Since this is my journal, I wanted to put my talk in. :)
I have been thinking for a couple of weeks now about what Easter means to me. To me, Easter is the culmination of Christmas. Without Easter, Christmas would mean nothing.
We started out this past week reading about Holy Week, the last week of the life of Christ. Then the business of Spring Break interceded and Boaz and I got on the road, and we didn’t finish the reading as a family.
But I thought about the events. The time spent in the temple teaching. The Last Supper and Intercessory Prayer. The Garden of Gethsemane. The trial. The crucifixion. The time in the Spirit World. The Resurrection.
Easter is a celebration of the Resurrection.
I’d like to share two of my favorite scriptures about Easter Sunday from the New Testament.
The first one is from John 20. Peter and John had run to the tomb. They had looked inside, seen the empty burial clothes, and returned back to their houses. And Mary stayed at the empty tomb. She was weeping. She sees the two angels and mourns that she does not know where the body of Jesus is now. She turns around, and with tear filled eyes sees Jesus. If she is like me, the tears would have blurred her vision. When I have tear filled eyes, I can see shapes and muted colors, but the details of facial features are beyond me. Jesus initiates conversation and asks why she is crying. She thinks he is the gardener and asks where the body of Jesus is.
And verse 16 says, “Jesus saith unto her, Mary.”
And that was all it took. He said her name, and she knew who He was. She heard His voice and responded, just like she had done countless times since she had become his disciple.
I imagine that His voice was filled with tenderness and pain as He felt grief at her pain. But I also believe that His voice was triumphant. He had just fulfilled His mission.
I love this story. This moment when overwhelming grief turns to bewildering joy. This happy reunion.
Another story that I love is when two disciples are traveling the Road to Emmaus. They are talking about what they had heard had happened that day. They rehearse his trial, his crucifixion and the stories of the women and the empty tomb and the proclamation of the angels of his resurrection.
Jesus walks with them and teaches them why it must have happened so. They drew near unto their destination – Emmaus, and Jesus pretended to continue on. They invited Jesus to, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” (Luke 24:29) Just as a side note, I love the song “Abide With Me, Fast Falls the Eventide”. To me that song is an Easter Song.
Back to the story, Jesus goes in with them and blessed and brake the bread, “And their eyes were opened, and they knew him” (vs. 31)
This too is a reunion story.
The older that I get, the more Easter is a promise of sweet reunions. Both sets of my grandparents have died. My Dad has passed. My nephew lived for about 18 hours. I married into a family where an infant visited this Earth just briefly.
I have people there waiting for our reunion. I’m not saying that I am ready to go right now, because I am not. But I am aware of our scheduled meeting in the future. And the knowledge of that meeting influences the decisions that I make in my life now.
This past week, I drove to Oregon briefly to attend the temple with my niece as she attended for the first time. My brother drove from St. George to drive with Boaz and I. My two sisters, one brother in law, three nieces, and one brother drove from Salt Lake. My other brother drove from Washington, where he is attending school.
On this past Friday, my family gathered at the temple. My aunt and cousin came. Dear friends came. We had a reunion at the Portland, Oregon Temple. I saw people that I knew from when we lived in Gresham – over nine years ago. I saw people from when we lived in Madras – over four years ago. And I saw people from when I lived in Dallas – about two years ago. Everywhere we went, I knew somebody.
And I thought about the promise of Easter. I thought about the sweet reunions of the dear friends I have made and left in all my travels.
To me Easter is the holiest day of the year. It is a celebration of the victory of Christ.
We don’t have huge Easter baskets. Partly because I don’t really do fru-fru things. Partly because I don’t have girls. Partly because I think Easter should not be commercialized. And this year, because I just didn’t have time. And honestly, partly because I married Craig. We do have chocolate. I don’t need any excuses to bring chocolate into the house.
After Church, I want to talk to the boys about the importance of Easter. I am grateful for this talk. It gave me the acceptable reason to leave the family reunion early, so I didn’t have to travel on Easter Sunday. It gave me motivation to ponder my feelings on Easter, and to perhaps see the small miracles in my recent journey.
I believe Easter is a holy day – not a holiday. A day to “stop and stand still” (D&C 5:34) and give the Spirit a chance to whisper to our souls. A day for us to invite the Savior to Abide with us; to be our welcome guest. (Hymn no. 165 “Abide with Me; ‘Tis Eventide”)
