By Christi Smith, Religion Editor
Pastel eggs have been scattered in carefully-tended yards, floral wreaths hung on doors and bunnies perched on tabletops. But what do these decorations have to do with the true meaning of Easter?
The Memorial area offers many churches from which to choose, representing all denominations of the Christian faith. But because denominations are manmade, not one fellowship has it all right. They are all led by imperfect people, saints in progress, seeking a perfect God.
When the religious leaders asked Jesus why he commiserated with regular, unrighteous people, He replied, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
The Church, regardless of denomination, is a body of broken, banged up people seeking soul healing from a heavenly Healer. More than a house of hallowed halls, it’s a hospital. The common denominator between all denominations is that every single member has made a mistake and, therefore, fallen short of God’s perfection. Each and every person is in need of saving, in order to have the daily and eternal joy of being in relationship with this holy God.
The good news of Christianity is that the gift of grace is free to be received by all through faith in Jesus. This is the Gospel.
While there are many differences between denominations, the foundational and unifying element that all churches agree on is the death and resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is the defining event of Christianity. It’s what separates this faith from all others – the God-Man come to save a lost and hurting world by defeating sin and death and reconciling us to God.
“Easter confirms the deepest truths we believe,” said Dr. Duane Brooks, Pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church. “What we (the Body of Christ) have in common through the resurrection is so overwhelmingly powerful it transcends our differences.”
The various traditions and ceremonies found in denominations can give us tangible ways to better understand, practice and deepen our faith. But they can also be prohibitive if we place our religion above our relationship with Jesus. If our comfort comes more from the clergy or ceremony or culture than from the risen Christ, we are missing the Gospel.
As we prepare to celebrate Easter, let’s explore the different denominations our vibrant community offers and search for the true treasure within each of them: the living Lord.
Do you know the history behind the traditions connected to Easter?
In traditional Christianity, Easter is the 2,000-year old celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Three days after his crucifixion on a Roman cross, Jesus rose again. He appeared in flesh and bone to more than 500 people over the course of 40 days before ascending to Heaven. Eyewitness accounts, many of whom were martyrs of this confession, verified this as a historical truth.
Does Easter stem from a pagan holiday?
The origin of Easter is a widely debated subject, but some researchers believe that it derived from the festival of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of spring and fertility. Worship of multiple deities was common in the ancient cultures, but Christianity has always been a monotheistic religion worshiping only one God.
Since Christians have combatted all forms of idol worship throughout their religious history, it is perplexing that they would have taken what was once a pagan holiday and recaptured it as their own. Yet Easter is the ultimate springtime of rebirth for mankind because of the resurrection of Christ. The eggs we dye and hunt represent the new birth we experience when we become followers of Jesus.
Jesus said in John 3:3, “Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Perhaps in an effort to be in the world but not of the world, early Christians commemorated the Easter festival around the time same as the festival of Ishtar. Whether it was intentional or not, their light shined brightly amongst the darkness of pagan worship.
Similarly, the mission statement of Houston’s First Baptist Church is to be a relevant Biblical community. “We desire to be a church meeting people’s needs by standing on the strong foundation of the Bible and the love of Jesus. Easter is the perfect moment to show how those come together through the cross and resurrection,” said Pastor Gregg Matte.
Good Friday, the day Christians observe the death of Jesus on the cross, coincides with Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Israelite exodus from Egyptian slavery. According to the Torah and Holy Bible, the angel of death “passed over” the Israelite people’s homes during the last plague, because they had painted the blood of an unblemished lamb over their doorposts as God had instructed.
Christians believe that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and the final and completely sufficient sacrifice – the perfect Lamb of God – to take away the sins of the world. The Lord’s Supper (also known as the Last Supper, Holy Communion or the Eucharist) was first shared by Jesus and his apostles at the Passover meal the night of Jesus’ arrest.
St. Francis Episcopal Church will hold a Passover Seder on Palm Sunday, similar to the one Jesus celebrated the night he was betrayed. Children and parents of all ages will come together to experience a first century-style Last Supper, taste the ceremonial Seder foods and learn about their symbolic meanings. The order or “seder” of the food will tell the story of how Israelites progressed from slavery to freedom, just as those who believe in Jesus are delivered and redeemed from being slaves to sin to being set free in Christ.
Christians of all denominations celebrate this night as Maundy Thursday, stemming from the Latin word, mandatum, which means commandment. It was during the first Lord’s Supper that Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: to love one another.
Jesus displayed this sacrificial love as he broke the bread to represent how his body would be beaten, poured out the wine to represent how his blood would be shed, and washed the disciples’ feet – a job for the lowliest servant – to set the ultimate example of humility for them and all future disciples.
At Chapelwood United Methodist Church, the Maundy Thursday worship service will bring congregations of all ages together as one body to observe an array of traditions including: Holy Communion; symbolic hand washing; the stripping of the church, which includes removing adornments from the sanctuary such as clergy stoles and altar hangings to signify the abandonment Jesus endured in the Garden of Gethsemane; and a service of darkness that includes the gradual extinguishing of candles during a meditation on the suffering of Christ.
Before Easter can be celebrated, the agony of the cross and the days leading up to it must first be realized. “All of these traditions are seen through the framework of God’s unconditional love for us,” said Tammy Heinrich, Chapelwood’s worship and outreach pastor.
At both St. Cecilia’s and St. John Vianney Catholic Church, parishioners can participate every Friday of Lent in a devotional exercise called the Stations of the Cross, which is a series of 14 carvings or statues portraying events in the Passion of Christ, from his condemnation by Pontius Pilate to his entombment.
According to St. Cecilia’s, prayer, fasting, and confession prepares parishioners to “heed the prophet Joel’s exhortation to return to God with our whole heart” and “to celebrate more readily his resurrection.”
One of the ways Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church observes Holy Week is by offering the community an interactive event called “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday, as well as a simpler version for preschool-aged children. Church members dress in Biblical costumes and portray key events from the ministry of Jesus.
“Our goal is to help parents and grandparents share the story of Jesus’ love for us through experiencing His journey to the cross,” said Rachel Poysky, MDPC Children’s Ministries Pastor. “We want the story of Easter to come alive for kids and families in a way that is experiential and memorable to build their faith.”
Similarly, Tallowood Baptist Church offers an “Easter Experience” that includes five family-oriented stations to help families walk through the Easter story. The mother’s group from St. John Vianney gathers with their children at the Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center to explore the Stations in a more child-friendly way.
MDPC also participates in The Spoken Word, an around the clock, cover-to-cover reading of the New Testament that takes place during all of Holy Week.
Hope City is a nondenominational church “where everyone can come together under the banner of hope in Jesus.” They along with all other aforementioned churches will hold traditional services on Easter.
More than a particular denomination or membership, believers in Jesus have a message for Resurrection Sunday:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Believe and receive God’s love for you this Easter!
To read more about these local churches, visit their websites at:
Christi Smith is a Bible lover, writer and author of the online Christian journal, www.abideinjesus.com. She lives in Memorial with her husband and four daughters.
Read the entire story in our April 2019 Issue starting on page 9.
