Why Easter Matters

 

Easter should be considered a "sacramental" event rather than a miracle. The proclamation of a miracle excuses us from having anything to do with it.  A miracle is God’s doing.  But a sacrament, however, requires us for its existence.  God performs miracles but men celebrate sacraments in union with him.  God may work a miracle even without our faith and he may work it apart from men.  Man, however, is essential to the presence of a sacrament. 

If Easter is to be a sacramental event, we must celebrate it with our lives.  Easter is sacramental every time one of us makes his life a source of light for his fellow man.  Easter is sacramental when our words heal, when our hearts understand, when lesser values die in us for the sake of greater realities. And the Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us. Jesus became incarnate to not only teach us how to live our lives but for us to reside in Him. When the priest says “in him through him and with him,” he’s reminding us of our participation in his birth, death and resurrection.

We are sacramental with Easter when men know us to be faithful to each other.  We are sacramental with Easter when our fellow men see us suffer not for selfish advantage but for their redemption.  Easter is never more sacramental than when one man gives his life on behalf of another.

Christians seek to make Easter sacramental in their lives by their memory of Jesus.  When Jesus is remembered, he has not died or risen alone. We are untied with him as we experience our Good Fridays and as we celebrate our resurrections. Jesus is an Easter-maker. John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10