I asked the kids at a service “What’s Easter all about” and received a promp response, “It’s about eggs!”. I don’t think it’s a crucial probem really. Sometimes the real story behind our popular fectivals like Christmas and Easter gets overshadowed and even obscured by the festive spirit and eggs and recipes and gifts and shopping and partying.
But the question will keep on recurring about the real essence and reality behind all the wordly activities and business. In a way it sets the stage. Believers are challenged to creatively populate the stage with the real characters and storylines.
Way back when Jesus came into this world (Christmas) and when He left it (around Easter), the real Character and storyline was also obscured and denied. I will always remember attending the musical play at our Arts Fesival, created by Barney Simon and John Kani, The Lion and the Lamb, the greatest story ever told, which has featured such singers as Sibongile Khumalo, Sophie Mgcina, Gloria Bosman, Wendy Mseleku and Sibongile Mngoma. Although the story is biblically-based, telling the story of Christ’s life, The Lion and the Lamb also incorporated vibrant music from a variety of sources including mainstream Gospel and Afro-American spirituals (from: Artslink.co.za News).
The church will always retell and celebrate these stories in its liturgy, but sometimes it becomes even more striking and convincing when taken up and creatively retold in the genres of theatre and music. The famous French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who was a believer, tried to use a form of logic to convince people to believe in Christ. Called “Pascal’s wager”, he argued that “a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)” (Pensées). Not accepted by all, which is also understandable, it still is a gallant effort to also philosophically populate the stage with the true Character and story. And remind us that Easter is not really just about eggs!
Strauss de Jager, NG Kerk
