Post Easter Talk

How was your Easter? Was there evidence that it was a commemoration of Jesus’ death and resurrection or, was it mostly a throw back pagan holiday? What was the meaning of Easter in your home? Easter bread, ham, lamb, eggs, or chocolate bunnies about the extent of it? Easter egg hunts and Easter egg rolls the height?  Perhaps, seeing the children in Easter clothes and an Easter basket is the only thrill of the celebration? It’s all about the kids? What does any of this have to do with Jesus Christ revealing himself as the messiah, and the pivotal event of his resurrection?

(Just in case you are wondering, I love bread, ham, lamb and chocolate.)

Exodus 20:3- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Max*and Jewel* did nothing but fight during their entire Easter vacation. Easter is one of the two times every year that they are able to get away for a week with their entire family. Easter has come to mean holiday to this family, not Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

But this year, the family vacation did not go so well. The kids had some grueling homework assignments for one thing. And what should have been a happy occasion, that is the first joint vacation with Jewel’s parents since covid, ended up being full of disagreements and arguements. When I ended up hearing the whole post-Easter analysis I came to believe that stress buildup and expectations got too high. Those expectations and those stress levels exceeded their coping skills.

The whole family acted like a bunch of entitled and bratty children. Grandma and grandpa wanted to see certain sights, the grandkids wanted to see other things. Nobody was willing to compromise. Max and Jewel just wanted to sleep or rest by the pool. This was their Easter.

Galatians 4:8-11- Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did serve unto them which by nature are no god. But now, after ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, where unto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.

Then there was my friend Michelle*. Michelle usually church shops for Easter to see where she can get the best Easter spiritual experience! She goes to the websites to see a preview of sermons and the music ministry offering. She is having an emotional experience every Easter, tripping out on Jesus’ death and Resurrection. It is not that she is shallow. No, far from that. But, she doesn’t quite know how she should react to all that Jesus did for her. She thinks she should cry, scream and philosophize about it for a week or two and that is honoring Jesus.

What is the meaning of Easter and how did it evolve to what we are doing today? Early Christians spread the truth about Jesus Christ and thought they could soften the blow of giving up cultural celebrations by merely grafting on the commemoration of the resurrection unto people’s previous pagan holidays. In the lead up to Resurrection Day, I saw a few Christian movies and television shows. Next blog I might review some of them. One movie was called, “Church People.” It aptly describes how many churches approach the commemoration of Easter today.

The fictional Pastor wonders what he can do to make this Easter Service memorable. It had to be big, or so he thought. On one hand, I can see the pressure upon Pastors at Christmas and Easter to wow the crowds, after all, there is an opportunity to reach many people with the message of salvation. But, is that the genuine message of Jesus’ resurrection that we are preaching or just some broadway show version of the gospel? Is all that Jesus said and accomplished worthily put forth by being cast as an entertainment venue? 

2 Corinthians 6:17- Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you.

The conclusion in the movie “Church People” is that what Jesus did is enough. Focusing in on that is the purpose of Easter. Everything else is paganism or entertainment. 

* the names are changed or else they might be a little mad at me after this post. Truth can be a little ugly sometimes.

Easter/All At Once

Jax* feels like he is the victim of bad luck. He even wonders if he is cursed or something. It has been just one thing after the other for him since last summer. It has been almost one year since his beloved brother Dylan* unexpectedly passed away. Jax thought that he had years and years left to enjoy with his brother and he did not expect him to die so young.

He and his brother’s lack of planning for just such an eventuality lead to the dreaded situation of dying without leaving a will. Jax and Dylan shared ownership of a Manhattan property and other assets. Now, greedy estranged relatives and unscrupulous lawyers have descended upon my friend Jax like flies on excrement.

Un top of that, a mentally unstable tenant in a building that Jax owns decided to call the building department as a way of paying Jax back for not giving him preferential treatment in the building. Although my friend was innocent of any violations, the treatment and expense of proving the city wrong was difficult to handle. 

In addition, he has had some problems in his apartment building as of late. He has an adjacent apartment building owner challenging his property line. Did you ever wonder why the surveyor never tells a client that he owes the other guy a few feet of property? I do. I have literally never heard of any one saying that a neighbor came by to say that they owe you a couple of feet of property. It is always the other way around, hmm.

He has also had to have plumbers three times in the past six months come by to clear drains. There are indications that an expensive repair job might be looming. Normally Manhattan tough, I think Jax is overwhelmed with everything that has happened to him in the past year. 

We all have tough things happen to us ALL AT ONCE and we question the meaning behind it. Jax was starting to question if he was some sort of victim of bad luck even to the point of being cursed. It was time for Christian Housewife to step in.

He was wallowing in this notion of being cursed and it occurred to me that many people in that state of mind are vulnerable to unscrupulous advisors promising to clear that situation up. We all have read stories of people paying so-called psychics large amounts of money to rectify and remove curses. In the vulnerable state of confusion that can result from being overwhelmed, we are all at risk of poor judgment.

Jax already chose a bad lawyer to represent him in the probate case that will shortly be starting. As a result he has been bilked out of almost $10,000 before the case even begins. I stepped in and talked to Jax about basic principles of hiring and managing a legal professional from the beginning. 

Most people don’t have to use a lawyer often enough to understand the process very well. But, living in Westchester County, New York as long as I did taught me a thing or two on that front. There are many lawyers, psychiatrists and artists living in that county. If I could help Jax understand the legal process a little better as a result of my associations, then I am glad to help. He has now fired that lawyer and is looking for new representation.

I was thinking a lot about this curse thing though. The other day I finally had an opportunity to discuss it further with him. I also was thinking about the upcoming remembrance of Jesus’ Resurrection that we call Easter. What I realized is that Jesus’ Resurrection took away the curse, and the stain or anything else that is evil.

There are lots of examples in the Bible of people or whole nations suffering and feeling just as Jax feels, cursed. Job, had things happen to him All At Once too, I mentioned to Jax. The avalanche of things that befell Job are reminiscent of all that is happening to Jax. 

Ruth comes to mind as well when she says, call me Mara for I am bitter. She was expressing to people in her life and crying out to God about her situation. She felt emotional just as Jax does after all his loss. I am glad that Jax can share his feelings with me and that he has given me the opportunity to discuss his situation and explain God’s plan and purpose for his life.

Curses do exist. The Bible says that curses are the opposite of blessings and they are real. Are there evil oppressions that could explain what Jax is facing? The answer is yes.

But, it is up to us to contemplate just what Jesus has done to conquer adversity during this Easter season or whenever we are faced with everything happening All At Once. When we are overwhelmed we have to think back to what Jesus did on the cross. It was a willing exchange for our failings, for our just punishment and that means that ultimately because he has overcome, that we will overcome too, if not in this life then in the next.

Jesus did tell us that in this life there will be troubles. The Bible never soft peddles anything, just tells us the truth about life and death. So, we need to know that we are not alone in our fate because truly everyone suffers through trials and tribulations. However, we need to understand that with God’s help we will get through this life and have peace in this life and in the next because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Right now, a lot of people are suffering all over the world for a variety of reasons. The Lord cares and if we rely on him and the Easter message we will be resurrected. We must take this message to the people in our lives such as Jax and tell them the story of the resurrection. This resurrection is our resurrection if we decide to follow Jesus.  Let us as one caring Body of Christ love and assist our family and one another through these difficult times. The Lord has risen and because of that we must, I repeat, we must have hope and live that hope out every day now more than ever.

Oh death where is thy sting? A Joyous Resurrection Day/ Happy Easter! 

*The names are changed.