Happy Resurrection Day

I have no idea how Easter became associated with a "bunny" and what that has to do with colored eggs. There is probably a story that covers the details of this, but I haven't spent any time looking it up.

I am a huge Easter fan. I actually like it better, from a purely christian perspective, than say Christmas. Easter for me is a time of new beginnings, renewal, the end of an old covenant and the entering in of the new. Spring. Life blooming eternal. It is a very spiritual time. "Do This in Rememberance of Me". And I simply love communion at this time of year. This act of bread and wine (or Welch's Grape Juice for you non-drinkers) somehow brings me closer in "communion" with the Christ. Unexplainable as it may be, it is a beautiful thing.

I do not really get so emotional that I start using words like "the blood of the lamb" and "its all about the cross" and things of that nature. I actually am more subdued by it all. I can't relegate it down to a few canned phrases. What I feel cannot be adequately expressed in this manner. It is simply more than I can understand. I remember going to the theater with our church group and watching "The Passion of The Christ" and simply being awestruck. When the movie concluded, somehow it felt disrespectful or at least inappropriate to just get up and leave. I physically remained in my seat for several minutes contemplating what I had just watched and experienced. Somehow it was more than the typical Easter Sunday Sermon that you normally get. It brought reality to this story. Showed what real Passion (suffering) was like. Made me realize that when we used to sing, with gusto, "Are Ye Able Said the Master, to be crucified with me" ... well the sturdy dreamers may have answered yes, but after seeing the reality of it - I would probably have to say no. It would be unlikely I could suffer the fate of Jesus. Even though more deserving in a theological sense, it is much to high a price for me.

So I do not go to church on Easter. Have not for years. I know, it seems kind of out of sync, but I do not. Each year I go camping in the Piney Woods of East Texas with several family members. I walk the trails early in the morning, while the sun forces its rays through the morning sky and penetrates deep into the forest. The dogwood blooms are everywhere here, and they are a reminder of the crucifixion. I am alone with the God of the Universe. We are close here. Much closer than if I were in the Sanctuary. I leave that place for those "Christians" who want to show up on "special days". We call them CMEs...Christmas, Mother's Day & Easter Christians.

So I leave you this weekend, away from this computer and my occupation, and I go to the place where I find God each and every year. And I remember. And am thankful. "Do This in Rememberance of Me".

Happy Resurrection Day! ~npp