As I was growing up in the 1960’s, our large family practiced many traditions over the Easter weekend, including:
Eating pan-fried fish on Good Friday and every Friday in Lent.
Going to confession on Good Friday.
Doing the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday or Holy Saturday.
Seeing Dad clean the family car on Saturday so it would be spic-and-span for Easter Sunday’s ride to church.
Shopping for Easter clothes, which included black Mary Jane shoes, white bobby socks, an Easter bonnet, white gloves, and a little white purse.
Dying three dozen eggs with Paas Easter egg kits and writing everyone’s name on them with a wax crayon.
Watching Mom bake bread, hot cross buns, and cinnamon rolls on the day before Easter,
Baking an angel food cake and decorating it with nests made of green-dyed coconut, jelly beans, and Brach’s mallow chicks and bunnies.
Enjoying a glazed ham dinner after church on Sunday.
Spotting a rabbit and telling my younger brother and sisters that it was the Easter bunny.
Hunting for Easter eggs using real, hard-boiled eggs. The older kids got to hide the eggs all over the yard while the younger ones went for a walk. Every year it seemed there would be one or two eggs that couldn’t be found.
Packing hard-boiled Easter eggs in our school lunches for a week and having egg salad sandwiches for a long time!
Watching The Ten Commandments on Easter night.
While I am grateful for these fun memories that roll through my mind every Easter season, nothing compares to the revelations I have received as an adult of the significance of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of our Lord!
Because He anticipated the delight of having a relationship with you and me, Jesus was willing to lay down His life. “…for the joy that was set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2b NKJV).
Because I am a woman, I am struck by the role women played at the cross and at the tomb.
* They watched, mourned, and lamented as He was on the way to the cross. Jesus told them, “Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and your children (Luke 23:28b NKJV).
* Other than the disciple John, it was only a few women — His mother Mary, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene — who stood by the cross of Jesus as He was crucified.
* After Jesus’ death, it was the women who followed along and observed the tomb and how His body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes for his burial. They cared for the body of Christ even after there was seemingly no hope. It was the women who arose early in the morning and went to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared. They were the first to see the empty tomb.
* It was Mary Magdalene, lingering after Peter and John had left, who was the first to see the risen Lord and hear Him ask, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? (John 20:15a NIV)
* And it was that same Mary who heard Him utter her name. It was in the speaking of her name that she recognized Him! Mary became the first evangelist as she announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”
Because I am a mother, I am impressed with the way Jesus cared for His mother even in the midst of His own pain and suffering. It was John the Beloved whom He chose to care for His mother after His departure to heaven. To His mother He said, “Woman, here is your son.” And to John, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. What a loving son!
Because there have been moments in my life when I have felt forsaken by God, it is so reassuring to know that Jesus Himself felt that way on the cross. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46b NKJV)
Because Christ said, “It is finished!” we know everything has been completed for our redemption. It only needs to be received with faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV).
These are just a few of the revelations regarding the Passion of Christ that have touched my heart. May this Easter season bring you fresh, new understanding of your own!
~ Janet Mueller, writer
~ Kathy Weidner, painter of “A Closer Look,” masterartnow.com
