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A story is told about three know-it-alls who spent most of their lives believing they knew more than everyone else. Alas, not even they could outsmart death and they found themselves at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them they can enter paradise if they correctly answer one simple question. St. Peter asks the first fool, "What is Easter?" He replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful..." "Wrong!," replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second fool the same question, "What is Easter?" The second one eagerly replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus." St. Peter looks at the second fool, shakes his head in disgust, tells her she's wrong, and then peers over his glasses at the third fool and asks, "What is Easter?" The third fool smiles confidently, looks St. Peter straight in the eyes, saying, ”I know exactly what Easter is. Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and Jesus was later betrayed and turned over to his enemies by one of his disciples. "The Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands and feet. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then the fool concluded, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.”
It would be nice to believe the story I told is nothing more than a cheesy pastor joke with no basis in reality. And while few people would confuse Easter Sunday with groundhog day, more and more people, many of them practicing Christians, struggle to understand what is so important about the Easter celebration. For many, it is a commemoration of a historical event that took place a long time ago but has limited impact for one’s life here and now. In other words, it was pretty amazing when it first happened but that was 2000 years ago and what is all the fuss about now?!
One of the hidden and challenging blessings of the past year was how the pandemic shattered the illusion that we were in control of our lives, our world, and our future. For perhaps the first time in generations, at least for us first-world people, we were completely helpless on so many levels. Think of everything that was stripped away overnight: travel, eating out, visiting family and friends, sports, vacations, and even gathering in person for worship. We experienced, in a very real and frightening way, what it meant to be helpless against a foe, a darkness, an evil, that could not be swayed by power, prestige, money, knowledge or accomplishments. All of us were affected, no one had the answer, everyone was hostage to the pandemic. In short order, with so many distractions and diversions stripped away, we came to realize what really matters and sustains us: Faith, friends, and family. It was these profound relationships that allowed humanity to find hope and purpose until the pandemic could be understood and overcome.
As terrible as Covid-19 has been, it is only a small microcosm of the type of evil, darkness, death, and pain that has been unleashed on the human race through sin. Starting with the tragic choice of Adam and Eve at the dawn of time, humanity has been held hostage by the tragic and inescapable results that come from rejecting God. Once sin entered the world, heaven was closed to every human because heaven could only be occupied by perfect and sinless creatures. Every single soul entered the world with something called original sin and a tendency to choose things that were wrong, selfish, and destructive. Finally, as years gave way to centuries and centuries to millennia, human beings added offense to offense against one another and against God. We were completely unable to redeem ourselves as individuals, much less undo the sin that had spread throughout the world and saturated history.
God had every right to let us wallow in our misery and reap the sinful harvest we had sown in defiance of him. He could have started over, created a new world and a new people who would be grateful and responsive to his commands. But God never gives up on creation; from the moment Adam and Eve chose sin and death, he promised them a way back, a redeemer who would open their eyes and cleanse humanity of its sins. This redeemer would have to be as blameless as God to take away the sins of the world and also fully human in order to stand in the place of every person that ever existed. This savior could only be God and that would mean he would have to clean up a mess he didn’t make, he would suffer for a sin he never committed, and he would die for countless people who would reject him and never be grateful for his love. And yet God did this willingly, without bitterness, in the hopes that at least some would be saved and return to him.
This is the miracle of Easter that we celebrate today with such reckless abandon. This is the mystery the Church spends 90 days either preparing for or celebrating. This monumental event is so critical to our past, present, and future that our Church takes every single Sunday to remember it and keep it fresh in our minds and hearts through the celebration of Mass. This is the reason Sunday Mass is an obligation; it is the very least we can do to say thanks to God for suffering on our behalf and ransoming us from sin and death.
Please take some time in the next 50 days to reflect on your own understanding and appreciation of Easter. Jesus’ victory over sin and death should define who we are and how we approach life’s problems. If we have a savior who was willing and able to conquer both physical and spiritual death, is there anything else he won’t do for us now? If God’s power is that complete, what can the world, satan, or our own weakness possibly do to us that cannot be undone by Divine Love? Do our lives and our attitude radiate holy confidence that we cannot be defeated by anything or anyone, whether that be a pandemic, persecution, or personal sin? Our victory, our escape from evil and despair, our rising from the dead is found only in the name of Jesus, risen from the grave this Easter day! Our redemption will not and cannot come from technology, law, politics, personal enlightenment, riches, and the million other things we tend to put our hopes in. These things are not bad in themselves but they cannot save us.
Those who forget the relevance of Easter no longer remember the one thing that will save them from sin and death. Those who do not keep the resurrection as their guiding principle will soon be overcome with the spirit of the world with its many temptations and problems that seem unsolvable.
Let’s take care not to become a fool who does not know the meaning of Easter. This knowledge does not require an advanced degree. It is given freely to those who believe in Jesus’ name, choose Him as the solution to every problem, and thank him as the source of every blessing. The rising of Jesus from the dead is just as relevant to us as it was to the first disciples 2000 years ago. Believe it. Live it. Proclaim it. Amen! Alleluia!
