Easter Thoughts by Everett Delano

I did an Internet search this Monday morning of the word “Easter.”  The first thing that came up was a Wikipedia definition, stating that Easter is “a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  The second thing was a story that the candy company Pez had to cancel an Easter egg hunt, intended for children, after parents “bum-rushed” the field before the event began – one parent said her child left crying hysterically with a broken egg basket.

There is, no doubt, a darkness to Easter.  The mob of parents at the children’s egg hunt is, in a way, a microcosm of the mob we see in the story of Jesus’s death.  And news of people behaving badly in a crowd certainly isn’t hard to find – the tenor at modern sporting events has led many to simply stay away.  While the mob mentality that lead to people screaming for Jesus’s crucifixion may strike us as cruel or even barbaric today, there are many modern allegories, even at recent political rallies.

But there is a light in Easter as well, and that light is hope.  The power of the resurrection story reveals light triumphant over darkness, as, in a much smaller way, a brightly colored Easter egg holds its own tiny promise.  But that hope, and the faith that comes with it, can be much harder to sustain.

Contrast this with another major holiday and holy day, Christmas.  Sure, there are grumpy and stressed-out shoppers, traffic, commercialization, but there is also a remarkable optimism and friendliness that permeates the whole season – that music at the mall may be overbearing at times, but the smiles on peoples’ faces is truly heartwarming.

How is it that a few months later, when Easter rolls around, we’re so caught up in our own trials and travails that the optimism seems as faded as a poorly dyed Easter egg?  Perhaps it’s the recognition that the story of the resurrection leaves much of the “work” with us.  The story is extremely powerful, Easter is a time for tremendous hope, but life goes on without Jesus here in the flesh.  Perhaps we secretly are hoping every Christmas that this time the ending will be different but by Easter we’re resigned to the fact that it won’t be.  It certainly can’t be the sweets, since both seasons have more than their share of candy.

I remember some years ago a friend of mine mocking the campaign slogan of a certain politician who called for “hope.”  I told him then what I still believe today – regardless of one’s political views, there must be hope.  Without hope, there is only cynicism, and once cynicism takes control there is only narcissism and chaos.  And perhaps that’s what Easter best represents.  It will be many months before we get to sing Christmas carols and overindulge our children (and ourselves).  Now is the time to reach deep within ourselves, to prepare for those months ahead, and to shine our lights on the world, revealing that we are strong and resilient and we will lead by example to a brighter future for all the world to see.