An Easter hero

I've been so busy lately running around that it's only really hit me today that Easter is nearly here. It's the opposite of Christmas, when there's so much build up that the holiday (in the sense of holy day, where I presume the word comes from) is almost disappointing after all the anticipation. With Easter, there's so much less preparation but the time itself has, for me, the potential to be much more special.

Public knowledge about Easter is almost laughably woeful as this article (admittedly a year or two out of date now) shows. It's not surprising in some ways- the Christmas story is one you can easily make 'nice' for children- the long journey, the tired travellers, the kind and unkind innkeepers, the nasty king, the nice shepherds and wise men- a story in which the strangers and the poor are made into the heroes, while the authorities come out as the villains. Very nice. Heartwarming. Very modern, actually.

But Good Friday and Easter are harder to sanitize. The crucifixion is not a nice story. Again, you've got your lower class hero versus the evil authorities, (even better, oppressive religious authorities too, that's really popular) but the hero refuses to fulfil all the qualifications- not only does he not start a rebellion against the occupying forces, he submits himself to them. He allows them to kill him (note 'allows them'. Jesus knew what he was going into and he voluntarily allowed it to happen- see Matthew 26 vs 53-54.)

And then he dies. The hero of the story dies! That's not supposed to happen, is it? What's going on?

The disciples must have wondered that too. All they had seen- was all that over? Was it all for nothing? So much that he'd said they didn't understand. They were confused and scared.

BUT THAT'S NOT THE END OF THE STORY!

Jesus was resurrected. Not 'reborn' as the Sommerfield press release said. Not resuscitation, where someone is brought back to life, the same life as before, only to die again later. This is different. Because Christians believe- I believe- Jesus conquered death and sin, and now death- the penalty for sin that we all have to pay for the times we put our own selfish desires before God- has been defeated, has, as the old hymn says, lost its' sting. We, like Jesus, can have new life.

That's what Easter time is about. We thank God that Jesus came to die, we remember his sufferings and repent of the things we do that caused him to suffer. But then we praise God that Jesus is alive, and so alive- that death has been defeated, that we don't have to be afraid of it. We look forward to the time when we will be like Jesus- raised with a new body to praise God and celebrate his glorious victory.

Christmas and Easter are part of the same story- the story of Jesus' mission to save us, to save the world. But even that is part of a bigger story- of God's love for and faithfulness to humanity. I hope that sounds exciting to you. I hope it makes you want to praise God along with me this Easter.