Dateline: The Week of Jesus' Resurrection Sunday
One of the humbling results of Spiritual growth is the fact that there are many times in which a Christian must admit they have been wrong. Although several occasions come to mind in my own life, perhaps none is timelier than my flippant use of the word "Easter" when it comes to the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, as I was going over old sermon notes, I found a sermon I introduced by saying it did not matter what we called the day as long as the context was correct; the line I used was "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
I was wrong. There is a Name that is sweeter than any other. That Name is Jesus. There is no reason to sully His Name with any other. So, we ought to consider ditching the word "Easter."
Here are the reasons why:
First and foremost- "Easter" is not celebrated in the Bible. This in and of itself ought to be reason enough :)
Second- Have you taken a good look at how our world advertises Easter? The secular world markets the day as a "candy festival for little kids, based on make believe bunnies and fictitious whimsy."
Third- Think of the implications of reasons 1 and 2. Whenever we (the church) "mix in" stuff that a) is not in the Bible and b) people perceive is akin to fantasy… we dilute the greatest story ever told, convolute Biblical truth with secular tradition and pollute the gracious simplicity of the Gospel message. A little leaven ruins the whole loaf.
Romans 1:16 was the first Scripture I ever preached. I remember finding out that to be "not ashamed" of the Gospel meant that a person was willing to stand up for the Word of God. Jesus is the living Word, are we ashamed of Him? Do we think we need to "add to" what He did on the cross and in the tomb?
I know there are countless churches advertising "Easter Sunday" services; I see the signs and banners all over Minneapolis. But I am going to be honest with you- you can try to sugar coat the word "Easter" with more empty calories than a dozen Cadbury Crème Eggs but it will always pale in comparison to Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest Name I know!
