Sitting in a traffic jam on the M25, Jeff Lucas muses on buns, bunnies and the true meaning of Easter. Does life feel like we’re stranded in traffic? We’d dearly love to move forward, to feel like we’re making some progress. But reality is different. We’re glad if we can navigate through it all without too many accidents or jams – but the journey begs the question: what’s the point? Message on a bun And then I realized that, in a sense, the answer to this huge question was in my hand. There was a message, not in a bottle, but written on a bun. A hot cross bun. Easter was not about slushy choco-bunnies and fancy eggs and all of that commercial bunk. Easter was about a cross. The cross of Christ. That day that he died was the junction moment of history. So what was the origin of the hot cross bun? Intrigued, I decided that, while I waited, I’d google – after all, technically, I was stationary. Scratch that. Actually, I was stationary. I discovered in seconds that although the practice of marking buns with a cross is only about two hundred years old, the currant bun has been considered to be a politically volatile item for over half a millennium. In Elizabethan days, hot cross buns were banned, until the Queen finally allowed them to be produced – but then, only at Christmas and Easter. Those buns were hot property – literally. An explosive message It was time to restart the car and embark on another epic fifty-yard crawl. And as I inched my way forward, I realized again that Easter, far from being about chocolate or fluffy bunnies, is really about the meaning of life. A major roadblock is up ahead of us all, whoever we are. Rich or poor, Smart Car drivers, and Ferrari racers too, all face the common horizon of death. We can pretend that death isn’t out there, that in some miraculous way we’ll turn off onto an immortal side road; it waits for us all. And then there’s the issue of life itself: is there life before death, a reason for all the journeying? Living without purpose means decades on dullness. Christians believe that the Bible announces a wonderful newsflash. Jesus came and made some stunning claims. He said he came for the broken and weary. He invited people to live a new life, one under his instruction. Jesus offered far more than a set of principles for living, but promised to always be with those who were his apprentices. Every part of their lives would be affected by their decision to follow Jesus. Jesus promised a lot to those who followed him. They weren’t assured an easy ride, but their past would be forgiven. Their present would sparkle with significance. Their future would be assured – with Jesus for eternity, and not because they were good enough to earn heaven, but because of the new life that Jesus offered them. Then, at Easter time, Jesus did some life and death business. At the cross, he dealt with every barrier that could prevent us from experiencing a close up relationship with God that is for here and eternity. Broken on the cross, he died, and some thought that it was all over. But it was just the beginning. Three days later he came to life again: he overcame the most shattering experience that humans ever face – death itself. Proving himself once and for all to be far more than a religious teacher or good man, Jesus broke out of the tomb and now offers us the free gift of new life, purpose, and peace. The Easter message is dangerous, one that subverts mere survival. And it calls for a decision from us all. It’s either the greatest story ever told, or it’s just more Easter bunk. We’re all invited to choose. An invitation with a promise Now the living Christ invites us to become his followers. He calls us to become part of the family that is the church. He offers us clarity and direction through the book that he has inspired: the Bible. He extends his hand to us, inviting us to share our lives with him daily: thus prayer is simply an ongoing conversation with God. Millions have made the choice to call him their king. Do we want him to take our brokenness and enable us to begin new lives? As a Christian I’m not exempted from life’s traffic jams. But the Easter story has changed my living, and my dying. And, if you’d like, it can change everything for you too. Whatever your experience, if you’d like, you can use the prayer printed on page 6 as a first step into a new life as a Christian. This will help either to begin, or reaffirm your choice to make Jesus the centre of your life. •  Extracts taken from ‘Easter: Buns, Bunnies or Bunk? by Jeff Lucas
|
