Have A Non-Commercial Easter!

Slate Magazine has an article about how, unlike Christmas, Easter has largely resisted mass commercialization.

Even the resurrection, the joyful end of the Easter story, resists domestication as it resists banalization. Unlike Christmas, it also resists a noncommittal response. ... Easter is an event that demands a "yes" or a "no." There is no "whatever." ...

What does the world do with a person who has been raised from the dead? Christians have been meditating on that for two millenniums. But despite the eggs, the baskets, and the bunnies, one thing we haven't been able to do is to tame that person, tame his message, and, moreover, tame what happened to him in Jerusalem all those years ago. That's one reason why you don't see many Easter cards, Easter gifts, and Easter decorations; why the stores aren't clogged with shoppers during Lent; and why the holiday is still, essentially, religious.

As I thought about it, glad that it hasn't gone over the top with cards and presents and such, I couldn't help but wonder how often I go through this holy week with little more than a "whatever". How I regularly attempt to tame Christ, to not be radically shaped by the events of Easter.

So I turned to my trusty Book of Common Prayer and found, as always, encouragement in its pages. I'll just share a prayer from Holy Week here...

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Have a good Easter, y'all!