Easter

This day is the reason we are Christians.

Jesus was a prophet, yet many men were prophets.

He was a radical social reformer, but those have existed ever since society came into existence.

He was a wise teacher and progressive moral leader, but in His day there were many wise teachers and many moral leaders.

He was a healer and a miracle worker, who cast out demons and cleansed lepers; he even raised people from the dead. However, all these wonders had been done before Him, and men after him would continue to perform all the same miracles.

If Jesus was only any of the above, He would have come and gone. History may have remembered Him, but He would not have the following He has had throughout history. People would not have died for Him, or be willing to die for Him, or continue to die for Him.

No, Jesus was much more than all those earthly roles, and He is something no other man is. He is the Messiah, the perfect Lamb of God, who three days ago was slaughtered as a Passover sacrifice, to atone for the sins of the world. He went willingly to that unjust fate, because of His love for us.

However, that alone is still not the entire reason we follow Him.

He died, but many died.

However, He rose.

Jesus could have stayed dead in the tomb. His followers, scared of a similar fate, had scattered, and the impact of this brief “Messiah” would have lasted only three painful years. However, three days after He was killed, His tomb was found empty, despite being guarded by elite Roman guards. He then appeared, resurrected in the flesh, yet with a Heavenly glory. He stayed on this earth for forty more days, instructing his disciples, before ascending into Heaven.

That is why we are Christians. Not because of His teachings. Not because of His miracles. Not even because of His death. We are Christians because of His Resurrection.

Luke 24:13-21:

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”

Birkat Hahammah

Today is the Jewish holiday of Birkat Hahammah. According to this site, the Jewish community believes that, on this day, the sun completes circuit and returns to the spot where it was originally created, at the time it was created in the beginning. This only happens once every twenty-eight years, and this is only the 206th time the sun has completed it’s trip.

The Overview page gives a brief description of how they calculated these numbers, and they admit that there is a margin of error. However, the site says the celebration and meaning are more important than the actual date.

At dawn, the celebrants rise and go outside. They face east and recite “Blessed are You, Adonai, our God and God of all the universe, who makes all things in creation.”.

As with many Jewish holidays, I see no problem in acknowledging Birkat Hahammah and learning more about it. Both Jews and Christians believe in the same God, and we share the same creation story (in fact, I’d say the only real thing that separates us is that Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah, and Jews do not). I don’t think it’s wrong to entertain the belief that today the sun is in its original place. It’s certainly a good a time as any to reflect on the sun.

Genesis 1 describes the creation of the sun on the fourth day:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Whatever view you hold on literal six-day creation, God gave us a great gift when He gave us the sun. Without the sun’s light and warmth, most of the life on earth could not exist. The sheer amount of energy produced by nuclear fusion within it, far greater than anything humans have devised, is a testimony to the power of the One who made the sun, compared to the weakness of man who needs it.

So  take a minute today to honor the sun, and even more to honor the God who made it and who sustains us with His power.

Also, sundown today marks the start of the Jewish festival of Passover, which I’ve written about before, and which all Christians should learn about, both to understand their heritage, and to comprehend the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus as the Lamb of God.