What is Easter?
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Easter Sunday this year falls on April Fools’ Day. A tradition exists about “Christ the Fool.” It probably originates from when Pilate sent Christ to see Herod. Herod was anxious to see him. See him do what? See him perform. He had heard much about this man and his miracles. So naturally the king wanted to see what Christ could do; he wanted a private show to entertain the court. In response, Christ was simply silent. Herod promptly sent him back to Pilate.
The Polish philosopher, Leszek Kolakowski, wrote of Christ the Jester. The famous “juggler of God” story was about the poor juggler who could do nothing much for the Lord as far as he knew. So in the quiet of a church, he did his act before the tabernacle as his offering to Christ. It was the best thing he could do. It was enough. To the wise Greeks, as St. Paul tells us, the whole aura around Christ’s death and resurrection seemed to be “foolishness.” And it is foolishness unless considerable evidence is found showing that something astonishing was in fact going on. This evidence is basically the testimony of the women and men who attested to the fact that Christ did rise again. This is the same Christ whose death on the Cross they had witnessed a few days before.
Easter was a surprise to the Apostles. Even though Christ had indicated to them that he would rise again on the third day, they still did not understand. Who can blame them? While there are some stories in Scripture about characters sent to heaven, to deny the reality of the Resurrection seems natural. Yet, no resurrection is possible unless a death has first taken place. Resurrection does not mean the “creation” of a new being from nothing, but the restoration of life to one who already had existed in this world. The Resurrection is depicted both as a final ending in death and as the beginning of eternal life. Indeed, what is most curious about the Resurrection is not so much its happening as thinking about how it happens.
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