Published: March 21, 2008 03:23 pm            

The true meaning of Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday in the mid ’80s, I wore a light purple Easter dress with white flowers, ruffles and a ribbon belt that tied in the back. My mom combed my hair, pulled it back in barrettes and helped me put on my tights, white patent dress shoes, gloves and hat. When I walked outside, I can remember my dad saying, “Sissy, you look like a million bucks.”

Memories like these will always play a big part of Easter Sunday. Even today, my dad will say those exact words when I come to church as a 27-year-old. I won’t have an Easter dress this year. Those days are gone, packed away with childlike abandon. But I can stand and marvel in the awe of a day that means much more than Easter eggs and bunnies.

Growing up in a warm and inviting church, I always knew that Easter was a special day — one deserving of a new dress and shoes. As a child, the day always held a level of fascination, thanks to chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. But at church, the day always took on a more serious meaning — the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is not a dark day; instead, it is a celebration of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice and His resurrection from the tomb on the third day. As a child, I was always in awe of the story. As an adult, I am still in awe of the sacrifice that Jesus paid for my sins. It is an amazing and true story and one that seems to have gotten lost in this holiday that we call Easter.

How do we reclaim the important of Easter? Amid all of the candy, eggs and baskets, it is easy to get lost in a light-hearted springtime rush that makes us feel renewed. But do we stop buying candy? Stop Easter egg hunts? I hope not. However, I do hope that people will set aside time to really discover the true meaning of Easter.

The word “renew” is characteristic of spring, but it is a word that can be used to describe Jesus’ death and resurrection. By comparing spring to Easter, we can find a sense of rebirth in not only our faith, but in our everyday happiness.

I could sit here and write about the true meaning of Easter in a hundred different ways. However, I have found that nothing I could write could ever compare to the words written in the Holy Bible. I have no other adjectives or adverbs that could aptly describe the scenes of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The scenes leave me overwhelmed — in awe, in fascination and in deep appreciation.

I can only really describe my own experiences on Easter Sunday. I can describe the feeling of my new dress, the Sunday School lessons where I colored the cross a dark brown and the sounds of the song “The Old-Rugged Cross” drifting out the sanctuary.

I can recall my mom’s Easter corsage pinned on her dress and her heels echoing in the vestibule. During the service, I remember feeling sad about the crucifixion — but rejoicing over the resurrection. And after church, I know that I ran out into the sunshine, eager for Easter dinner and my mom’s famous bunny cake. Then my dad would take my brother and I outside, where we would hunt for brightly colored eggs over and over again. And when it rained, we would hide them in the house.

But no matter how many jellybeans I ate or how many eggs I found hidden in the bushes, I never forgot the true meaning of Easter. I hope that I never forget.

Jamie Parsell is Lifestyles editor of the Daily Telegraph. Contact her at jparsell@bdtonline.com

        

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