WHILE browsing through a forum, I came upon a thread titled “What will you be doing in Easter?” Curious, I clicked the link and read the responses; the common answers were “my friends and I will have a party” and “my family and I will go out somewhere.”
People have neglected the true meaning of Easter Sunday. For them it is merely a day of celebration with fun at the epicenter. Also, this sacred day has secularized and commercialized, examples being postcards and clothing that have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, which people innocently buy without knowing the origin of both the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg. The sad fact; Jesus has been undercut by bunnies, eggs, and candies.
Easter Sunday is a day of “renewal.” Still, there is cause for celebration because this (Easter) is the most important day of the liturgical calendar, it remembers the resurrection, a feat that propelled Jesus from a historical figure to “Messiah” and this event is also central to a Catholic’s faith. The celebration is, however, but a small part of Easter.
A homily by Rev. Frederick Emerson Small explained the relationship of the resurrection and renewal through the concept of death. He said that everyone knows about death, some of us have even become too intimate with it. We fear, fight, and grieve it. But his most important point was that we will experience numerous painful deaths in our lives and how essential death is to growth.
We become mature when our childhood dies, innocence dies when one grows older, and when relationships die, we then learn to love better. The story of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemani illustrates the importance of death in growth; there Jesus realized that only thru his death can his people become faithful to God. That was the beginning of the end for Jesus, with him asking the Lord to forgive the sins of his people before dying. That was his ultimate sacrifice for his people.
After death, resurrection comes and one will live again, renewed. Easter Sunday is when someone should strive to renew not only one’s faith, but also one’s life by accepting that certain unnecessary parts must die, no matter how painful the process, so that growth can happen.
With that in mind, I am hoping that some people would do away with their neglect and realize the true meaning of Easter.
Prayer: Lord God, the most important day of the liturgical year, Easter Sunday, that remembers your resurrection has been taken for granted by your people. It is with great regret that I ask for your forgiveness for our neglect and innocence. Please be our source of strength for the multiple deaths that we will undoubtedly experience in our lifetime for without you, whether we resurrect anew or not, we will not grow. This we ask thru Christ our Lord. Amen.
