Is Easter coming too soon this year?

Maybe you, like me, have felt the strain of Easter coming unexpectedly early this year. In fact, it hasn’t been this early since 1913, and won’t again until the year 2228.

Easter may be coming too soon this year for those who have music and activities to prepare, and choirs to rehearse, but what are we celebrating that makes Easter so special? One friend commented to me the other day that she was so relieved that her fiance had to work on Easter because that meant she didn’t have to go to church with him. “I went to church a lot when I was young, but I’m done with that kind of thing now.” she said to me.

For someone who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, attending church on Easter is a bit like being an onlooker at a celebration in a foreign country where you don’t really own the excitement for yourself, but just speculate on the wonder of it all. 1 Corinthians 1:18 puts it this way: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

 Some of my favorite hymns about the cross are Beneath the Cross of Jesus. The imagery and symbolism in the hymn text are straight from scripture. As Kenneth W. Osbeck lists in his book, 101 Hymn Stories, we can see the following cross-references in scripture:

“the mighty rock” …Is. 32:2
“the weary land”… Psalm 63:1
“home within the wilderness… Jeremiah 9:2
“rest upon the way”… Is. 28:12
“noontide heat”… Is. 4:6
burden of the day”… Mt. 11:30

That’s just the list from stanza one! The next stanza read:

Upon that cross of Jesus Mine eye at times can see.
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears Two wonders I confess
The wonders of His glorious love And my own worthlessness.

That last phrase is a hard one to internalize if you think for a moment that the scriptures and doctrine of Christ undermine a person’s value, but when trying to view this bit of history from a Holy God’s perspective, why would God love us so much to pay such a high price to reconcile us to Himself? Is it because of who we are? Or, is it because of who God is?

The last verse goes like this:

I take, O cross, thy shadow For my abiding place
I ask no other sunshine than The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by, To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame, My glory all the cross.

This Easter, I ask myself these probing questions:

“What do I glory in?” “Is there any glory that doesn’t belong to God?” and if all glory belongs to God, why do I withhold that glory so often from my own lips and not reveal it to others?” Jeremiah 9:23-24 speaks of this truth: ”

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

This is the way the light of God shines best in a dark world: when we acknowledge from whom all blessings flow! “  As Psalm 86:12 proclaims, “I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: And I will glorify Thy name forevermore.” This verse reminds me of the words to the Doxology. The story behind the Doxology is not so familiar though. There are actually two other verses that were sung with the Doxology, one of which reads:

“Direct, control, suggest this day, All I design, or do, or say; That all my powers, with all their might, In Thy sole glory may unite.” The operative word here is Thy sole glory. It’s not saying, “I’ll give God some of the credit due, and I’ll reserve some of the glory for myself too.” We cannot be all we were meant and designed to be without God!

If only each day could be one of recognizing God for who He is and acknowledging God’s work on the cross and in our lives! I hope that this Easter you can say, “I am His, and He is mine.” As Romans 5:8 so clearly states, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Easter is about God’s amazing grace, power, and everlasting love toward us! ” Let us celebrate Easter this Sunday with praises to God for His plan of redemption and His everlasting Love!