Easter
Quotes - I no longer have to be afraid of looking foolish
“Easter
tells us of something children can't understand, because it addresses things
they don't yet have to know: the weariness of life, the pain, the profound
loneliness and hovering fear of meaninglessness.”
―
Frederica Mathewes-Green
“Easter
is the miracle of transformation as seen in the change of seasons, in the
maturation of mortal persons, and in the resurrection of souls.”
―
Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons: Quotes, Poetry, & a Few Short
Stories for Every Day of the Year
“My
limitations abruptly define the frighteningly negligible extent of my
existence, yet my soul utterly perishes if bound by those very same limits. And
does this not somehow evidence both the reality of and need for God?”
―
Craig D. Lounsbrough
“If
God has the answer to every question, maybe my appreciation for God should be
shaped more by the number of questions and less by the wisdom of the answers.”
―
Craig D. Lounsbrough
“Life
is so utterly enraptured with beginnings that it can do little else than
perpetually create space for them. And those spaces are what we call endings.”
―
Craig D. Lounsbrough
“Spring
is the sound of birds chirping, the taste of cherry juice, the feel of grass on
bare feet, the sight of pink roses and blue skies, and the feel of dandelion
fuzz. Spring, in other words, is a welcome, wondrous sensory overload.”
―
Toni Sorenson
“I
no longer have to be afraid of looking foolish, or wonder what people might
think about me, as long as I please the One who conquered death.”
―
Sarah Holman, If He Lives
“People
referred to the symbolism of the empty Cross more than once on its journey. It
would seem obviously to point to our faith in Jesus’ resurrection. It’s not
quite so simple though. The Cross is bare, but in and of itself the empty Cross
does not point directly to the Resurrection. It says only that the body of
Jesus was removed from the Cross. If a crucifix is a symbol of Good Friday,
then it is the image of the empty tomb that speaks more directly of Easter and
resurrection. The empty Cross is a symbol of Holy Saturday. It’s an indicator
of the reality of Jesus’ death, of His sharing in our mortal coil. At the same
time, the empty Cross is an implicit sign of impending resurrection, and it
tells us that the Cross is not only a symbol of hatred, violence and
inhumanity: it says that the Cross is about something more.
The
empty Cross also tells us not to jump too quickly to resurrection, as if the
Resurrection were a trump card that somehow absolves us from suffering. The
Resurrection is not a divine ‘get-out-of-jail free’ card that immunises people
from pain, suffering or death. To jump too quickly to the Resurrection runs the
risk of trivialising people’s pain and seemingly mapping out a way through
suffering that reduces the reality of having to live in pain and endure it at
times. For people grieving, introducing the message of the Resurrection too
quickly cheapens or nullifies their sense of loss. The empty Cross reminds us
that we cannot avoid suffering and death. At the same time, the empty Cross
tells us that, because of Jesus’ death, the meaning of pain, suffering and our
own death has changed, that these are not all-crushing or definitive. The empty
Cross says that the way through to resurrection must always break in from
without as something new, that it cannot be taken hold of in advance of
suffering or seized as a panacea to pain. In other words, the empty Cross is a
sign of hope. It tells us that the new life of God surprises us, comes at a
moment we cannot expect, and reminds us that experiences of pain, grief and
dying are suffused with the presence of Christ, the One Who was crucified and
is now risen.”
―
Chris Ryan MGL, In the Light of the Cross: Reflections on the Australian
Journey of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon
“Easter
is a time where we are reminded that conclusions in man's mind are beginnings
in God's plan.”
―
Craig D. Lounsbrough, Flecks of Gold on a Path of Stone: Simple Truths for
Profound Living
“Christ
is not alive now because he rose from the dead two thousand years ago. He rose
from the dead two thousand years ago because he is alive right now.”
―
Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer
“An
ending is only happening because at some point it was a beginning. And if an
ending is dependent upon a beginning, I would be well advised to focus on the
miracle of beginnings verses the pain of endings.”
―
Craig D. Lounsbrough, An Intimate Collision: Encounters with Life and Jesus
“I’m
not trying to con kids into optimism or false confidence. I really believe this
stuff. My view of violence and victory in children’s stories hinges entirely on
my faith. Samson lost his eyes and died … but he has new eyes in the
resurrection. Israel was enslaved in Egypt, but God sent a wizard far more
powerful than Gandalf to save His people. Christ took the world’s darkness on
his shoulders and died in agony. But then … Easter.
In
the end, good wins. Always.”
―
N.D. Wilson
“Like
the rest of Holy Week, Easter is also a terrific story. It starts as tragedy:
the hero broken and bloody, against all expectation dead, his followers' joyful
hope in him entombed with his corpse, the rock rolled into place, sealing their
despair.
But
the curtain doesn't fall there. The next morning at dawn they discover the rock
has been rolled back. The tomb is empty, the body's gone! A missing corpse?
Great stuff. A whisper of comedy. Now a touch of farce as Mary Magdalen and the
guys chase frantically around looking for help, or the corpse, when suddenly,
out of nowhere, up it pops—alive!
Of
course it's Jesus, who's done the impossible and beaten death.
And
they're so amazed they think he's the gardener! It's a payoff way beyond the
Hollywood ending: all the flooding emotion and uplift of a tragedy followed by
all the bubbling joy and optimism of a comedy.
Is
that possible? Not just to live happily ever after but to die—and still live
happily ever after? It's the most audacious claim of Christianity, the one
element that marks the brand indelibly, that trumps the claims of all other
major faiths.”
―
Tony Hendra, Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul
