Growing up in a predominantly Catholic country, the Philippines, Easter reminds me of what I always hear on Sunday mass, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A new beginning, a transformation. When I was a young girl, I saw men flagellating themselves, women sitting for hours to read the Passion of Christ using a chant-like tone, prosessions of adorned saintly figures. We were not allowed to eat pork during Lent, and worst to take a bath!
Filipino flagellants in the Philippines, a popular attraction during Holy Week
Raising my two daughters in Canada was a different story. Aside from a personal spiritual reflection, I would boil eggs for the famous Easter Egg Hunt. When I had extra time, (my kids were born 18 months apart and I was running two businesses) I would decorate and color the eggs and spread them around our two-storey home. After church service, we would go to a friend’s place for another hunting game. Oh it was so much fun watching kids’ faces filled with excitement!
Amidst all the traditions and varying views, I have always searched for the meaning of Easter, the wisdoms behind the tradition, and one that resonates with me.
What Easter is All About
A popular saying goes:
“Easter is not the remembrance of an esoteric event whose scope and significance were confined to Jesus of Nazareth. Understood in terms of its spiritual symbolism, Easter is a celebration of hope in respect to the human predicament.
The Bible insists that Jesus was both human and divine. The patterns of his experience are hence relevant to the life of every human being. Jesus came to this world to demonstrate what every human being who is in harmony with the will of God can attain and experience.”
Yahoo! Contributor Jason Withaker shared:
Easter is “…not a time for us to make ourselves appear smarter than we are or to boast in ourselves. It is a time to allow the Spirit that is in us to be revealed.
1 Corinthians 2:16. It says, “Don’t you know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”
Easter is a time to remember that Jesus Christ died and rose from the grave for us. Now this may be a hard pill to swallow, but yes, it is that simple. There is more to having faith than saying one prayer. There is more to saying we believe in a Higher Being. It does take some effort on our part to live out what we proclaim in that prayer.
What Easter Sunday Means
- Easter spiritual symbolism is a celebration of hope.
- Easter is a time to allow the Spirit that is in us to be revealed.
- Easter reminds us that we can rise above our circumstances.
Finally, Easter is not just confined to one Sunday in a year. It is an everyday symbol of hope that will remind us that we can rise from setbacks, challenges and difficulties, and shine like the morning sun.
“The spirit of Easter is the spirit of life; it is the spirit of faith; it is the spirit of joy; it is the spirit of victory; it is the spirit of resurrection.” – Daily Word