The Easter of Christmas

            Around this time as our hearts and minds turn to Christmas, the last thing on our minds is Easter. My mom and I recently had a conversation on whether it was theologically correct to wear a cross around your neck around this time, the symbol of Christ’s crucifixion, and even further, should a church celebrate communion, the recalling of the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples. Should a church recall these stories during this season? Should we concentrate on the resurrection instead of the incarnation?

            I want to approach this the same way I approach Jesus’ divinity and humanity. If you walk into most church’s you will notice there are an even number of candles. One tradition suggests that this was because it proclaimed that Jesus was both fully human, and fully divine. Fully equal in his Godliness and human nature, as you can well imagine this whole understanding has caused countless gallons of ink to be spilled by theologians with their own unique perspective on things.

            We who claim the name of Christ live in a faith of juxtapositions; we believe that the incarnation and resurrection are equally important. We understand that Advent and Lent both lead to something magnificent, whether that is through the birth of a baby or the death of someone who didn’t deserve to die. Both convey different emotions but both show the reality of God’s loving grace in our lives.

            I was in Statesville this past weekend working for Nicholson Funeral Home. It seems this time of year, unfortunately and for whatever reason death is even more real leading up to Christmas. As I was reading scripture at a funeral of a dear family friend, Maxine, I realized that the same Scriptures that were read at her funeral were ones of Advent expectation. Within our deaths we find life, and within our lives we find death. Just like the incarnation and the resurrection they are events that work together, a symbiotic relationship requiring more understanding than we humans have.

            I write this article not in the hopes of articulating a theological concept that many theologians with far more degrees than me have trouble understanding. I write this to get you thinking, how is Christ’s resurrection playing out in your life this Christmas? And conversely as we begin a new year and approach Lent how is the story of Christmas fueling your hope of resurrection?

            We live in a world that we will never understand, and we have a God that we haven’t even scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the Divine. So maybe it’s best to wrestle with those concepts of resurrection vs. incarnation, and eventually find that they weave together a canopy that surrounds and sustains us, that canopy is known as the grace of God. This Christmas if your church is celebrating communion, consider that God is working, creating and restoring the resurrection in your life through the glorious incarnation of Christmas. What better present could we ask for?