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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
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April 2007 |
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PSEaster can be a very surreal time. It has the potential to leave one feeling confused and muddled. It is one thing to have the mixed metaphors and eclectic mix of pagan and mercenary and spiritual elements at Christmas time - we seem to cope well enough with that. In fact, early Christians highjacked some of the ancient pagan celebrations such as the Christmas tree with lights and 'converted' them into Christian symbols. The birth of a new baby and the celebration of light and a new year starting is, by nature, a happy time filled with hope and optimism. But Easter is altogether a different kettle of fish (as it were). Quite apart from its remembrance of the torture, death and resurrection of our Lord - a sombre time of introspection, reflection and prayerful wonder at the enormity of it all - we can not ignore the fact that this is the very core of Christianity; the 'who, what, why and when' of the Christian faith. So what can we make of the surreal bits?Shops start selling stodgy fruit buns with wonky crosses on them almost as soon as Christmas is over. Then there's the fluffy yellow chickens that lay foil-wrapped chocolate eggs out of which (presumably?) hatch orthodontically-challenged Easter Bunnies that hop about at random, leaving a trail of chocolate graven images of rabbits and more chocolate eggs. The bunnies often carry nifty be-ribboned baskets overflowing with eggs and white lilies. The biology is baffling.It probably all means something, but what, exactly? And how confusing must it be to the non-believer who just looks forward to enjoying the Easter Break? It is all very difficult to explain to anyone. Maybe it's time for Christians to do some more creative highjacking and convert the bunnies and buns and chickens and chocolate into something meaningful. I did once hear a sermon about the hollow emptiness of a large chocolate Easter egg…
Sheelagh Wegman |
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