I recently asked my five-year-old son what Easter means to him. As he pondered the question, I began to anticipate a “from the mouths of babes answer” that drew upon his three years of Christian preschool as well as the repeated talk in our home of God and his son Jesus. His answer was succinct in that he said, “lots of candy, eggs, and the bunny at the mall.” I was a bit disappointed until my husband reminded me that years ago our son had thought Jesus was someone who worked for Santa. While it put his answer into perspective, it still caused my heart some concern.

Easter had become a very important time in our home prior to my becoming a Christian and joining our church. I spent two Good Fridays and Easter Sundays, three years apart, in the hospital giving birth to our sons. With our first son, I felt I had been reborn with him.  With our second, I felt our family had been given new life. The power of God’s hand in this situation did not escape me, yet I have not seemed to pass this epiphany on to my children.

After hearing my concern, Rector Mary Kay Brown pointed out that in order to speak of Jesus’ rebirth we have to talk about death. That is a difficult and fearful aspect of life for adults to embrace, let alone teach to our children in a manner that they can comprehend. As a result, we tend to focus on the more aesthetically pleasing parts of the season such as bunnies and chocolate. Mary Kay suggested keeping things simple and focusing on the natural rebirth surrounding us in the grass, trees, and flowers, most of which have browned, withered, and died through the winter and are slowly being reborn in the spring. She also reminded me that there is a lot of comfort to be taken in knowing that because “Jesus lives again, so do we.” We can be transformed from sin and spiritual death, through the rebirth of our lord Jesus.

The Church itself goes through a transformation during the somber yet joyous celebration of Holy Week and the Easter season. On Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem where he was hailed as king. The vestments of this time are traditionally purple as they have been throughout the season of Lent. On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus. After this service, the altar is stripped of all decoration, and the vestments are traditionally black. We are to remember that this is when Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane where his betrayal began. The black vestments symbolize the darkest time of Holy Week.

On Good Friday, we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. This is a day of mourning in the church, and the service is traditionally the most solemn and dark of all services held. The Easter Vigil is when we begin to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. The vigil begins in darkness, to represent the tomb. A Passover candle is lit to signify the release of sin and the new life of Baptism. The white and gold vestments symbolize the joyous occasion, and the altar is bedecked in flowers.

Easter Sunday (April 12), marks the first day of Easter Tide. The season lasts for 50 days and ends with Pentecost.  During this time, the vestments are white, and the liturgies are celebratory. As Christians, we have traveled from death and darkness to rebirth and God’s promise of everlasting life. “Jesus lives again, so do we.” The promise of Easter, including the signs of hope found all around us in nature, is that we need not drown in our burdens and sins. We can endure, confident that on the other side is the hope of new life that the Risen Jesus is waiting for us.

My family and I plan on taking some more time outside, looking at the brown grass as it turns green and anticipating the blooming of our bulbs. I think it is good and natural for my son to focus on the Easter traditions of eggs and bunnies, as they can symbolize hope in his world. However, we will also be talking more about the reassuring promise that no matter what happens or what we have to endure, God can redeem us as evidenced by the rebirth of his son Jesus Christ.

A heartfelt thank you and admiration to Karen Hart, former Communications Team Writer, for her work on Leek Soup Seasons Greetings series. All information regarding the transformation in the church, during Holy Week, are directly drawn from her articles in the April 2005 & April 2006 Leek Soup.