I don’t know what to write for an Easter post.
In years past, I’d offer some words acknowledging those who celebrate the holiday as fellow Christians. It’s always a dicey prospect, because the perception has grown that sharing something even faintly religious is often categorized as proselytizing by some.
Christmas gets a lot of attention. It’s such a fixture of our economy that employment and sales data from the season is used as an indicator of overall economic health. Egg hunts and candy aren’t as exciting to write about, when compared to a bearded benefactor carting X-Boxes and televisions across the world.
Easter is therefore easy to overlook by comparison. Even for those who celebrate its significance, there’s less razzle-dazzle.
I guess that’s the way it is with a lot of things in our lives. Unless it’s got a baseline excitement attached to it, we don’t feel a sense of importance for the experience. Amid a constant deluge of content and marketing material, we’re like adrenaline junkies who can’t be happy without the latest rush.
Marvel®©™ movie fans, by comparison, get trailers and advertising constantly reminding them of the absolute necessity of spending cash to watch the latest entry. Maybe that’s a window into the issue of excitement with traditional holidays. Like those Marvel®©™ movies, we want the comfort of something formulaic and familiar, but repackaged every year to make it feel vital.
That’s why Christmas can win out: there’s always a new trinket to sell. Additionally, it doesn’t require any implied effort. The gifts simply appear. You just need to market how good you think you are, which can even devolve into narcissistic exercises in pride.
When you think about it, even Easter Egg hunts involve effort. If you want those eggs, you’re going to have to work for them.
If you think that’s a lot, believing in the salvation story behind the holiday demands even more constant effort in a willingness to be humble and admit your faults. You’re called to remember and reflect on the fact that you’re imperfect. It’s not the easiest road. It seems even more anathema to the culture with each passing year.
Because I am a Star Wars nerd, I’m reminded of one of the tone poem ads from The Phantom Menace where Qui-Gon says, “It will be a hard life, but in the end you will find out who you are.”
That mindset has an appeal for someone like me, I guess. It didn’t always. I look back sometimes at how long it took me to discover that about myself.
I don’t know the answers. I’m still trying to figure out what to post for Easter. While I keep thinking on it all…
Happy Easter to those who believe and celebrate. I hope it’s a great day for you and yours.
kessel korner 