It always amuses me and frustrates me that our church (I am a catholic) hangs on to dates that are associated with festivities totally unrelated (time wise) to the actual events in the Bible. Easter and Christmas being good examples. Why cannot they powers that be be a little more realistic in this day and age.
There are two good viewpoints on this.
First, there is the concept of Sacred and Temporal time from Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane. Sacred time can be entered at any point and in doing so we step out of temporal time. For example contemplating Jesus’ resurrection can be done at any time. I have been praying with other Christians for what seems like an hour only to find that 15 minutes have gone by.
Second, we should the best method of honoring traditions that occur on a certain date. Passover is clearly defined and celebrated every year in Jewish tradition. The Passover feast is directly tied to the dating for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. But Easter and Passover are not determined in the same way. Passover is always the 14th day of Nisan on the Jewish calendar, a fixed date from a lunisolar calendar and Easter is always the 1st Sunday following the 1st full moon of Spring. When there is a clear date to determine Passover, why do western Christians, myself being one, celebrate Easter if it does not match the Jewish date.
Once a person knows something they must judge their own heart based on that knowledge. Personally, I celebrate Jesus’ resurrection any day of the week, but knowing from Ezekiel 8:
13And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing.”
14Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
15He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these.”
16Then He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their (P)backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun.
17He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have (filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.
18"Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them."
Tammuz is one of the months in the Hebrew Calendar. Not good. Also not good is the Roman calendar which, as pointed out earlier, has pagan roots also. Yes, days of the week are named after gods. But we must use some calendar, and here is where we are called to be in the world but not be of the world. Isn’t this an example that we are all sinners and no matter what we do we are immersed in sin? Paul after growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ went from being proud of his faith to considering himself chief sinner. How humbling is that?
Personally I won’t call the Resurrection of our Lord by the name Easter anymore because the dates have been changed and I feel that sun worship cited by Ezekiel ties in with it. Others may not know or may disagree with this viewpoint. I will still go to church this Sunday and greet people who say happy Easter to me with no problem. For many it is tradition and memories of growing up, but the kings that did right in the sight of God were the ones who tore down the idols. Ezekiel is tell of a very serious offense.
If through research, you discover that the abomination that was so detestable to God that His presence left the temple, wouldn’t you not want to have anything to do with that?
The connections to Easter and the mother/son worship from many different civilizations long before Jesus is easy to look up. There were just different names for the mother and son, but Tammuz stems from the Babylonian god dumuzi and Nimrod’s wife is part of this worship. satan always to counterfeit for he is the father of lies. If we worship our Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth as He said, we won’t go wrong. Truth is the important word in this discussion. God calls us to study so as to be approved. As in Romans 2 1-16, we see that we all judge improperly, but also that as Gentiles our actions based on our conscience either accuses or excuses us.
Thanks from one sinner to the rest. God sees the heart and what is a sweet aroma to Him from one person may be detestable from another. Remember the Pharisee who gave much and the widow who gave a small amount but with the right motive. Praise Jesus that we are redeemed through His sacrifice. God Bless.
