Life Through the Lens: Christmas cake at Easter

This post was contributed by Kevin Schrapel.

The other day, the subject of Easter came up.

“What yer doin’ fer Easter?” I asked.

“Dunno … same old, same old, I guess – goin’ campin’ up the river, toast a few buns an’ marshmallows on the campfire,” was one lethargic reply.

“Prob’ly visit the rellies on the peninsular,” came another comment, dripping with disinterest.

Then four eyes lifted to me: “what about you?”.

“Go to church like usual.”

“Righto,” came the even-more-disinterested reply.

As we shuffled off to go our own ways, the thought came: how easy it is to let what was once exciting, enjoyable, something looked forward to become part of the tradition and the ho-hum of normal.

I remember one Easter.

Growing up on a small farm in the Mid North, we didn’t always have Easter eggs.

It often depended on how many eggs the cooks had laid to sell or how big the monthly cream cheque was.

But that was okay.

We knew we were loved.

This particular Easter, Mum, full of enthusiasm, suddenly presented what was obviously a fruity Christmas cake.

From last Christmas, having somehow been forgotten, it had languished behind a tin on the shelf.

Now it held pride of place on the kitchen table.

“It was a bit dry, so I pricked it full of fork holes, poured some brandy over it, re-wrapped it, let it sit a couple of weeks – now it’s our Easter cake!”

It was delicious.

The ingredients were still all there, plus the extra love of a caring mum.

The ingredients of Easter are still there: God’s great love for us; Jesus, the son of God, being sacrificed on a cross of wood, all so we can again experience a friendship with our heavenly father; the empty grave to show what Jesus said about himself is all true.

To bring new joy and life and understanding into this Easter, might I suggest trying this.

Get a Bible or Bible app.

Start with the gospel of Matthew and work through to John.

Concentrate on finding the name “Jesus”.

Every time you see the word “Jesus”, think:

1. What were the circumstances around what was happening?
2. What did Jesus say?
3. What did Jesus do?
4. Can I see God’s love happening here?
5. How does this apply to what is happening in my life?

Then talk to God about what you discover.

Finally, look forward to a blessed and exciting Easter, eggs or no eggs.

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