Dr. Ralph Wilson, director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, once wrote: “If you ask your average heathen youngster what Easter is about, he’ll tell you about the Easter bunny and finding decorative baskets filled with annoying plastic grass that sticks to every household furnishing and those pastel foil-covered football things that are a sad excuse for real chocolate. She’ll tell you that there are eggs to dye, butterfly decorations, and colorful jellybeans…But the truth of the matter is that most of our children don’t know beans about Easter.”
Wilson goes on to note that when most of us hear children speak like that, we say, “Oh, how cute!” but we should be thinking, “Oh, how sad!” because the real story has gotten lost in the fluff. Though we don’t have to show them the harsh, dreadful, and violent reality of The Passion of the Christ, we ought to expose them to the purpose and mission of Jesus who came to show us the immense sacrificial love that God has for us. Though we don’t have to dwell on the emptiness of the tomb and our own empty hearts that break with the loss of loved ones and are pained when love is annihilated or God is eradicated from our society, we ought to remind them that Christ promises to be with us in our times of greatest darkness and deepest loss. We ought to share the story of how the misguided civil and religious leaders of His time falsely accused and convicted Jesus, how they tortured and killed Him. We ought to talk with them about how Christ was buried in a rock-hewn tomb and that Roman soldiers were powerless on the first Easter morning when the stone was rolled away and Jesus went forth alive. We ought to share our hope that, even though people die, we are given the invitation to not stay dead because our God does not believe in tombs. Each year we have this marvelous occasion to talk with kids about how we can live forever with the Lord and that we, too, can be raised up in glorified bodies like His. And maybe we ought to contemplate our own understanding and belief that the Jesus of History has become the Christ of Faith who remains and will accompany us forever if we let Him.
Of course, we should also assure the children that Jesus has nothing against eggs, chicks, or bunnies. He loves them. He was there at the dawn of creation when they were made. He probably loves chocolate, too. But perhaps He grows a little impatient with those who exalt a furry rabbit over a risen savior. The meaning of our lame Easter symbols is rooted in church theology that is anchored in the resurrection. Rabbits multiply quickly in a way that points to the church growing exponentially at Eastertime as we welcome new children and catechumens that enter the fullness of faith and sacramental life and multiply the family of God on earth. Easter eggs remind us that the tomb was cracked open like a shell as the Risen Christ burst forth from inside—it could not contain Him! We organize Easter egg hunts to reenact the disciples’ response of running in various directions to search for Him. We taste again the sweet flavor of chocolate as a powerful sign that Lent is over, and our fasting is complete. The greenery and bright pastel colors welcome spring as our new apparel, parades, and Easter bonnets signify to onlookers that all is new again. And the three stages of a butterfly’s existence—caterpillar, cocoon, and magnificently beautiful, winged thing—mirrors Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, while pointing to our own.
Left to themselves, these symbols do not tell the story. That’s what we are supposed to do. The Easter Story gets told by Easter People. Easter People are those who share the Good News by living it and giving life to others. I hope you have numerous opportunities to share the story with those you meet, those you love, and those to whom we hand on our faith.
