Why I Struggle with Easter

It happens to the best of us- Facebook status writer's block.

On a normal day, that's nothing. People assume you are too busy to write a witty remark, or you think yesterday's report was good enough for two days. But this past Friday and Sunday were not normal days. Status after status proclaimed that the day(s) was/were a day(s) of recognition for the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

And I had nothing.

Truth is, they are just days to me. I don't begrudge you for your excitement that you celebrate that day, but I really don't get all worked up about it. So, I don't post the traditional "He is Risen!"(C) or something. To me it would be insincere, and thus dishonest for me to post or bounce from person to person with a Joe Osteen type grin trying desperately to prove to everyone (and myself) that Sunday is a really a better day for me than Friday. Other than getting to sleep in, it's not much different.

I think there are a couple reasons why I feel this way. And to be honest, I'm not calling people out so much as I am struggling to find why I feel the way I do about that day, and why others do as well.

Commercialism
I actually have no problem with Egg Hunts, Cadbury Cream Eggs, and the inexplicable use of a bunny as the mascot. It really comes from the commercialization that comes from Christians. We spend so much time trying to 'sell' Easter Sunday. Maybe it's because we think that more people attend church on that day than others, so we put on a better service, amp up the entertainment value, put a little extra polish on the music and the message. We talk more about the resurrection and new life and empty tombs and the cross and things rising on that one weekend than we do for the rest of the year combined. Easter Sunday is like Super Bowl Sunday, Black Friday, and Election Day all rolled into one. Get'em there, sell them the message, and get them to make a choice. It comes across as commercialism to me because it seems we are selling a single event. Where is this excitement for Jesus the rest of the year.

Expectation
I'm expected to be extremely "Yay, Jesus!" that day. I mean, I really have to be extra happy, extra smiley, and I have to respond to "He is Risen!" with an equal to or greater than amount of gusto, "He is Risen, Indeed!" On Non- Christians go, "Dorks." What used to be a way for the ostracized and outlawed believers to identify themselves secretly to each other has in itself become something that ostracizes us on its own. Like much of our 'Church Speak,' it distances us form others who don't speak our language. I'm not advocating abandoning these truthful and relevant phrases, but that we not use them in a way to divide. When I look at and listen to believers who talk about God in church terms constantly, or only post scripture for their status updates or tweets, I again think that even though they are genuine in their comment, non-believers may think they are just meeting expectations. They never acknowledge their struggles, or their doubts, they seem too...perfect. And thus unrelatable to ordinary people. I never want to be accused of saying something just because it's expected of me, I want to say because I mean it, and in a way that says, "This is from me, in my words, from my heart." (I am not downing quoting scripture, merely the possibility that some people hide behind it to prevent the rest of us from knowing what is really going on with them.)

Everyday Resurrection
I am not saying this to appear super-spiritual, but every day is Resurrection Day to me. Everyday I am reminded that I couldn't follow Jesus' commands even if I was on a leash and looking for His bread crumbs. Everyday I am reminded He had to die for me because of this, and that because He didn't stay dead I can have hope of finding His life. I am daily confronted with the realization that I put him on that cross. Each day brings fresh evidence of His promise to return and make it all right. That Spring Sunday holds no other difference for me other than my kids search for bright eggs left by some strange cross-species bunny/chicken hybrid that is still a little creepy if you think about it. It is not special to me because each day is Resurrection day.

So, I hope I don't offend you with this, but this is my thinking. I don't hold you to agree with me, let alone force you to comply with my reasoning here. Truth be told, my feelings may be a total 180 by next year, but then, that is the nature of following Christ. He takes us places we would never go to learn things and see things we would never pursue. All to draw us closer to Him.