Easter Monday

A regrouping day. A day for rest after the Celebration.

There are those who disagree with me, who say Christmas is the greatest holiday. I suppose I have to agree that the miraculous coming of the King of Heaven into humanity was a great deed. There are those who tell me, no, Pentecost is the best. And I would have to say that the gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful, and the simultaneous Birth of the Church is a good, good thing.

But, for me, the highlight of the Church year is Easter, when Jesus's dying on the cross was simultaneously tragic and painful and, yet, a smack right in the eye of Satan. He came down off of that cross and marched right to the gates of Hell, bringing them down with His shout, "It is finished!" How cool is that? And if that wasn't cool enough, three days later, He just gets up, rolls away the big, honkin' stone, and goes for a walk in the garden. Not a march into Jerusalem to say, Ahnold-style, "Listen, you leaders, I'm back" No, just a walk in the garden, as if what He had just done wasn't much.


Even better, He then explained to His disciples that what had just happened could now happen for every person ever on the planet; we will all die, but all will be resurrected. And that's not just for the people who know about Him; that's also for those who don't, who lived before He did and after He did and so on until He comes back, which is pretty soon. Sadly, not everybody believes this way, and those who don't are in for a world of hurt. Some of them belong to my very own family, and it makes for some melancholy on Easter, and whenever I think of it.


So, for me, yesterday was the Best Day Ever. It was 2,000 years ago, and it will be until Jesus comes back. You may have another Favorite Day. If you want to share about it, go ahead. I'll listen. But today I am resting up from my big Celebration, so I hope you'll forgive me if I just read and ruminate.