Easter is a great time to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, there are certain facts which we need to think about.
Easter should not be thought as a time of celebration alone, as the real meaning of celebrating Easter, is to spread hope, joy and glad tidings, to the hopeless, needy and suffering. Easter does not end up at Church and celebration alone. We need to think how to get the good news to all and try to do celebrate this Easter differently. A few of the suggestions are given below.
1) Celebrate in Hospital :
Jesus Christ gave encouragement to Mary, after He resurrected. On the eve of Easter, let us visit Hospitals and try to encourage them and give them the hope that healing is from His stripes, as it is said in Isaiah 53:5. The sufferers can receive a new hope and way to look at their future.
2) Celebrate with the homeless :
Christ came to the world, from the bosom of His father and was born in a manger, as the world had no space to accommodate him. Easter is a time where we can go as teams, to visit the street-dwellers and show the love of God by presenting them with food, dress or other goodies, as deeds with faith is important.
3) Visit to Jails :
Christ came to liberate the human mankind from captivity and give them a blessed hope. We can organise a visit to the jails and juvenile homes, by taking prior permission from the concerned authorities and visit the inmates. We can spend time with them and share the good news of God’s forgiveness and assurance to get rid of the guilt feelings, which actually kills such persons.
4) Visit to Orphanages / Old-age Homes :
Jesus, even when he was nearing the days of crucification and on His way to Jerusalem, showed concern for the people, where he reached out to the blind Bartimaeus to heal him and give a new future. During the time of Easter, we can visit orphanages and old-age homes and share the love of God by skits, songs etc. And make them to look at life in a new perspective.
5) Roadshows :
To reach the community, roadshows can be organised. A group of people can be organised to go on cycling or walks around the city, with T-shirt messages / placards etc. ( eg. “Jesus is alive – so you can live”, “Jesus is risen to rise you up “, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow” etc.) to share the good news of God’s salvation.
6) Reaching out to your neighbours :
The key teaching of Christ is that we have to love our neighbour as our own-self. This can be practised literally by calling people in our neighbourhood, for a lunch or dinner and share the love of Jesus, by sharing on what He did at the Cross. Showing a video, filmshow (like “Passion of Christ”, “Jesus of Nazareth” etc. ) or sharing your testimonies or calling somebody known to you to witness for God, could help you in sharing the love of God. If you have a celebrity-status person or person of influence who is in Christ, in your area, he or she can be invited to share about what God has done to them.
On the whole, we have to explore various opportunities, to share the love of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. Easter is just another great opportunity for the same. We feel instead of celebrating Easter in a religious manner, it can be done in a useful manner, which will please God more than anything else.
God bless you!