The Easter Craze

The crazy cars trying to find a place to park in the fanatically filled church parking lot. The saintly sinners stating their commitment to Christ on this chaotic Sunday. This scene is unquestionably unique compared to the previous Sunday services, but it is simply another Sunday. Oh wait… it is also the holiest holiday celebrated by Christians.

I was doing what any normal teenage girl was doing, checking Twitter on the eve of Easter, when I came across a tweet that I was startled by. A girl I barely know tweeted something along the lines of “I hate how all of a sudden everyone is becoming super religious”. At first glance I was offended. I thought, “What is wrong with people proclaiming their faith and devotion to God?” But then I began to think about what the possible sources for her disapproval were, and then I realized her complaint wasn’t so offensive.

Easter Sunday. The day meant to celebrate Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. It reminds us of his love and devotion to his people, and it is truly something to celebrate. He saved us from our sins and opened up the kingdom of heaven to the people. Isn’t that quite extraordinary? So what could possibly be the flaw in celebrating such a momentous occurrence? Is there a flaw? 

I do not know this particular girl well enough to come up with a definite answer to her thinking, but my general conjecture is that she thinks that the religious beliefs that are being proclaimed are artificial. Their admiration of Christ is just a side effect of the sense of obligation that accompanies Easter. Many people who have lived out the majority of the year distracted from Jesus may feel required to take some time from their lives to worship Christ. And what better way to do than on the holiest holiday on the Christian calendar?  Guilt is also a factor in the sudden religious revival: “I have to go to church on Easter or I will be a bad Christian”, “If I don’t go to church on Easter Sunday I am going to Hell”, “If Jesus suffered through his crucifixion then I at least can go to the service that is specifically meant to commemorate his brave actions.”  And what does this combination of obligation and guilt cause? A chaotically crowed sanctuary during the Easter Sunday service.

I am positive anyone who has ever went to church on Easter has experienced the great crowd of people that accompanies the service. The sense of obligation, guilt, and faith simulates the great wave of churchgoers, but is the cause really that important? In any situation the cause isn’t quite as significant as the effect.

                There definitely is an abrupt religious sensation that is instigated by the obligations of Easter, but that doesn’t mean it is artificial. The holiday of Easter is truly holy and is meant to be a time of admiration, celebration, and thanksgiving of the Christian people. It is challenging for many to lead their difficult lives and find time and energy to worship and follow Christ. But that is why Easter is so important. It serves as a motivation for people to find the time and energy to worship Christ who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

                We go to the crowded Easter service and then what? What happens after? Do we continue to worship God throughout our entire lives or do we allow ourselves to become distant from him? How does going to church on that single simple Sunday affect us?

                We feel this obligation to go to church on Easter but once we have done that it is like checking everything off your grocery list. We are finished with everything we were required to do. There is nothing more to worry about until next year.

                But we aren’t finished. We are not done. Our lives are not fulfilled by attending a specific Sunday service. We, as Christians, are not defined by how many services we attend, but how we continue our lives in the image of Jesus Christ. As I have said before, Easter motivates us to advance our faith, but we can’t let that motivation run out. We need to maintain it. We need to cherish it. Most importantly, we need to act on it.

                I think I now understand why the girl on Twitter was upset about the spark of expression of Christianity. Regardless of her own religious position I think the future rather than the present was the source of her contempt. After Easter are we really going to continue with our enthusiasm for Christianity? Some may assume yes, and some may assume no, but regardless of others’ opinion it is up to us as individual followers of Christ to define the worth of Easter. Is it just another holiday that we feel guilty if we do not fully celebrate? Or will it be a source of inspiration to build a strong foundation for our faith in God?