Our
word ‘Easter’ comes from the Old English word ‘Oestre’ which was the name of a
pagan Goddess of fertility. Her feast was held on the 21st day of
March. This is the Vernal Equinox and the accepted first day of Spring. The female hormone
‘oestrogen’ is named after her.
Our Easter is named after this pagan festival.
Easter is a moveable feast which is celebrated on the first Sunday, after the
first full moon (known as the Pascal moon) after the 21st March.
The ancient Jews celebrated their most
holy religious festival at the spring time of the year. It is called Passover and
celebrates a time of their enslavement in Egypt and the gaining of their
freedom. The traditional ceremony of the Jews killed a lamb and placed its
blood upon their front doorposts. Jews recall the haste with which they left Egypt
by baking bread without yeast because it needs no time to rise. They were eager
to travel to the land
of Canaan, and in so
doing they laid the foundations of their faith in Yahweh.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth,
was born. He had spent three years as a travelling holy man, and he impressed
many thousands of people with his healing abilities. He criticised the rich and
described the Jewish priests as “whited sepulchres” in his sermons. When he
arrived in the capital city of Jerusalem,
the people spread palm fronds in the path of his donkey. We remember this day
as Palm Sunday. Within a week he would be crucified.
He
held a supper with his close associates and then spent time praying. Whilst at
prayer, Peter, James and John saw his face transfigure and his clothes shine.
They saw the spirit of Elijah or Moses. Then a mist appeared and they heard a
spirit voice say “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”.
Within hours, Jesus was betrayed to the authorities by one of the closest associates who had celebrated the meal with him. He was taken for questioning. The Jewish priesthood accused him of
blasphemy and the Roman Governors accused him of creating an uprising. Neither
authority wanted the responsibility for the death of this holy man so the
Jewish priests passed Jesus to the Roman Governors.
There was a criminal in the
prison named Barabbas, and the Governors asked
the people who they wanted to be released, Barabbas or Jesus. The people
shouted to release Barabbas and they insisted Jesus was crucified.
During the
following days, Jesus was brought before the High Court, was stripped, a crown
of thorns was placed on his head, and he was whipped. Jesus then carried a tree
trunk on his back to a rubbish tip outside the city of Jerusalem and was nailed to it to die on
a Friday, known by us as ‘Good Friday’.
His friends disappeared, some even
denying they ever knew him. Only his mother, Mary Magdelene and another woman were there when he died. He asked his favourite disciple, John to take care of his mother. The crucified body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb belonging to his rich uncle, Joseph. Two days later, his friend, Mary Magdalene, came to the tomb to embalm the body, and saw his spirit.
This moment is celebrated on Easter Sunday. The spirit of Jesus was also seen
by two of his friends as they walked to Emmaus, a local town, where many of
Jesus’ friends and family were gathering for the Pascal Meal. They all saw his spirit,
which had materialised, and the apostle Thomas placed his fingers into Jesus’
wounds. All were convinced that they had seen the risen Jesus. Many of his
friends travelled all over the known world, transmitting the spiritual
teachings that have been handed down to us as the New Testament. Article by Wendy Stokes www.wendystokes.co.uk
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