This end of this week was a weird confluence of religious conversations for me. Three in particular:
1) On Thursday, I had a conversation with a Jewish person; who knowing that I was Christian, tried to explain to me the significance of Easter's relationship to the Passover. My first thought thought was "DUH." But he didn't realize that my faith is not just a casual ritual. For 32 years, I have been taught over and over about Christ's last week, starting with His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for the Passover. It's kinda hard to be a Mormon ChrEaster because we don't place any significance on ritualistic ceremony in church around these holidays. So after this conversation, I kept thinking about individual relationships with Christ and how important it is to live with reverence for Christ's birth and death every day, not just on holidays.
2) My boss converted to Judaism from Catholicism a few years ago and took three days off earlier in the week for Passover with his wife's family. It's obviously a very big deal for their family (even though my boss loves bacon more than anything in the world.) We talked about it quite a bit and when he got back, he asked "Do Mormons do the whole Easter thing because He came over here?" At first, I didn't understand what he was talking about. Knowing that Christ came to the Americas after the Crucifixion is not usually the first thing people know/ask about the church, so he question caught me off guard. I dutifully replied that Easter is about the resurrection and the promise of everlasting life. But then I wondered if knowing that He appeared to the people in the Americas changes the understanding of Easter for me?
3) Then, while talking to Dallin on Friday, he challenged me on to think of what Easter means to me (I told him I would post on it and then challenged him to also post.)
And of course, it is General Conference weekend (TV Church as my former co-workers called it.) After I have had all of these things swirling around in my head for a few days, I kept focusing back on Christ's appearance in the Americas, a fulfillment of prophecy. While teaching the people, He allowed each person to go up and feel the wounds in His hands and feet. There were about 2,500 people there. I did the math on that once. Even if he spent only 15 seconds with each person, it still would have taken almost 10.5 hours. 10.5 hours! I don't think we can really comprehend how much He loves us each individually, but that sure does put it into perspective. That knowledge alone DOES change Easter for me.
So, Dallin, I think what Easter means to me ultimately is what I can describe as a bright, personal, reassurance. It's not just a hope. It's when you step out of a dark apartment after months of snow and there is a bird near the flowers that are popping up. The sun is warm and bright and the air smells fresh. Taking a moment to feel warm and pumped full of mood elevating sunlight and vitamin-D. Easter is, and should be, a personal experience that literally makes you feel alive and grateful. And it's a confirmation that there are wonderful things to come.
5 comments:
Very interesting post, well done. I think your new picture goes well with the topic. Though we are incalculable as the sands of the sea, we are still unique and individual and are known to our Father in Heaven and his son, our Savior. And we are all connected. Thanks for your blog Carren. It was good.
"He is not here, for he is risen."
I agree with the other comment and enjoyed reading your perspective. Hope you had a marvelous Easter Sunday - it was good seeing you.
Enjoy your business trip!
I'd never thought about how knowing that Christ appeared in the Americas after His resurrection changed my perspective of Easter, but it's a really good question. Perhaps it only re-emphasizes what is stated in the Bible. He is risen. It does show that His sacrifice was for everyone. Not just the Jews or even just those living during that time.
This Easter seemed much more meaningful and spiritual to me this year. It helped having General Conference.
I agree that since we don't have a bunch of ceremonies during Easter it doesn't seem like such a big deal. It's probably because we're supposed to be thinking about these things all the time anyway.
I had a friend in high school that tried to convince me I wasn't Christian because, of all things, on Easter morning there were no cars in our church parking lot. Using flawed logic he concluded that Mormons did not celebrate Easter. And where were we Mormons that year? At home, getting ready to hear General Conference. I wish I could go back in time and relive those moments, because I don't think I did a very good job of convincing him otherwise.
So we should "rejoice in Christ" every day. And Easter is the perfect time to celebrate, just as exuberantly, the common ground we have with the rest of the Christian world.
Thanks for your post.
Beautiful C. Beautiful. I loved this post.
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