It's Easter, by the way...

Growing up, I was always taught that the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus was the most important holiday on the church calendar. Yet Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, always gets more focus than Easter. This is due in no small part to the commercialization of the holiday, and the secular focus on gift-giving. People buy candy and food for Easter, but they buy real gifts for Christmas. Some car dealers would have us believe wrapping a car in a big red bow and presenting it to our loved ones is a reasonable token of our affection. No one bought me a car last year, and one uncle only gave me a bag of trail mix. On the other hand, I wasn’t handing out automobiles to my family and friends either.

Easter is as much a time of celebration as Christmas, yet even many Christians see it as a somber holiday. My own parents would resort to guilt tactics when I was a kid. How could I want to run outside and play with my friends on Good Friday when Jesus had died? Riding around on my bike and tossing pine cones, our favorite “grenades”, was very improper on such an occasion. Of course, it almost always rains on Good Friday, as my dad often notes, so the prior example was a rare conflict. Though Good Friday is a time of solemn observance, Easter is a happier time. At mass earlier this evening, I could sense my dad shifting uncomfortably when the priest called for applause upon baptizing a baby. I know he's very traditional, and doesn't feel clapping belongs in church. Still, if Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, and if a child joins our family, these aren’t things to mourn but quite the opposite. Given that my dad grew up in the 1930s however, I can understand his feelings.

Easter is a time of change and transformation. The world changes this time of year, as the first flowers bloom and the temperatures rise. While the first mass is normally held at 8 PM the Saturday before Easter, this year it was held during the regular 5 PM mass. We always begin with a candlelight vigil on the lawn in front of the church. It was strange to be out in the sun, and felt more like a barbecue than a respectful ceremony. We lit our candles and carried them back into the church for a two hour service. Forty-five minutes in some of the children became fidgety, and one a few pews back spoke his mind, whining “I wanna go home, mommy!” over and over. Most of the kids are better behaved, although I myself was once a squirmer. It brings back memories when children act up, but if I learned to quiet down, anyone can.

Change is difficult to accept, but happens whether we want it to or not. The most outspoken children can become the most reserved adults, and the stern and serious priests of my dad's generation can give way to those with a sense of humor and a different approach to the same goals. We all have free will, but as an old philosophy professor of mine used to observe, the interpretation of freedom as license can be overwhelming, and we may give up freedom to allow an authority to choose for us. Life requires us to be proactive to get the things we desire. Jobs will change, family and friends will change, and try as we might to stay the same our shifting environments force us to adapt in order to survive.

It might feel like an ordinary week, followed by an ordinary weekend, followed by another ordinary Monday, but it is Easter. Whether you're celebrating this week, or next week, or not at all, I wish you all a healthy, safe, and joyous time of change. Enjoy it, and God bless.