I am stoked for the new series we are starting at Crash on Easter. The series will run from April 12-May 17. And I am teaching the first three Sunday nights in the series. Check out the video below for more details on the series and a greeting from Matt Sherman who helped create a short film that will run just before the talk on Easter Sunday. See you Sunday!
-Scott
Easter in the Desert
We are history books of past events, some more memorable than others; but neither the less I have to believe that this Christian under construction looks at his history differently. Holidays have a new flavor and meaning. Each new challenge that Crash rolls out provides insight and sometimes induced self conflict including this latest blog by Scott.
My first memories of Easter isn’t the sermon, the event, but the candy. Oh yes…the candy! My parents would hide the baskets full of high octane sugar goodies which I would devourer and many shiny thimble size sugar eggs as I could before church. And yes, I did manage to sneak some with me for an intermission snack. Sugared up, the minister never talked fast enough for my over alert and sugar jolted brain. But then, the holiday was about…me, me, me!
In my rebellious teen years I caught wind that the church had been lying to me all along about Easter. The Goddess Easter??? Old English Ēostre (also Ēastre) and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a putative Germanic goddess eponymous of the Christian festival of Easter. On the war path of self righteousness for years, I’ve managed to defuse Easter as a pagan holiday unless I got…candy. Me, me, me!
Later in life, and with godsons and dog tripping over me scurrying around the house to try to find the eggs filled with candy I smiled thinking to myself that life and lies and come full circle. Like most holidays, I’ve managed to defuse the necessity of faith and simply distract the truth by convincing myself that holidays are for the kids and left over candy was for…me, me, me!
Scott said at the last service that Easter is the most important event in history. Pardon me, but I paraphrased his point to get to the point. Is really Easter the most important day? Leaving out the discussion of paganism let’s look at this day systemically. By the hand of God, what is the most important day in Jesus life? His birth, crucifixion, or resurrection? What a ternary, each having the equality in the binomial, but in personal faith; it’s the difference between quantitative and qualitative. (can tell how much coffee I’ve had this morning?)
We try to prove our own point, ‘what is the most important day in Jesus life’ while setting with sky scrappers of books and gallon size coffee cups chattering away until we have forgotten the question. Was Jesus crucified on a cross, tree, or a stake? Who cares! The greater point is this…he died for all of us, which includes me; this one of the most important moments in history and we are blessed.
Seven