Cartoonology Devotional 04-07-09

Cartoonology. There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Easter has always been a great time of year. I have many fond memories of Easter as a child. Coloring and hiding eggs, getting chocolate candy and dressing in new clothes was a big part of it. Anyone remember those white buck shoes and blue pinstriped suits? Of course, Easter was more than all this. It was also about the resurrection of our Jesus from the tomb and about worship of Him with fellow believers.

Did you know the word Easter occurs only once in the King James Bible (Acts 12:4), and in reality, the word should have been translated Passover? The word Easter is actually from pagan origin and it crept into the church as she tried to “Christianize” pagan holidays. The church was actually trying to counter the pagan gods of fertility, etc. Easter bunnies and the coloring of eggs come from those pagan gods. Somewhere along the way pagan practices mingled in with Christian celebrations. Christmas and Halloween are also related to pagan celebrations. Halloween was a pagan holiday altogether aimed at countering the Christian All Hallows Day celebration. The word Easter comes from Eostre. She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe.

The early church worshipped on Sunday since this was the day Christ rose from the grave. This is why the church called Sunday the Lord’s Day.

Mark 16:9 (NLT)
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

The crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus all took place during the Jewish Passover time. That is why Easter and Passover so often coincide. Of course, there were good reasons for this. Jesus is called our Passover in the scriptures and His institution of the Lord’s Supper from the Last Supper validates this. Without the resurrection of Jesus, however, the church would not even exist. When we get beyond the commercialization and the pagan influences, we can experience the true meaning of Easter. It is about life – the life that Christ gives, because He is still alive. 04-07-09

edrynn@verizon.net