Jesus Or The Easter Bunny?

"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6

Happy Resurrection weekend to each and everyone. I choose to call it Resurrection Sunday and not Easter. I choose to acknowledge the death, burial and resurrection of my beloved Savior Jesus, and not the things that we typically think of when we think of Easter- such as the Easter bunny, colored eggs, hiding eggs, baskets of candies.

I wonder, (I know the answer, so I am not asking for one) why we think that these things have anything to do with what Jesus did for us? What do the things that I have already named have to do with the cross or the empty tomb or the suffering that Jesus went through? They have nothing to do with it. These things were part of a pagan celebration to their goddess of fertility. We have adopted them in Christianity and made it a part of our celebration of Jesus' resurrection.

Some say that they know the difference, yet they celebrate both at the same time. Why would you want anything to distract from the true meaning? Why would you make Jesus share the celebration with a fictitious rabbit? Why would you minimize His suffering on the cross with anything? Why would we replace the miracle of the resurrection of Christ for the belief that a giant rabbit goes everywhere during the night leaving children baskets full of candy and colored eggs? We may say we know the difference, yet once church service is over in the morning, the rest of the day will be spent "worshipping" the bunny and eggs. I just don't get it. After what Jesus went through on the cross for us, why would we allow anything to overshadow it?

At Christmas we have adopted a slogan as a reminder that the celebration is all about the birth of Jesus and not Santa Claus-- "Jesus is the reason for the season". I think we need to take it out of storage during the resurrection season because it appears that we have forgotten that it is still true for this time as well-- "Jesus is the reason for the season, not the Easter bunny." After all, who laid down their life for you so that you could have eternal life and forgiveness of your sins-- Jesus or the Easter bunny!

Have a great day. Who are you "really" celebrating, Jesus or the Easter bunny? Take a long, hard and searching look at what you are doing before you answer.