Written By: REV. FR. OBINNA DIKE

Easter, also called Paschal, is the most important religious feast in Christendom. Today, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is an event which, according to Christian belief, occurred on the third day after His death, sometime between 27 and 33 AD.

Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving known as Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, they have prepared themselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that they can rise again with Him in new life on Easter.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowing truth of Christian faith in Jesus Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community, handed on as fundamental truth by tradition and scripture and preached as an essential part of the paschal mystery along with the cross.

Paul, writing his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 15, summarized the event; “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received. That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve…If the Lord had not risen, our faith would have been in vain”.

The Easter season brings to an end the season of lent which immediately precedes it. Just as Easter is the most important Christian holiday, so, too, the Easter season is the longest of the special liturgical seasons of the Christian calendar. It extends all the way to Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day after Easter Sunday. Easter period is marked with joy, peace, forgiveness, freedom from bondage and renewal.

The Easter festival is observed in many different ways by Christians and non-Christians alike. The traditional liturgical observation of Easter, as practiced among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and some other denominations, begins with the Easter vigil. Here, the service of light, readings, baptism, confirmation and Eucharist are variedly done.

In some other churches, Easter is celebrated in varied forms as sunrise service, memorial, last supper and Passover, which some others, who do not really believe in the traditional celebration of Easter, organize other spiritual programmes to renew the faith of their members.

Thus, the message of Easter should be clearly imprinted in our minds. Easter is not only the greatest Christian feast; it is the fulfillment of   Christians’ faith. Through His Death, Christ destroyed humanity bondage to sin; through His Resurrection, He brought the promise of new life, both in Heaven and on earth. His prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven,” begins to be fulfilled on Easter Sunday.

 Secondly, If God forgives us our sins through Christ, we must forgive and reconcile with one another in the new life of Easter. Christ proved this life of forgiveness to us on the cross and by his visit to the guilt-laden apostles. Thirdly, Christ’s message to his disciples after his resurrection was “Peace be unto you” Such is demanded of Christians, especially those who are bereft of peace in their lives. Fourthly, the path of Jesus to his glorious resurrection was thorny, but he bore it as a youth. Christian and non-Christians alike should understand that it is the cross that brings the crown. Our youths should embrace hard work and persevere in the face of hardship. Laziness, procrastination, loss of the sense of sin, kidnapping, robbery, indecency and rape are some of the vices that must be buried with Christ.

Above all, we are all conquerors by the resurrection of Christ. We must live it on, a life full of holiness and devoid of fear. Happy Easter.

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