In today’s reading, Fredrica Mathewes-Green, compares the childlike frivolity of Christmas to the perceived boredom of Easter. Mathewew-Green tries to reconcile the jubilation associated with Christmas with the passing blase sometimes associated with Easter. From a theological Biblical perspective it is clear that Easter celebrates the essential act of Christ’s incarnation. Without the resurrection, argues Mathewes-Green and others, the birth of Christ bares little significance. She is not arguing for a damper on Christmas celebrations nor for Easter celebrations to adopt Christmas traditions. What is being highlighted is the profound praise to God the resurrection calls for because of its victory over death. Mathewes- Green distills the significance of Resurrection and our celebration well with the following,
Easter tells us of something children can’t understand, because it addresses things they don’t yet have to know: the weariness of life, the pain, the profound loneliness and hovering fear of meaninglessness. Yet in the midst of this desolation we find Jesus, triumphant over death and still shockingly alive, present to us in ways we cannot understand, much less explain.
Jesus is “shocking alive” and “present.” As we revel in life over death we celebrate. Praise of God is central to our worship and living in Him. May that praise ever be on our lips as we travel this often treacherous life. Psalm 113 calls us to this kind of praise in our spiritual formation.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, you his servants;
praise the name of the Lord. (Ps. 113:1)