Holiday marks a season of hope

Easter is always a hopeful time.

For one thing, while the date can vary from March 22 to April 25, it invariably arrives with spring.

That means looking outside and noticing the earliest blooms of the season, the buds on the willows.

One can't help but feel refreshed, lifted in spirit, in the presence of new life and the promises that entails.

I'm reminded that, while for Christians the season is uniquely holy, this apparently has been a season of holiness for human beings from time immemorial.

We Christians adopted some of our symbols of the season from earlier traditions.

For one thing, we date this festival of the Resurrection of Christ according to the Jewish calendar's placement of Passover, which celebrated the Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt 3,000 years ago.

Passover, some scholars say, was likely linked to an even earlier spring festival that also included the partaking of unleavened bread.

The Easter bunny is likewise an ancient symbol - also non-Christian in origin - of the season of life. Specifically, of course, the bunny symbolized fertility.

Even the Easter basket apparently is rooted in ancient customs of bringing the first fruits of the season to a temple as an offering. Later, it was used to bring food to church for the breaking of the Easter fast that preceded the feast day itself.

One can argue that Easter's theme of resurrection of a deity is not unique to Christianity. But it is certainly true that among modern religions the story of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus stands apart, if not alone.

Abiding faith

Despite Christianity's melding of religious symbols from the cultures in which it grew to a world religion, those are now recognized throughout Christendom - at least - as symbolizing the globe's dominant faith.

And the cross - perhaps Christianity's only unique symbol - may be the most recognizable emblem anywhere in the world.

That also should be a hopeful reality for Christians.

While Christmas has been virtually taken over by the secular world, Easter remains the faith's enduring holiest day.

Sure, some may complain about Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, Easter cards, even the emphasis on new clothes for Easter. But the fact remains that the Resurrection continues to be the focal point of this holiday for Christians everywhere.

Despite the assertions of some theologians that modern-day human beings can no longer accept such "supernatural mythology," you'd be hard pressed to find a diminishing of the power of that story among the thousands who are in church this morning here in our part of Virginia.

In fact, across the country this will be the best-attended day of the year for most congregations. While some will view that merely as the reflection of a weak or hypocritical faith, it seems to me to be a suggestion of the power the central story of Christianity continues to have.