An untraditional Easter

Posted by Alan Knox on Mar 23, 2008 in discipleship | 1 comment

I’m sick. I’ve been sick for the last several days – the flu, bronchitis, something that seems to be going around here. Fortunately, or unfortunately, last week was a break week from school, so I did not miss any classes. But, I did miss spending that extra time with my family. Well, I did spend that extra time with them, but I was just asleep for most of it.

Today is Easter Sunday – Resurrection Sunday. This is the day that most Christians and many nonChristians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This will not be a traditional Easter celebration for us, nor will this be a traditional Easter blog post (my “Easter” blog post will come tomorrow). Today, my family is staying home – not because we’re rebelling against the modern celebrate of Easter, but because I’m sick and Margaret starting feeling ill last night. So, we’re staying home. We will not be meeting with the church today, and we will not be eating lunch with our friends – which was originally scheduled to take place in our home.

I’m disappointed that we will not be meeting with the church today. But, my disappointment is not caused by missing the traditional Easter hymns or the traditional Easter sermon – which we would not have heard anyway. No, I’m disappointed because I will not be spending time with the brothers and sisters that God has placed in my life. He has chosen these people to impact my life and they always do. We don’t always see eye to eye; sometimes our disagreements cause relationship problems; sometimes talking together is strained; but this is my family. I have not seen many of them in a week, and I miss them.

I’m also disappointed that I will not be eating lunch with many of these same friends. Again, my disappointment is not caused by missing good food – although I’m sure the food will be very delicious. No, I’m disappointed because something special always happens when we sit around the table together. That fellowship always reminds me of the presence of God and his love and care for me, my family, and my friends. He reminds me of this through the voices, concerns, smiles, tears, jokes, hugs, and struggles of the people around the table. As we break bread together, we also open our hearts to one another. And, in their hearts I find God revealing himself.

So, my family is going to celebrate an untraditional Easter – but, He is still risen. Yes, He is risen indeed.