04/21/2022 Principal's Note

By -
Easter is my favorite holiday. Celebrating Christ's resurrection from the dead, especially after the somber forty days of Lent, is exciting! The music we sing in Easter services is upbeat and joyful, even more so than Christmas music. As Christians, Easter is a celebration of our victory through Jesus.
Isn't it interesting that the world seeks to undermine the two most important holidays in the church? Christmas is no longer about Jesus' birth, but about candy canes and presents, Santa and reindeer. People say the "true meaning of Christmas" is sharing, family, or loving each other, which are all good things, but which eclipse our Savior's birth. Easter is no different. Instead of being about Christ's resurrection, Easter has been transformed into another Halloween in which a rabbit lays eggs (what??) as a representation of the pagan god of fertility. Somehow this has morphed into parents giving children absurd amounts of candy in colored baskets.
Is it wrong to celebrate Christmas and Easter that way? Not necessarily. We can certainly give gifts and enjoy family time during these two holidays. Is it wrong when these worldly traditions begin to trump celebrating God's plan of salvation in action when going to church on these special days becomes a chore and we would rather be at home with our Christmas presents and Easter baskets? Absolutely. God tells us in the First Commandment that loving anything more than him is a sin; it's the same thing as bowing down and worshiping that object. That's exactly what happens when we choose earthly traditions over celebrating what God has done for us. So don't forget about the true meaning of Easter this season: Your Savior didn't stay dead after Good Friday, he rose again triumphantly, and is waiting to bring you to eternal life in heaven. Now THAT is something sweeter than all the Easter candy in your basket! Let's live our lives according to Paul's second letter to the Corinthian Christians: "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15, NIV 2011).

Have a blessed Easter season.

In Christ,

Principal Bill Fuerstenau