I've always loved Easter. Growing up it meant coloring eggs, chocolate bunnies, and of course a new dress and shoes for Easter Sunday. There were years that a new hat and white gloves were part of the ensemble-now that dates me! As I grew older Easter became less about the chocolate and new clothes and more about worship. After all without Easter there is really no point to Christianity.
Since moving to Poland I've missed singing what I think of as Easter songs. We sing them of course, but in Polish. That's both good and bad. Under the best of conditions I can barely carry a tune, but when I'm singing in a foreign language I'm not so sure that it even qualifies as a joyful noise. On the other hand I'm forced to really think about what the words to the song mean, and I often come away with a new appreciation for the words.
The last two Easters have been different than others. We spent them at camp with children. Many of these children have been taken from their homes or their parents' rights restricted in some way. Camp is always fun, but I think I come away from it with more than the children we are there to minister to.
This camp was no different. Two little girls brought me to tears Easter morning as I watched them singing together during the service. They were both 7 years old and had met at camp. They seemed to become best buddies the moment they met. They were together every moment. What moved me so Sunday morning was watching them stand side-by-side and sing their hearts out while wearing the same mismatched clothes they'd worn all week. They looked nothing at all like the pictures I've taken of my own kids over the years. They had no basket of colored eggs waiting for them when they woke up, no chocolate, and no new clothes for Sunday morning.
I felt convicted over my own effort to provide for my children and wondered if my actions minimized the focus on Jesus and His resurrection. After all, who's really thinking about Jesus when hiding eggs, fixing dinner, arguing with children about waiting until after dinner to eat candy, or trying to capture that perfect photograph? I don't know if these girls understood the meaning of the resurrection, but one thing is certain they knew that Easter was about the resurrection!
Nie ma go tu, bo wstał z martwych. He is not here because He is risen!
