COLUMN: Remembering the true reason for Easter
I’ve been pondering this week the most important social issue of all time. We just had Easter a couple of days ago; I wonder if many of us really respect and grasp the true meaning, much less celebrate it.
I think many, especially around here, do remember well, but with all of the excitement of bunnies and baskets, jelly beans and Jolly Ranchers, along with the infamous Peeps, I wonder if we get so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of it all that we naturally divert our attention from the root of the most important social issue of all time – Jesus Christ.
One may disagree with the significance of this man – or this God, depending on your beliefs – and one is free to disbelieve his miracles, but so much has been written of him and he has had such vast effects on the entire world that one would be hard pressed to find an educated man who argued that he didn’t actually exist.
His teachings have permeated philosophy and social science, languages and countless books. Numerous universities have been founded on Christian principles and have borne his message. Some of these schools include Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Princeton and about every one of the first hundred-or-so major schools in America.
Even our very nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. The founding fathers studied, among other things, the Old Testament for guidance on how to create a functional government.
How God dealt with Moses and the children of Israel was a key factor in the organization of this country. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were on the committee to create the first United States seal. They suggested that the seal consist on one side of a depiction of the Children of Israel being led by a pillar of fire. This was not eventually pursued given the constraints of space.
The Ten Commandments, prayer and the Bible played primary roles in the aspects of nearly every American’s life.
Franklin later wrote in a letter to Ezra Stiles, the President of Yale University, “Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped.”
George Washington said, “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
When the French jurist Alexis de Toqueville came to America a few decades later he was stunned by the fact that almost everyone in America was religious. He wrote, “Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention.” Later he pointed out that, “In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united.”
Time and space do not allow me to continue with the ridiculously vast amount of material from the founding generation of this nation in support of Christian principles. Our country, indeed, has always been a great Christian nation. Given Jesus’ reach on political life, university studies, philosophy, social issues and basically everything which is historically American, do we remember him or do we strive to remove him from the equation?
And so we return to the original question: What of Easter? What does it really mean?
Jesus Christ condescended from heaven, was born in a manger and spent his whole life serving others. He performed miracles, changed lives, and organized men and women into powerful forces for good and for the benefit of their fellow men.
Eventually, he willingly and completely took upon himself the sins of all mankind in the garden Gethsemane. The physical pressure of such a terrible event caused him to bleed at every pore. He was betrayed by a close friend, illegally captured, subjected to a mock trial, spat upon, tortured and unjustly sentenced to be executed. He was nailed to a wooden cross by his hands, wrists and feet. He hung there, all his weight coming down on those rusted Roman stakes for about nine hours in agonizing pain before he died. Then he was buried in a tomb for three full days.
Most of us know the story whether we believe its truth or not. But which part of it is the reason we celebrate Easter? Primarily, we celebrate Easter because after such a horrifying moment, after his body was broken and destroyed, and he was murdered for the sake of the political power of wicked men.
He arose from his tomb on the third day and was resurrected to eternal glory. He broke the bands of death. He made it so every person who dies or has ever died can eventually return to heaven through faith in him. And he did it because he loves us.
The resurrection: That is the reason for Easter.