Easter Musings

It's Easter weekend.  This is the day that Christ laid dead in a tomb in Jerusalem.  Some Bible scholars will say he descended into hell on this day to share the good news with those who were there.  I'm not really sure what I think about that, but the idea always intrigues me. 

To be honest, I really dislike holidays.  Not so much the meaning of the holidays, but how we celebrate them.  We don't make them holy days.  What we end up celebrating and setting apart is always ourselves.  We get a day off to relax, to do things that are good for ourselves.  What we do with religious holidays especially bothers me.  

This year, though, I'm slightly less offended by Easter.  I think it has something to do with being a part of a body that does Easter in a way that makes sense to me.  It's not about family.  It's not about a meal.  It's not just an opportunity to have a big event of a Sunday service.  It's about the Cross.  It's about all that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection means for humanity. 

They've set the day apart by praying for it like I've never seen a body do before. By realizing the magnitude of what was accomplished on that day and knowing that the plans they have are truly the plans God has for them. Having prayed more for this Easter than I have ever prayed for any other Easter in my life, I'm so excited and invested in what will happen, not just at my church, but at churches throughout the city and around the world.  

Prayer really does change my heart.  It makes me love better.  It gives me God's eyes for the person/situation/event.  I'm convinced it touches the way things happens and truly affects the world.

So this Easter, I will celebrate it. Without cynicism and pride. Covered in prayer. Convinced and humbled by the work done on the cross (that I all too often forget the importance of).