Is East(er) Still Meaningful ?

Fr Paul Lelen Haokip *

People taking part in the Easter Sunday celebrations at LCBC, Imphal on April 2010 - Pix :: TSE

Phillipians 3:10-11 "All I want to know is Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

The mother earth slowly unfolds its beauty through the onset of spring season. In Manipur, the festival of Yaoshang/Holi (19th March 2011) was commemorated with colours and celebrations. At this spring festival, some took time to visit family members while others went about with friends. Still some young lads and damsels busied themselves along the roads collecting some fund for the night-dance (thabal chongba). In all these we see young and old celebrating life in varied colours. The budding leaves thrill and rejuvenate us to begin the year we have just stepped into.

On the other hand our world today claims to have power over life and death. In a State like Manipur, the Jewel of India, life is preciously cheap. The Christian celebration called Easter is also the festival of spring (New Life). May it enlighten us through this short reflection.

Meaning and origin of 'Easter'

For some, the word "Easter" comes from the name "Isthtar" the goddess of spring in Babylonia. She was identified with the planet Venus which rises before the Sun or sets after it giving the impression that she loves the light.

In Phoenicia, she became "Astarte" and in Germany, "Ostara" coming from the German word "Ost" meaning "East." Thus the word EASTER derives from an Old German root, "ostern" for 'dawn' or 'east', which is the time and place of the rising sun. Jesus is thought to have risen around dawn or sunrise on resurrection Sunday (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2).

Since he is called "the sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4:2), it would be quite appropriate to call a day in honour of his resurrection as Easter. Jesus is the dawn of the Rising Sun or Son. The Lord God is called a "Sun" in the Old Testament (Psalm 84:11).

When we celebrate Easter, we remember and rehearse the meaning of the resurrection. For us, the dawn or rising of the sun has great symbolic value in that it reminds us that Jesus is the Dawn of our salvation. This symbolic significance of the Easter festival is very much different from the worship of the sun purposely as is evidenced in Ezeziel 8: 14-17 where the individuals, turning their backs on the temple of the Lord, worshipped the sun.

The First 'Easter'

It was on Easter Sunday morning, the Gospel of John tells us, that the women went to the tomb where the body of Jesus was laid just about thirty six hours before. In their haste they forgot who was going to help them roll the massive stone away? They found the enormous stone covering the tomb entrance rolled away and the cave empty. This was the Resurrection! Did Jesus rise from the death on the Easter Sunday morning? No.

Jesus was not there when the women reached the tomb. The grave was already empty. Rolling away the stone did not let Jesus "out" but it let the disciples "in" to see He was no longer inside. Jesus did not need anyone to free him from the sepulcher as he did not need anyone to open the door to appear to his disciples in that securely locked upper room a couple of days later. Jesus did not merely come back to life as Lazarus of Bethany but entered into glory shattering the stronghold of that last enemy death.

The risen Jesus is a being in fullness and therefore He can give life in abundance to anyone who trusts in Him. Life means life with God. This earth shattering resurrection took place not in the blaze of sunrise but in the dark of night. When nights are dark, when troubles seem insurmountable, the power of God is at work. His love and his life are stronger than death. Death where is thy sting?

Churches of Manipur come together to jointly celebrate the day which defines Christianity in April 2010 - Pix :: TSE

'Easter' for Today

The ultimate result of Easter is Joy—an inner Joy (peace). Christ has defeated death. We are His. Christ is ours. Let us resound with Paul "Not I but Christ lives in me." We need to consciously long for that deeper joy. We would be fools to prefer the superficial joys of fleeting moments. The deep joy that we secretly seek is not based on possession, achievement, health, name or persons. Our deep joy and happiness depends not on what happens "to us" but on what happens "in us". On this march towards a world of betterment, we are asked to be the salt of the earth not the honey of the earth. Salt bites but heals and preserves.

Resurrection is a walk in the newness of life. Walking in the newness of life means to see the world crucifixionally as the place of the crucifixion of Jesus today, tomorrow and everyday and to participate in this crucifixion boldly. When our lives are smeared and broken with humiliations, failures, insults, etc we are challenged to participate in the sufferings of God. The fact is that 'the resurrection person is the crucifixion person'.

Satan isn't in the ministry of healing or restoring. He is the one who divides and destroys people (mind). The death of Jesus wrought immense gloom and shadow of despair. At this fateful juncture, the news of Easter (Resurrection) becomes a twice welcome note. Once again, the soul is healed and hope is restored. The wide chasm of uncertainly is removed and the risen Jesus takes the centre of every believing heart.

The kingdom of God is amidst us—the kingdom of Goodness, Forgiveness and Peace. "Peace be with you" (Jn. 20: 19,21,26) is the gift of the Risen Lord Jesus. While our Sanaleipak reels under the plague of being in pieces, "We Need Peace" is but the unspoken slogan of every denizen of Manipur. Each of us could be that Sana (gem) for Peace. Easter is letting the good times (peaceful time) roll again amongst us.

Easter re-echos the invitation to love God with all our heart and love one another as we love ourselves (Mt. 22: 37-39). The cross is no more a sign of shame and contradiction but a symbol of sacrifice and salvation because Jesus "bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that free from sin, we might live for righteousness" (1 Pt. 2: 24).

Easter tells us not "what we do for God" but "how much He has done for us to live a meaningful life."