PATHWAYS TO FAITH: Easter Sunday or Resurrection Day?
Easter
Sunday has long been recognized in the western world as the day we
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The celebration of Easter
represents the central feast of the Christian Liturgical year and
coincides with the Jewish celebration of the Passover. According to the
gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion
at Calvary. Most orthodox Christian churches celebrate His resurrection
on the day recognized as Easter Sunday, also called Resurrection Day or
Resurrection Sunday. Some congregations such as the Jehovah Witnesses
and the Quakers (Society of Friends) reject the idea of Easter because
of its connection to Pagan worship and the commercialization of the day
with such things as the Easter Bunny, baskets of candy and eggs. See the
following discussion from Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia, “Some
Christians (usually, but not always fundamentalists) however, continue
to reject the celebration of Easter (and, Christmas), because they
believe them to be tainted with paganism and idolatry. Their rejection
of these traditions is based partly on their interpretation of 2
Corinthians 6:1416. Additionally, some Christians who do celebrate
Easter prefer to call it “Resurrection Sunday” or “Resurrection Day” due
to the pagan associations of the word “Easter”. Most Christians prefer
to distinguish the religious celebration from the more secular or
commercial aspects of the holiday. This is also the view of the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who instead observe a yearly commemorative service
of the Last Supper and the subsequent death of Christ on the evening of
Nisan 14 ( A Jewish Month) based on the calculations derived from the
lunar Hebrew Calendar. It is commonly referred to, in short, by many
Jehovah Witnesses as simply “The Memorial”. The Jehovah’s Witnesses
believe that verses such as Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:26
constitute a commandment to remember the death of Christ (and not the
resurrection, since only the remembrance of the death was observed by
early Christians); there Continued on Page 10 fore they do so annually
just as the Passover is celebrated annually by the Jews. (SPECIAL NOTE
re: Nisan or Nissan) is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and
the seventh month (eighth, in leap year)
of the civil year, on
the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah
it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which
barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days. Nisan usually falls in
the time frame of our March– April on the Gregorian calendar.) Members
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) traditionally do not
celebrate or observe Easter (or any other Church holidays). They believe
instead that “every day is the Lord’s day”, and to elevate one day
above others suggests that it is acceptable to do nonChristian acts on
other days. Likewise they believe that every day is holy, and should be
lived as such. This belief of Quakers is known as their testimony
against times and seasons.” I hope this has shed some light and new
insight on the controversy over Easter versus Resurrection Day or
Resurrection Sunday. Regardless, let us all remember that the central
point of the celebration is for us to remember that Jesus Christ died on
Calvary’s cross and rose from the grave on the third day, after which
He ascended to the Father and is sitting at the Father’s right hand as
our advocate, intercessor, Lord and Savior. HAPPY EASTER, HAPPY
RESURRECTION SUNDAY OR HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY. What you call this day is
your choice. We should focus on the central issue which is Jesus Christ
was crucified, died on the cross at Calvary, rose from the grave and
now lives eternally in heaven. Because of His fulfill of the biblical
prophesies, the work is finished and you have access to eternal life
through Him. Dr. Holley is the Senior Pastor at Pathways Christian
Fellowship in Bradenton, Florida. Contact Dr. Holley at
Wholley777@aol.com.
WWW.PathwaysCFC. org.