Easter Morning

It is Easter morning, and we find ourselves waiting for Jesus. We always celebrate the fact that Jesus of Nazareth “rose from the grave” in a bodily resurrection on this date. This has become the tradition.
I suspect, though, the the disciples were doing the same thing on the first Easter morning that we are doing now: waiting on something to happen. It is in the “waiting”, I believe, that we can find a great lesson about Easter morning. Let us consider how it is we wait upon Jesus.
We may wait like the disciples waited. Jesus was dead, and the disciples were in fear for there own lives. Despite the fact that Jesus had taught them of his inevitable death and coming again, they simply missed the point. I am not sure anyone was truly expecting Jesus to come again. We was laid to rest, and the women would come on the first Easter morning to finish preparing his body. Mary is even astonished at his coming, as she becomes the first to see him. Maybe be come today like Mary and the disciples: astonished at the story.
We may wait like little children. I can remember growing up in a Methodist Church. It was full of people dressed to the hilt. The place smelt like Easter lillies, and was dressed in purple. It was what we had always done, but still did not make complete sense. Even the songs took some time to learn. I can remember singing an old hymn with the words, “up from the grave he arose, with a bunch of dirt between his toes!” On some level, it was easier to remember, and made more sense. Maybe we come today like kids, not quite understanding the message.
We may come today like Thomas Thomas “the Doubter” may be the way we come to Easter morning. I would not call Thomas a doubter as much as I would call him a scientific sceptic. The biblical passage about Thomas says it all: Thomas wanted proof! Wanted something he could see with his eyes, or touch with his hand. Maybe we come today wanted some kind of scientific evidence. Only only issue here is that there is none. You can almost find more evidence to the contrary, via the many conspiracy theories that evolved through the years. Here are just a few: Jesus did not die, but was snuck out of town, Mary went to the wrong tomb, the gardener moved Jesus, the disciples moved Jesus because they needed him to appear as if he had risen! Get the idea?
In all these ways, we can come to the Easter morning we celebrate today. I have no doubt I will sit next to people who will bring all these perspectives to what we celebrate today. These are very normal perspectives.
Our Issue Is that there is only one way to come to Easter. Whether by accident or intent, Easter can only be celebrated through the eyes of faith. We cannot use our best powers of reason, observation, intuition and get ourselves back to God. Rather, we must come in the eyes of faith to how God has been revealed in the resurrection.
We are confronted with the stories of faith, and asked to accept them. This is not blind foolishness, though. We are asked to believe in faith as God’s spirit makes it become real for us. Just as there is no real value to the Bible without a living God behind it, there is also no Resurrection without the power of the living God that made it happen. God expects us to come to Easter on God’s terms!
There are many things in life I believe in that I cannot prove. There are many things I accept that I do not completely understand. So, today, I come to Easter morning through the eyes of faith, to allow God to speak to me on God’s terms. I have never been disappointed.
Happy Easter
Ray Province
Ray Province is a retires minister and owner of The Celtic Ozarkian and This is Life in the Ozarks, which chronicle life in the Ozarks. He is an IT programmer by trade, and also freelances in website development, SEO, and social bookmarking strategies for internet marketers. You can contact Ray at contactus@celticozarkian.com or @celticozarkian on Twitter.

Beta Blend Salad

Here is a salad for those of you looking to get some more beta-carotene in your diet. This important nutrient is typically lacking in the diet of Americans this time of year, as it is hard to get quality vegetables all winter. Hope you like it!!!

The Salad:

1 large golden beet
8 long fingerling carrots
1 yellow tomato
1 bag of spinach
4 leaves of purple or flowering kale (what you can find)
4 leaves from the dandelions in your yard!

The Hillbilly Touch is in the Dressing!
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing made.
2/3 cup of cashews
2 cloves of garlic (1 if you are a wimp!)
1/8 tsp of Greek Seasoning Salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp of fresh thyme
1/2 tsp of fresh oregano

You can arrange the salad as you like. Add the additional ingredients to the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, and you are ready to go!