or to always link it to the actual day, Sunday. Here, in the West, it is traditionally celebrated on “Resurrection Sunday,” and while we honor the death, burial and -resurrection of Jesus every week (as Christians have from the beginning) it is especially heart-warming to celebrate Resurrection Sunday knowing it is firmly based in historical fact.

The Great Easter Controversy

It seems the date of the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been a source of controversy almost from the beginning. There is no doubt that Jesus was crucified during the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate on Friday, the eve of the Passover, nearly 2,000 years ago. However, the exact date of that Friday is a matter of controversy.

We know that Passover fell on the 15th day of Nisan, but because the Jewish people followed a lunar calendar based on cycles of the new moon, the exact date is difficult to determine. Pontius Pilate ruled from 26-36 A.D. so that narrows the date down to a decade. People have also used a chronology based on the life of the Apostle Paul to narrow the date down a bit more while others have appealed to astronomical models to determine when Jesus died. Since Matthew tells us there was an earthquake during the crucifixion, scientists are even analyzing the geologic record to find the date (although I have yet to find an earthquake fault with the day of the week inscribed on it). The two best dates based on all these facts are April 7th, 30 A.D. or April 3rd, 33 A.D. (I personally lean toward the earlier date, but certainty is nearly impossible to achieve.)

So when is Easter? Jesus was crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday, so rather than celebrate Easter on a fixed date, most Christians celebrate Easter on a fixed day: Sunday.

Even here there is division. The Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) decreed Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon (the Jewish Passover moon) following the March equinox. Once again, there is controversy because on most years the actual equinox falls on March 20th, but for church purposes it was decreed the equinox is on March 21st. Wait! It gets more complicated because we have to ask, “Which calendar do we use: the Julian calendar or the Gregorian calendar?” (The Gregorian calendar was adopted by Catholic countries in 1582 to ensure that Easter would fall in the right season.) Right now the two calendars are about 13 days apart. Generally speaking the Eastern Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar while the western churches follow the Gregorian calendar, hence two different dates for the celebration of Easter.

Let’s add one more controversy: “What shall we call this holiday: Easter or Resurrection Sunday?” While most people connect Easter with the resurrection of Christ, the historical background of the name “Easter” seems rooted in an English pagan holiday for Eostre – a fertility goddess or perhaps the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar (thus bunnies and Easter eggs). On the other hand, if you invite your friends to “Resurrection Sunday,” they probably won’t know what you are talking about. In common English, Easter is the holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the sake of clarity, it’s probably easier to simply talk about Easter.

Confused? Don’t be. The one thing we know for certain is: Jesus really lived and really died and Christians celebrate his resurrection every Sunday not just one day a year. We have a great opportunity on April  21st. Our friends and neighbors would like to come to church for Easter. Why not invite them to join us?

Someone is on Duty

One of my favorite motivational writers is Tim Hansel and in his book on loneliness, Dancin’ Toward the Dawn, he quotes an essay on God by eight-year-old, Danny Dunton:

“One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes these to put in place of the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn’t make grown-ups. Just kids. I think it’s because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn’t have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that up to moms and dads. I think it works out pretty good.

“God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, as some people like preachers pray other times besides bedtime…. God sees everything, and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy….

“Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and doing miracles and trying to teach people about God who didn’t want to learn. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father, and He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them, and God said OK. His Father appreciated everything He had done and all His hard work on earth, so He told Him He didn’t have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Father out by listening to prayers and seeing which things are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they’ve got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time….”

Hansel notes: “Today remember that God is listening to the deepest yearnings in your heart. Remember that He is ‘on duty’ all the time. Remember that He sees everything, and is everywhere. Remember that He loves us…immensely. With a childlike simplicity, offer your prayers to God and really experience Him hearing you.”

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese? Yuk! “Mom, I hate cottage cheese! It’s all white and lumpy and oozes that white stuff all over my green beans.”

Mom wouldn’t stand for that, and I ate my white, lumpy, oozy cottage cheese — not because I enjoyed it, but because I had a deep, abiding respect for mom’s wooden spoon. “Three courtesy bites, Johnny.”

The Apostle John wrote, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love,” (1 John 4:18).

Christianity is a lot like eating cottage cheese. Many people are motivated to become Christians out of fear — the fear of going to Hell. However, as we grow and learn to know Christ and our Father, our fear of hell is cast out and replaced by the love of and for God. Our fears and guilt over sin are no longer our motivation. Our mature, perfected love has elevated us above the fear of punishment.

Of course I still hate greens, but that’s another story for another day.

Reprinted from one of John’s first bulletin articles, February 10, 1980, Tyler, Texas.

The Dove

Birds fill me with wonder. There seems to be an almost infinite variety of them from the little ruby throated hummingbirds we attract with our feeders to the owls who add a spooky commentary to the night.

I love the endless variety of sea birds and I have passed many hours at the helm watching them play among the waves. The pelicans in close formation follow each other skimming just over the tops of the waves. Solitary terns soar effortlessly. Cormorants, with their tiny wings, struggle as much as to stay in the air as they glide effortlessly beneath the waves.

In the Bible we read, “The Spirit descended upon him as a dove.”

This image fascinates me. The Spirit didn’t descend as an eagle or a bird of prey. It didn’t flit around like a sparrow or hover like a hummingbird. It wasn’t looking for crumbs to steal like a pigeon or a sea gull. The Spirit isn’t arrogant or gawky like a raven. The Spirit is gentle like a dove. 

Doves strike me as patient birds. They will sit for hours just watching their world. So, the Holy Spirit is patient with me. He doesn’t give up on me. Instead the Spirit patiently waits for me to come to my senses again.

Likewise, nothing is as harmless as a dove. Unlike the demon spirits of old who tried to throw a child into the fire or into the sea (Matthew 17:15). The Spirit of God is not violent, but gently does His work leading me into a life of holiness.

The Holy Spirit isn’t a showy peacock, a proud eagle, or a pesky pigeon. The Spirit is a quiet dove.