It's getting late, so I'll make this short (which is rare for me).
Easter always sneaks up on me. It's a holiday which doesn't get quite the same hype as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Independence Day stands out as the only major holiday during the summer (not to denigrate Memorial Day, but it's usually over a weekend, so there isn't a floater to give you an extra chunk of time off); Easter just slips in at the last moment, leaving us Christians with something akin
to the following thought process:
OmigoshIcompletelyforgotit'sEasteranditjustsnuckuponmeandifIdon'tsomehowmusterupthestrengthtoadoptasombermindestfollowedbyextremeamountsofjoyitwillbeclearIdon'tloveJesusasmuchasIthoughtIdidandI'llupsetHimwithmyficklenessandinconstancyandthenIhavetomakesuretoplanEasterdinnerwithmyfamilyandIdon'tknowifI'llbetootiredtohavethemoverbutit'sEasterafterallandI'msupposedtoshowlovelikeChristdidandwhatisthematterwithmethesedaysbecauseitalwaysseemslikeI'mslippingbehind,butifIcangetmyacttogetherI'llbereadyforGoodFridayandbeinthecorrectemotionalstateofwhichI'mprettysurefrenzyandguilt(wellmaybeguilt)aren'tsupposedtobecontributing...
Ok, I exaggerate a bit. But, I do think this holiday kinda creeps up on us. And how ironic is that? We as Christians sometimes get a bit cocky when it comes to evidence for our faith. We've read C.S. Lewis and Josh McDowell, both of whom have written scintillating and sound logical basis for a historic foundation underneath Christianity. We perk our ears up when the secularists of our day present modern interpretations of Christ, and are ready and rip-roaring prepared to devastate their arguments with every factual bit of information we can glean from the historical record with logic and reason. Of course, this is very often out of a heart of love for those who are outside of Christ, but our ability to drill the historical facts home can be astounding.
And rightly so -- the Bible says we are to be able to present ourselves as workmen who correctly handle the Word of truth. Moreover, we are to be able to give an account for the hope in us, and that hope is founded on historical truth.
So why does Easter sneak up on us?? Easter is the time when the historical truth of our faith is most emphasized. Good Friday is, for those in Christ, the single most pivotal moment for our sin. After living a perfect life, adhering to every aspect and nuance of both the Mosaic Law, and God's natural Law, Christ, Who by all rights should have been crowned with glory and honor for achieving what no man ever had, was instead brutally and most horrifically slaughtered, for all the eyes in Jerusalem to see. His crucifixion and death on early Friday was the judgment of God upon the sins of His children. Though we look to the coming Judgment with trembling, we know our Judgment has been placed upon Christ.
Saturday comes, and we tend to move on with our lives. After all, Christ was in the grave at this time and life must be lived; there are bathrooms to clean, dinners to make, and hams for Sunday to buy.
And then, of course, the sun rises on the 3rd day. We awaken to the glorious and breathtaking knowledge that one person, One historical Person, came back from the dead and proved Who He said He Is. He came back from the dead in power and majesty, witnessed throughout the historical world of Palestine; no more must death be feared! Our hearts are light and we rejoice in the hope that, as Christ was risen, so too will we be risen on the last day. No longer under condemnation, we are risen with Christ! Hallelujah! Let the Amen sound!
(Please note: I'm not being sarcastic. These are words of rejoicing and exultation, though they are shallow, given my personal inconstancy and lack of preparation for the celebration of Easter).
And then Monday hits, and it's back to work. Back to the daily grind. Back to having my job transitioned to another company, while trying to encourage my wife through the final weeks of her first trimester.
Why is Easter so short lived? Christmas isn't like this. Christmas is preceded by weeks, nay, months of anticipation and planning. We hear of people doing their Christmas shopping in January! Whoever heard of people planning their Easter celebration in May??
Here's what I think we've lost: Lent. Yes, I said it. Lent. Please understand, I'm not speaking of the Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Friday. I'm referring to the season (typically starting with Ash Wednesday) which precedes the celebration of Easter and is intended to inspire within us as the sense of anticipation and preparation for the Holy One of Israel.
Please note: we don't prepare ourselves to be worthy of Easter; that's a grave (and fatal, I fear) mistake. We can never be worthy of the glory of Easter; Christ's death and resurrection is, and always will be, an act of monergistic mercy and grace. To try and earn His favor by denying ourselves is to practice the same self-reliance as the other religions of the world. We are saved by faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone. We are not saved by our good works (which are as filthy rags), nor by our observances.
And yet, why would Lent be important?
Lent was a period of time in which believers were encouraged to reflect and ponder upon the fragility of life, the reality of death, the condemnation of our sin, and the glorious fulfillment of God's promises in Christ. The season was meant to bring to mind and heart the reality of Good Friday and Easter. In many churches today (Lutheran, Catholic, Anglican), the "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" is not sung and the word "Alleluia" is withheld from the service. In other words, they refrain, not out of reluctance to ascribe to God His proper glory, but rather out a desire for penitence and contrition before a just and holy God. Do some of these churches misrepresent what penitence and contrition mean? Absolutely. But the original intention was to provide the congregation with a period of time in which the oncoming season of Good Friday and Easter were met with anticipation.
Imagine, if you will, withholding the celebratory aspect of church until Easter morning. How real and powerful would our rejoicing be after a period of reflection and contemplation upon the harsh and unfathomable reality of Christ's death. The darkness which covered the land being reflected, in some way, by the somberness of our worship in church.
We have several weeks prior to Christmas in which the church prepares for the season in which Christ was born; we call them Advent, and they are a beautiful time to be in the church. And yet, what now prepares us for the season in which our sin and guilt have been swept away?? What prepares us for the nakedness of our shame and condemnation, and then clothing of righteousness we receive in Christ's death and resurrection??
Though Lent is celebrated in some churches whose doctrines we disagree with (I am not a Catholic, Lutheran, or Anglican), its purpose and correct observance can and should be, I think, a blessing for us as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ's resurrection.
Given how fast Easter sprung up for me, it's definitely something I want to be thinking of this year.
Soli Deo Gloria! Christ is risen indeed!!
