Steve's Letter: "Lighten Up and Rejoice!"

It's Easter and I like Easter for a number of reasons that aren't necessarily religious.

For instance, the Easter season doesn't last six months and there aren't any Easter carols for the malls to play as I fight the crowds buying Easter presents while wondering who I've forgotten. I'm quite happy that, at least so far, the Easter Bunny (unlike Santa) isn't bigger than Jesus and the Easter tree hasn't caught on. Not only that, I haven't seen a figurine with the Easter Bunny kneeling before the empty tomb and no church that I know of has a performance of "The Singing Easter Egg."

All things considered, not half bad.

Ever wonder why the "world" has trouble co-opting Easter? When you think about it, it's a natural. Of course, there isn't a baby and that's a negative, but there is Spring and all that goes with it, and everybody loves bunnies. But, for the most part, with a nod from the florists and the clothiers, unbelievers have shied away from Easter and left it to us.

Do you know why?

Because it is too much to handle. That's why.

Take, for instance, the connection between the resurrection and crucifixion. Paul wrote, "... but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). The power part is cool...but it's the stuff about crucifixions that's a turn off for the con artists, the sellers of trinkets and the actors with their false faces.

One is bad news and the other good; you can't have one without the other. Easter is always preceded by Good Friday. You can't rejoice that "Sunday's coming" unless you've been to Calvary first. The Apostles' Creed is cool when it affirms Christ's resurrection, but that affirmation must by necessity be preceded with "He was crucified, dead and buried." Resurrections can't be removed from crucifixions. Eternal life has all kinds of connections to sin and death.

Most unbelievers don't want to go there...so they just leave it alone.

There is another reason the world leaves Easter alone. It's that pesky evidence thing. If you're a lawyer trying to make a case, a good place to start is with 500 witnesses. That's the evidence Paul gave for Jesus getting out of his grave (1 Corinthians 15:6) and that was only the beginning of the evidence. It goes on and on.

Most unbelievers live in fear that there might be a God. They have to be so very careful. They can't read certain books, have certain friends or think certain thoughts. If there's a God, it will mess up their lives so they just leave the evidence alone.

I'm sure you've heard about the Time Magazine and Discovery Channel's "revelation" that Jesus, Mary Magdalene and their son's coffins have been found.

*Y)*&%$#(&%#!!!

Never mind that the BBC did the documentary 11 years ago and it was seen as silly even by the BBC. Never mind that the archaeologist who oversaw the work at the sight described the theory as "nonsense." Everybody ignores the fact that the same names (i.e. Mary, Jesus, etc.) have been found in dozens of tombs. "It makes a great story for TV film, but it's impossible," The archaeologist said. "Jesus and his relatives were a Galilee family with no ties to Jerusalem..."

This morning I got a call from three different news services asking about the discovery and if I thought this would destroy Christianity. "After all," one newsman said, "this is a discovery by a respected film maker." I can't tell you everything I said. The newsman is a friend and promised to remove my offensive language. (Just kidding...kind of.)

However, I did say I was glad that we now view a "film maker" as an "authoritative" source. (That's cool. They've done such a wonderful job with sexuality, global warming and politics; I guess we are now looking to them as authorities regarding religion as well.)

"Destroy Christianity?" I said. "That's like a gnat crawling up the leg of an elephant with sexual assault on his mind. Are you crazy?"

But the world has been ignoring the evidence and the facts for a very long time. That drives me nuts! But, now that I think about it, if I had a neurotic fear that there was a God, I would ignore the facts too.

So there is, I suppose, a good reason for the world to leave Easter to us.

And then there is the king thing. You can hold a baby, but you must bow before a king. Paul writes that God didn't stop with a nice cuddly baby and was not into a dead religious leader. A dead Man got up and walked. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

The reason unbelievers leave Easter alone is because most people don't want to bow before any king except themselves and worship at any altar other than their own. I can understand why they would leave Easter to us. There are times when I'm not big on bowing before kings or worshiping before altars. If it weren't for the truth that I can't "unsee," I would probably run too.

And then when they do decide to "touch it," it's almost always embarrassing.

Books like The Da Vinci Code are running out of steam so I suppose it is important to find something else as silly as that book. Jesus sells! And even really shallow and dumb things like this most recent "discovery" will sell papers and books, and increase ratings.

I would be really angry except for how we Christians raise the flag in defense of God, country, motherhood, western civilization and apple pie. Our defensive books sell too. Frankly, if I could convince you that Key Life was defending the faith against those mean people who would destroy it, I could probably get much larger contributions.

And don't think I haven't thought about it.

But then I remember Jesus and I think about Easter.

This morning I read a prayer in the devotional book The Valley of Vision (a book of Puritan prayers and devotions published by The Banner of Truth Trust) with the heading of "Resurrection." Let me give you a part of that prayer:

What more could be done than thou hast done!

Thy death is my life,
thy resurrection my peace,
thy ascension my hope,
thy prayers my comfort.

He's risen! He's the King! Not just a king, but the King who rules over everything.

One doesn't defend a king like that, beg for him or look for new one.

So lighten up and rejoice!

The dead Man who got up and walked said we could too.

He asked me to remind you!

In His Grip,