Easter people
Non Traditional Easter
Easter is coming. It’s almost here. Easter has always been an odd holiday for me. As a believer, I of have celebrated the resurrection of Christ. It is a sacrifice that I can barely comprehend. It speaks to a love so deep and a hope so great, that I am humbled by the mere thought of it.
But I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, we didn’t regularly celebrate Easter other than as a reason to have the family together for a meal. Inevitably, my mother would plan some amazing spread and spend the day before cooking and prepping, and, more often than not, all sorts of family tensions surfaced. Arguments over how to dress, where to sit, behavior at the table. Unfortunately (and inevitably), some sort of argument exploded over dinner after a day of prepping and stress and heightened emotions. As I grew older, Easter dinner with the family became more obligation than joy, and nobody talked about Jesus.
When I met Jesus in my teens, Easter became a strange split holiday. Unlike Christmas, which was the one holiday my family regularly attended church for, this wasn’t a family church holiday. I celebrated the greatest sacrifice ever made in the morning, and then went about family dinner obligations, almost as if leaving Jesus outside. He wasn’t invited to dinner.
Guest of Honor
Without any regular family Easter traditions, we tried some different ones out over the years… Easter egg hunts with the kids, Church attendance followed by Brunch (moving to a restaurant to try to minimize tension & stress), some Easter decorating, and surprise Easter Baskets. Yet without the benefit of history, tradition, and memories, these things felt silly, commercial, and honestly too much work early in the morning before church. As our involvement in church grew, first as volunteers, then as staff and leadership, Easter Sunday became more about the experience of the unchurched visitor who would come on this holiday. Somewhere along the line, Easter had become a day about taking care of everyone else. Managing the last-minute challenges of staff and volunteers at church, greeting & assisting visitors, cleaning up after services, and then navigating another family Easter dinner.
Last year, 2020, was my first year in almost 30 years that I didn’t have leadership responsibilities in a church. Finally, a chance to maybe do something different. Well, 2020 was different alright, but not in the way I had expected. As the first round of COVID quarantine orders took form and all in person Church services were cancelled, our experience of Easter changed dramatically. We did church online and then had Easter dinner with only our immediate family. It was a joyful day, a restful day. I don’t remember what we ate, but I do know, that this time, Jesus was invited to dinner.
sing hallelujah
As Easter approaches this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the lack of tradition with this holiday and our family, and maybe someday we will settle down in a rhythm that makes more space for that, but I learned something last year. The single most important part about celebrating Easter, is remembering to invite the guest of honor. The truth is that’s all He’s ever wanted from me. For me to invite Him in, to invite Him to the conversation, to sit in relationship with Him.
This morning as I prepared to write this post, I ran across this quote by Pope John Paul II,
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
Today, tomorrow, Easter Sunday, next week, the week after, next month…. We are the Easter People. We are the people who believe in the power of resurrection, who are free because of it. Who have been granted hope and life and joy in the face of our biggest challenges, because we already know how the story ends.
Many of you will serve in churches this weekend. Many of you will give yourself away to support your ministry, welcome new people, and uphold your traditions. Hurting and broken people will step outside of their regular routines to seek Easter People. Your heart, your willingness to be present, your willingness to set self aside will be used to sing hallelujah over a hurting world. Thank you for that, thank you for being willing to stand in the gap.
Somewhere in the busyness of the day, will you take a moment to remember that Jesus has something for you too? Will you sit in His presence, acknowledge His sacrifice, and remember to invite Him to dinner?
