What is the “voice” of Easter for you?
Easter is a joyous holiday when we celebrate Christ’s triumph over sin and death… right? Or is it a sad holiday in which we mourn the weight of sin and squint to see Jesus holding a light at the end of a long tunnel?
It seems odd that one holiday would evoke such different emotions, but it’s something we’ve all probably seen. For me, Easter is a time of happy anticipation of freedom from sin. But for one of my close friends, Easter is a sad annual reflection on mortality and the distant-seeming hope of resurrection—the effect of a loved one’s death during the Easter season years ago.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed that each of the major holidays (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving) tends to evoke a particular mood in me. Our experience of each holiday is shaped by the events and emotions that we associate with them—for some people, Christmas is a time of lighthearted joy, while for others it is somber or even depressing, depending on their life circumstances.
Easter is an especially powerful holiday because, more so than Christmas or Thanksgiving or the other events we commemorate throughout the year, its story spans the entire range of human emotion. Reading the Gospel accounts of Easter is a turbulent, almost punishing experience; it shifts from joy and triumph to pain and fear, through despair and doubt, and then finally to victory.
That up-and-down journey is nicely laid out in Back to the Bible’s Twelve Voices of Easter, which I highly recommend as a daily audio devotional during these final days before Easter.
Which of these emotions and voices most embodies Easter for you? Is Easter a somber time in your life? Is it marked by joy and happiness? Are there particular events in your life—the death of a loved one; a marriage; a childbirth—that influence the way you approach Easter?
What are the emotions and voices of Easter for you?
I think Easter is a time of renewal, rebirth, forgiveness, and love. Like spring, with the newness of flowers and plants and sunshine, Easter means joy and sunshine and happiness and growth. A time of cleansing of sins and new growth to be more faithful and holy.
The voice is singing. Advent.
It’s both a sad and happy time!
this is the voice of easter for me:
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
By: Latin carol, 14th cent.
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky he’s king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love; Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!
As Christians who have known the Lord Jesus as our friend, Lord, King, and Savior, it is quite an agony to remember how much suffering He went through for the sake of our souls. However, we should remember that Jesus is risen and He is now alive forever and that gives us reason to rejoice and hope for His promised salvation. For me Easter is a time to reflect and re-ignite our passion for God by reminding us how much it cost the Lord just to bring us back to Him.