easter should be raucous with celebration

consider easter day itself…

It’s a great step forward that many churches now hold Easter vigils, as the Orthodox church has always done, but in many cases they are still too tame by half.

Easter is about the wild delight of God’s creative power—not very Anglican, perhaps, but at least we ought to shout Alleluias instead of murmuring them; we should light every candle in the building instead of only some; we should give every man, woman, child, cat, dog, and mouse in the place a candle to hold; we should have a real bonfire; and we should splash water about as we renew our baptismal vows. Every step back from that is a step toward an ethereal or esoteric Easter experience, and the thing about Easter is that it is neither ethereal nor esoteric.

It’s about the real Jesus coming out of the real tomb and getting God’s new creation under way.

N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, p 255-56

Huh.

“It’s about the real Jesus coming out of the real tomb and getting God’s new creation under way.”

If that’s true—and it is—it seems to me Wright is on to something here.
Easter is worth really celebrating.
I mean, really.

Pause for a moment and consider some of the party’s you’ve thrown this past year, some of the celebrations you’ve held or been a part of. How many of us threw some pretty epic Super Bowl watch parties? Or birthday soirees? Or how about that New Year’s bash?

Listen, I’m not a fuddy duddy. Have those parties. Seriously, have at it. And feel free to invite me. I’m just wondering—and I’m talking to myself here—if that’s how I celebrate those things, what might I do to celebrate the rising of King Jesus from the dead with my church family? What might I do to celebrate that in my home this coming Sunday afternoon with my family and friends?

Shouldn’t Easter be raucous with celebration?

You’ve got 6 days left.
That’s plenty of time to plan.
It’s time to party, friend.