Celebrating Easter in Australia today is a little confusing. Because we live in a secular culture the meaning of Easter is inevitably transformed into an expression of consumerism. Yet we don‘t play football on Good Friday, or shop, an acknowledgement that a trace of Christian influence still touches us from time to time.
For the secular mind it is difficult indeed to access deeper meaning in Easter. It is holiday time or family time, a break from the demands that most weeks bring, a long weekend with an extra day!
For those of us who see the Easter events as formative to our very identity and understanding of existence, meaning is often conveyed by the songs we sing, which, if having a good tune to them, can get imprinted upon our minds.
For example, many of you will recognise this verse which we sang on Good Friday: “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin; he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in”.
That one verse (from ‘There is a Green Hill Far Away’) contains a whole range of ideas that have little reference point to the way life is understood today – the concept of sin, that a price had to be paid for it, that only one was good enough to do so, that there is a heaven, the gate to which requires unlocking. Wow! Explaining the meaning of that verse around a dinner table to a bunch of ordinary Aussies would be an interesting challenge!
Easter not only declares the significance of Christ’s death, but also the power of His resurrection. This, too, is a mind-blowing concept. For many today, death is simply the end, the inevitable outworking of a mortal, time-constrained life. There is nothing really to say.
Yet resurrection is central to Christian faith. If Christ is not raised, then it is all a hoax of the worst kind. Futility reigns. Yet if He is raised, as we believe, then everything changes. Life is not futile, humanity is not here by accident, there is a larger story being told in which we are invited to participate. Miracles are possible – indeed, every day is a miraculous gift!
Here at St Luke’s the resurrection is absolutely central to our life together. Our vision to transform the community with hope would be meaningless without the resurrection. The risen life of Christ in the energising form of the Holy Spirit is what motivates and inspires us. It is, in fact, what we celebrate week by week.
If it’s not a life familiar to you, we would love you to share it! It often takes time to grasp hold of what Christ has done for us through the events of Good Friday and Easter Day. The Alpha series is one great way to begin to explore this reality.
Given the secular faith that is taken for granted in our nation, Easter faith is a big step. Yet Easter answers the longings of our hearts and the need of our of souls. There is no more wonderful step that we can take, the first step in a lifelong journey!