Over 2 billion people are celebrating Easter today, April 20, as the calendars of Western and Eastern churches coincide this year, and these billions of faithful people are celebrating HOPE
But not only have the calendars of the Eastern and Western Christian Churches coincided but this week has also been a celebration of hope and freedom, with Passover starting last Monday night and continuing through the weekend until next Tuesday. Which of course also coincides with Holy Week, which culminates this weekend with Easter Sunday. This linkage is entirely appropriate, since Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the Passover ceremonies and the famous Last Supper was a Passover Seder… the ritual meal where Jews all over the world retell the story of the Exodus, celebrate their God-given freedom and eat the unleavened bread, matzoh, to commemorate their ancestor’s journey and deliverance from bondage and slavery.
The story of the Resurrection is a story of freedom too… freedom of the soul and a promise of eternal life to believing Christians who understand what the rolling away of the stones means for them.
Both holidays change their dates on our calendar from year to year, Passover or Pessah in Hebrew, because it is based on the centuries old Hebrew calendar and Easter because the early Church fathers determined that Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon date of the year, which always occurs after Passover.
However, it’s rare that the two holidays occur this close together and in this momentous year, when Judeo-Christian values seem to be under siege, I likewise see in that a sign of hope for the future.
I and my friends here at the Daily Thought Pad and on the Watcher’s Council wish you and yours Chag Pessach Sameach and a Blessed Easter.
“The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.” -Stuart Briscoe
By Marion Algier – The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series at AskMarion – 10
Christians have allowed the true meaning of Christmas to be lost and co-opted. One of the greatest things you can do each year is to take part in or attend a Christmas or Live Nativity Pageant that focuses on the true story of Christmas and then to make that meaning the focus of your holiday. Gifts, decorations, parties, caroling and all the rest are great as long as we take time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We have allowed ourselves as a society to forget “the reason for the season”, this season and holiday as well as many others and thereby lose the significance and the value of what should be special moments and meaningful celebrations in our lives.
Some of my greatest memories of Christmas involve going to mass on Christmas Eve as a child with my family and then participating in the Glory of Christmas (and Easter) for over 10-years as a family, with my husband and daughter, at the Crystal Cathedral… which after 30-years is now dark.
Unfortunately the Crystal Cathedral Ministries only ever filmed this program once, early on: Experience the Miracle, the Glory of Christmas in the Crystal Cathedral, 1993 and restricted photos and filming of any kind, so we are blessed to have the photos above of our experience, and below are a few homemade videos I found. What a blessing it was being part of that program and watching our daughter flying for Him as one of the angels. but one of the best parts was standing out back after each performance to greet; seeing how these performances touched peoples’ hearts.
Some holidays like Christmas actually become part of the fabric of a nation, which was true of Christmas in America until we allowed political correctness to wag the dog… let the 15% tell 85% what they can and cannot do. And as Ben Stein has written more than once… he, a Jew, looks forward to the bejeweled trees, Christmas carols and an overall kinder season.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (who founded the American Alliance of Christians and Jews) said on Glenn Beck’s Post-Thanksgiving Review Program: “Although I am Jewish and do not celebrate Christmas I respect the traditions and the holiday and I like the holiday for two good reasons: It helps the economy and it makes people better…” (95% of the money spent at Christmastime is for others… rather than for ourselves).
Lapin has spoken against the secularization of Christmas, saying that “We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt”. He is opposed to replacing the “Merry Christmas” greeting with “Happy Holidays”, saying instead “Let us all go out of our way to wish our many wonderful Christian friends a very Merry Christmas… Nationwide, Christmas Nativity scenes are banned from city halls and shopping malls but Chanukah menorahs are permitted. There is without a doubt a war on Christmas as well as on patriotism.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Damon Vix didn’t have to go to court to push Christmas out of the city of Santa Monica. He just joined the festivities.
The atheist’s anti-God message alongside a life-sized nativity display in a park overlooking the beach ignited a debate that burned brighter than any Christmas candle.
Santa Monica officials snuffed the city’s holiday tradition this year rather than referee the religious rumble, prompting churches that have set up a 14-scene Christian diorama for decades to sue over freedom of speech violations. Their attorney will ask a federal judge Monday to resurrect the depiction of Jesus’ birth, while the city aims to eject the case.
Secularists battling against nativities is nothing new, but 2012 has brought some major victories for atheists. Consider Santa Monica, California, where a 60-year nativity tradition has been banned; other communities have backed down over fears that Christian themes will be legally challenged by groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) as well.
But — believers are getting smart and fighting back with some creative methods of navigating around church versus state disagreements.
TheBlaze already told you about the Santa Monica work-around: Christians will stage a live nativity, as only unattended displays were banned from the Palisades Park. Now, a community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has found it’s own solution to a potential atheist-led lawsuit against a display in front of a local municipal building. Read Full Story and See Video HERE
Wow, these photos below, from outside the U.S. Supreme Court, bring back great memories of being part of the Glory of Christmas and Glory of Easter pageants for the Crystal Cathedral as a family.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream is on the scene as faith organizations stage a live Nativity scene outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
Faith Organizations to Display Live Nativity Scene with Animals in Front of the United States Supreme Court and the United States Capitol
This scene, sponsored by Faith and Action as well as The Christian Defense Coalition is part of “The Nativity Project.” The project seeks, in part, to bring attention to the hostility with which faith in the public square is met.
On Twitter, the camel is a hit. And, yes, that's a real camel at the Supreme Ct.
Wow, these photos below, from outside the U.S. Supreme Court, bring back great memories of being part of the Glory of Christmas and Glory of Easter pageants for the Crystal Cathedral as a family.
A full on Nativity scene outside SCOTUS 2012
Wow!
And for those that love the live animals in the nativity and pageants… check this out: Animal Nativity
I was looking for words for my Easter greeting and then received the following in my inbox… it was exactly what my husband Tim and I had been talking about on our walk earlier in the day. I couldn’t write or say it better:
Many of us grew up celebrating Easter as the holiday where a cute little bunny rabbit brought chocolate and other delicious treats for everyone to eat. All we had to do was look diligently for the eggs hidden around the house and eventually it would lead us to the only thing we cared about: that giant basket of goodies.
Many are still celebrating Easter in a similar fashion. It's become tradition - it's just what we do. This year I have a radical suggestion: start a new tradition. Something that goes much, much deeper than a furry rabbit & candy.
Now don't get me wrong - I'd be lying if I told you there was no chocolate involved in my Easter weekend. I'd also be lying if I told you there were no Peeps or other marshmallow-y related food products. Or jelly beans. Or Twizzlers. There's nothing wrong with having a little egg hunt & candy at Easter - it's fun. But there is something wrong when Easter becomes all about the bunnies and the eggs and the chocolate.
Easter is actually The Greatest Story Ever Told - yet mankind has managed to water it down to an opportunity to devour a few extra M&M's and are actually 'offended' when they hear it. How could that be? What's offensive about this: The very first Easter weekend - three days that changed the world forever - took place over 2,000 years ago. Mankind was lost, floundering - headed for destruction. But because God so loved the world, He gave his one and only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him will never die & have eternal life. And like the good Shepherd, Jesus laid down His life for the flock - and suffered greatly in doing so. He didn't have to - but He did. That is why we celebrate.
And that is why we need to start a new tradition this Easter - whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, still thinking about it (come on already!), etc - because the holiday has nothing to do with chocolate. It's about showing love. Instead of just pounding some creme eggs & jelly beans - reach out to a friend or neighbor or total stranger. Get to know them - and look for ways you can help them. Donate your time. Donate some food. Whatever it is, just find a way to help someone in need.
America's woes are easily solvable with that one, powerful, incredible word: love. That is why we are gathering this summer for Restoring Love in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium - to remind people of our greater purpose and stir us to action. It's also why I have great hope - because I know the American people & what we are capable of when we put our minds, and more importantly our hearts, to something.
I look forward to hearing about your new Easter tradition - one that I believe will save the country.
Have a great Easter!
Laus Deo,
Glenn Beck - April 6, 2012 (A man who has been demonized and could use our prayers as well!)
If you don’t know the story make it a goal to go to a church on Easter Sunday or an Easter pageant, watch a video, pick up the Bible or ask someone to tell you the story… It could change your life, even if it doesn’t convert you. As Glenn says… It is a story of love.
I grew up a Christmas-Easter Catholic; my parents were burnt out Catholic school survivors from Europe, where the nuns ruled the classroom and the church had a lot of affect over their lives… until the Nazis took over. My husband occasionally went to church with the neighbors when he was a child and neither of us went to church regularly until we found a church together and re-dedicated our lives at age 40. Yet because life was different when we grew up, we had enough of the basics and knew enough of the teachings that God and tradition were always part of our lives and decisions. ‘He’ was at the center of American life.
The 14 years we spent involved with our children in the Glory of Easter (and Christmas) pageants and other church activities were some of the best of our lives. They gave each holiday real meaning… not just baskets, bunnies, presents, trees, parties and celebrations.
As many as 5,000 attended a rally in a small Texas community to show their support for a Nativity scene under attack by a Wisconsin-based atheist group, according to a minister who organized the event.
“We are humbled at the turnout of the crowd,” said Nathan Lorick, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Malakoff and one of the organizers of Saturday’s rally in Athens.
“We believe that God led us to do this and so we knew he was up to something great,” he told Fox News & Commentary in an email message. “This message is resonating in the hearts of people all over the country. This was a real statement to the nation that Christians are tired of the persecution and suppression. We want all to know that we are ready to contend for the faith.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group based in Wisconsin, sent a letter to Henderson County explaining that a local resident had complained and they wanted the Nativity removed from the courthouse lawn.
The FFRF alleged that the Nativity sent a message of intimidation and exclusion to non-Christians.
But their attack prompted a tremendous outcry not just in Henderson County, but across the nation.
The Texas Attorney General offered to defend the county in the event the atheists sued, arguing that the county has no legal obligation to remove the Nativity scene from the courthouse grounds.
“Our message to the atheists is don’t mess with Texas and our Nativity scenes or the Ten Commandments,” Attorney General Greg Abbott told Fox News & Commentary. “I want the Freedom From Religion Foundation to know that our office has a history of defending religious displays in this state.”
Attorney General Abbott said the organization is trying to “bully local governmental bodies” and he said he wanted to make sure Henderson County knows “there is a person, a lawyer and an organization in this state that has their back, that has the law, that has the muscle and firepower to go toe-to-toe with these organizations that come from out of state trying to bully governmental bodies into tearing down things like Nativity scenes.”
Pastor Lorick said Saturday’s rally was peaceful and included speeches, patriotic music, Christmas carols and prayers. Nevertheless, he said they intended to send a message to the nation.
A great book on Losing Our Religion by aethiest S. E. Cupp, who says she is he perfect person for this book because she has no dog in the hunt, takes on the all too often avoided question and discussion of religion in America…
