Easterish thoughts

Many of you who know me understand that I am deeply and firmly Christian, but not very religious at all. This tends to bother a lot of Christians who, frankly, have a bit of superstition and/or legalism mixed in to their theology. I try not to have either.

This is not to say that I don’t love liturgy, because I do (within reason). I am particularly fond of the Book of Common Prayer. I also enjoy a good Episcopal Easter service (or Lutheran), because I really like the classic Easter hymns such as “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” and the only time you sing those is one Sunday a year. Honestly, that’s the main reason I would choose to attend church on Easter as opposed to any other day.

Honestly, Easter as a holiday does nothing for me, faith wise. Certainly, it’s meant to be a marker, a time for focusing thoughts, etc. For many in the evangelical and Roman Catholic worlds, it’s a time to be saddled with guilt and so on, to finally be set free on Easter Sunday (if you can get over the PTS).

A [very] little theology

I see Easter only as part of a larger story, and to isolate it loses some of the meaning. The same is true for Christmas, Good Friday, etc. You can’t truly celebrate Easter without considering the Incarnation. God becoming man, living as a human, diving headlong into death in order to blow its doors off, rising from the dead a new kind of man, and then ascending into heaven, are all components of one huge salvific act.

This awareness–this reality–is a part of me 356-1/4 days a year; it’s a lease through which I view people, nature, and myself.

So, Easter Sunday has no more meaning for me than next Thursday. But I still love the old Easter hymns.

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