Have you ever wondered how the holiday of Easter got its name? The name Easter comes from the pagan goddess Eastre. I know some of you are asking how this can be when Easter is a Christian holy-day, one of our most important holy-days. The story begins during the reign of Constantine. The civilization of the Anglo-Saxons (who existed long before Christianity was born) celebrated the return of spring with a grand festival to commemorate their goddess of offspring and springtime. This goddess was named “Eastre,” who like many pagan gods and goddesses, was represented by an animal: the rabbit. Today we know Eastre as the Easter Bunny! During the second century of Christianity missionaries found these northern tribes and learned that their holiday happened to coincide with the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. Encouraging the missionary effort, they celebrated these two together and began using the Eastre holiday to remember the Resurrection of Christ. This made it easier to convert these pagan tribes to Christianity. Whether you are Christian, Jewish, or otherwise, we all know that springtime represents a season of rebirth and renewal—resurrection.
Belief that Jesus was raised from the dead is not really a leap of faith as Resurrection and renewal are the universal and observable patterns of everything we know. (Thank you, Rev. Rohr!) Resurrection is the example, the paradigm of all life cycles on earth. We could just as well use non-religious terms like springtime, regeneration, healing, forgiveness, life darkness and light. “If incarnation is real, then resurrection in multitudinous forms should be fully expected in our world.” (Rorh) To paraphrase a statement attributed to Albert Einstein, it is not that one thing is a miracle, but that the whole thing is a miracle! As Christians we believe we are all to be resurrected in the fullness of time, and The Risen Christ is not a one-time miracle but a universal pattern created by God for all of His Creation.
If you think of it, like Christ, we are all wounded and resurrected at the same time. Think of this season: all is in re-birth and renewing—and we can do that, too. I think of spring cleaning—we all know that there is new life in sweeping away the leavings of the winter, pruning away the dead branches. In Lent we were called to do so in reconciliation, so why stop now that Lent has ended? We can do spring cleaning for our spirits, our bodies, our homes and Communities. All is renewed. Every day is a new day to do better, to be the best version of ourselves that we were created and meant to be.
Jesus walked, enjoyed, and suffered the entire human journey, and He told us and showed us that we could and should do the same. His life exemplified unfolding mystery in all of its stages—from a hidden, divine conception, to an ordinary adult life full of love and problems, punctuated by a few moments of transfiguration and enlightenment, inevitable and deep suffering—leading to His resurrection, His glorious ascension, and His final return.
(Rev.Rohr) Jesus the Christ, in His crucifixion and resurrection, “summed up all things in himself, everything in heaven and everything on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). Jesus agreed to carry the mystery of universal suffering and He allowed it to change Him (“resurrection”) and us, too, so that we would be freed from the endless cycle of death and darkness. We should strive to live fully resurrected lives: the only way to be happy, free, loving, and therefore “saved.” In effect, Jesus was saying, “If I can trust it, you can too.” We are indeed saved by the cross—more than we may even realize. We can be and are real agents of transformation, reconciliation, and newness.
Don’t give up on your Lenten promises—make some new Springtime/Easter ones! This is resurrection: lives of love and hope, grace and mercy in this world.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
Just a Note: A song about the power of resurrection…come out of that grave and let go of those chains that hold you back! Prayer is the doorway to freedom…
Belief that Jesus was raised from the dead is not really a leap of faith as Resurrection and renewal are the universal and observable patterns of everything we know. (Thank you, Rev. Rohr!) Resurrection is the example, the paradigm of all life cycles on earth. We could just as well use non-religious terms like springtime, regeneration, healing, forgiveness, life darkness and light. “If incarnation is real, then resurrection in multitudinous forms should be fully expected in our world.” (Rorh) To paraphrase a statement attributed to Albert Einstein, it is not that one thing is a miracle, but that the whole thing is a miracle! As Christians we believe we are all to be resurrected in the fullness of time, and The Risen Christ is not a one-time miracle but a universal pattern created by God for all of His Creation.
If you think of it, like Christ, we are all wounded and resurrected at the same time. Think of this season: all is in re-birth and renewing—and we can do that, too. I think of spring cleaning—we all know that there is new life in sweeping away the leavings of the winter, pruning away the dead branches. In Lent we were called to do so in reconciliation, so why stop now that Lent has ended? We can do spring cleaning for our spirits, our bodies, our homes and Communities. All is renewed. Every day is a new day to do better, to be the best version of ourselves that we were created and meant to be.
Jesus walked, enjoyed, and suffered the entire human journey, and He told us and showed us that we could and should do the same. His life exemplified unfolding mystery in all of its stages—from a hidden, divine conception, to an ordinary adult life full of love and problems, punctuated by a few moments of transfiguration and enlightenment, inevitable and deep suffering—leading to His resurrection, His glorious ascension, and His final return.
(Rev.Rohr) Jesus the Christ, in His crucifixion and resurrection, “summed up all things in himself, everything in heaven and everything on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). Jesus agreed to carry the mystery of universal suffering and He allowed it to change Him (“resurrection”) and us, too, so that we would be freed from the endless cycle of death and darkness. We should strive to live fully resurrected lives: the only way to be happy, free, loving, and therefore “saved.” In effect, Jesus was saying, “If I can trust it, you can too.” We are indeed saved by the cross—more than we may even realize. We can be and are real agents of transformation, reconciliation, and newness.
Don’t give up on your Lenten promises—make some new Springtime/Easter ones! This is resurrection: lives of love and hope, grace and mercy in this world.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
Just a Note: A song about the power of resurrection…come out of that grave and let go of those chains that hold you back! Prayer is the doorway to freedom…
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