Celebrating the Magnitude of Jesus' Resurrection
“Which of your Eids is bigger?” my Muslim friend kindly inquired one lazy afternoon.
Her mahogany eyes glistened with curiosity as she waited for my response. Two of the largest holidays of the year for Muslims are Eid—one was big Eid (lasting four days) and the other small Eid (a three-day celebration).
I hesitated. I had never given much thought to whether Christmas or Easter was “bigger.”
I picked up my cup of green tea, cardamom wafting through the air, and took a sip to stall. As I reflected on American culture, it seemed like Christmas was the holiday everyone scurried to participate in some way. Festive lights twinkle on homes and in apartment windows. Friends and families gather for parties. Children write letters to Santa and open Advent calendar doors. Garland and red bows adorn poles throughout downtowns across the country.
Easter, on the other hand, seemed relinquished to a three-day weekend, egg hunts, and a single meal. It seemed Americans spent more time celebrating Christmas.
“I think Christmas is our big Eid and Easter is our small Eid,” I cautiously replied. But as the words tumbled from my lips my answer felt like a wrong note played during a piano recital.
DISSESCTING CULTURE FROM CELEBRATIONS
According to a survey by Gallup, 93 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas (1) while The National Retail Federation estimates 79 percent celebrate Easter. (2) More Americans are content to celebrate Christmas than Easter.
While Christmas is the biggest holiday in America, Easter should be of greater significance for Christians. The resurrection impacted the ancient church so much that they changed the community day they worshipped God on for centuries from Saturday to Sunday—the day Jesus rose from the grave.
Our understanding of what holds significance in our lives should be shaped by what the Bible teaches rather than society. Our culture can easily steer us away from grasping this reality; only two percent of Americans consider Easter to be the most important religious holiday. (3)
As I returned home after visiting my friend that day, I pondered my answer. Perhaps I had allowed culture to creep into my heart and captivate it more than it should.
Christmas is a significant religious celebration for believers and we don’t need to celebrate it less, but I wondered if Easter truly held the same value in my heart. Did I anticipate and rejoice in the resurrection and Easter as much as the coming of the Messiah at Christmas? I feared perhaps not.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
Culture can subtly dictate what we prize and we must remind ourselves of the priceless nature of the resurrection—again and again. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the church was struggling to be set apart from the culture, resulting in sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1), idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14), and incorrect theology about the resurrection of believers (1 Cor. 15:12). Scripture exhorts believers to pursue the path of holiness as His beloved people (Deut. 7:6; Lev. 20:26; 1 Pt. 1:15; 1 Pt. 2:9). Throughout his letter, Paul speaks truth in love to the Corinthians so they can realign themselves with the gospel and fight against worldliness.
The battle against culture and our minds can be treacherous and hard to see when we are in the midst of it. Even as Paul corrects the mistaken theology of the church, he highlights the centrality of the resurrection to our faith and points us to be mindful of how society can shape our thinking and actions. Diving into the past, future, and present implications of the resurrection that Paul lays out for the Corinthians can instruct us in exalting Christ as we face the pressures of the world.
Read the rest of my Easter article on Momma Theologians.