It’s Not Just About the Bunny Ears

Today is Easter Sunday and the middle of Passover week. For Jews and Christians, some of the most important days of the year: days that have always represented the hope of deliverance.

In our Austin neighborhood – perhaps like yours – it’s also been a day for a “social distancing” kind of Easter egg hunt.  Many of our neighbors have placed pictures of Easter eggs in their front windows.  Families, practicing social distancing as they walk our streets, have their children “hunt” for any Easter egg pictures they can find.

Which brings me to our front door.  Earlier this week, my wife and I visited a few big box stores for Easter decorations.  In addition to participating in our neighborhood Easter egg hunt, we wanted to put an Easter cross on our front door this week, letting people know that during these discouraging days, we are still people of hope.

Unfortunately, more than sixteen retail aisles and four big box stores later, absolutely no crosses.  Lots of cute baskets, hundreds and hundreds of Easter eggs, bags of jellybeans (my favorite!) but no Easter crosses.

As someone who loves jellybeans, eats more chocolate that I’d like to admit and has enjoyed seeing neighborhood children call out when they “find” their next Easter egg, I’m not opposed to any of this.  It just saddened me that the closest I could come to finding an Easter cross was this painted board, “Happy Easter” with bunny ears on the top.  The red sash?  Lynn and I added that sash as an alignment with the Jewish Passover tradition of lambs blood over the doorway as a sign of deliverance.

Wherever you find yourself today, I want to remind you: Easter Sunday and Passover are not only (or even primarily) about jellybeans, chocolate eggs and bunny ears.  Deliverance and the hope of a better future is what they represent.

The dark days of Covid-19 and deep economic challenges for significant portions of our economy will pass.  Deliverance is coming.