Easter Eggs and Redemption

Easter is this weekend, and for many churches, they will invariably encounter the debate over just how much they will celebrate Easter. In one camp there will be the group that protests the Easter Bunny and eggs by saying that these two things are too pagan for a church to get involved with; while, in another group, they will say that the Easter bunny shouldn’t be at church but hunting eggs in harmless. The question always arises, “Should our church do an Easter egg hunt at the church?” Although this seems like a simple question, it is a multi-faceted question and does not just apply to Easter, but it applies to every Christian holiday that somehow associates itself with pagan holidays and practices. In fact, this question boils down to ask, “How much should Christ's Church be a part of and share in the practices of the sinful community and world?”

First, the concern for church members who see certain practices as sins, must be accounted for in our decisions as to how to the Church should choose to operate. As Paul told the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 10:23 ESV “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.” Paul said this in the middle of talking about the concerns some Christians had in how other Christians were participating in pagan practices (eating food offered to idols). Paul instructed the Corinthian church to be sure to not cause a stumbling block for other Christians, but also that they should, “…whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Although this message from Scripture applies to this circumstance, the situation is slightly different. Because the issue was among believers and not among believers and the lost world, the implications of 1 Cor. 10 apply in a slightly different way in this circumstance. For instance, Easter Egg hunts have huge potential for reaching the lost world, while 1 Cor. 10 dealt with the issue of fellowship among the Believers. Although we should prioritize our fellowship with Believers, we should also be about the Great Commission; although some churches prioritize discipleship over evangelism (spoiler alert: there should be a balance of evangelism and discipleship). In saying that, the mission of the church comes into question. For instance, how willing is a church to penetrate a lost community with the Gospel? In the church’s mission statement, is there mention of needing to prioritize missions outside the church, or is the church intentionally focused internally on its members? If the mission of the church is a Biblical one, then the church will likely look for opportunities to share the Gospel, despite some Believers seeing pagan practices as only sin. There must be a transition to seeing things through a Gospel lens so that individuals can baptize pagan practices into being used as an opportunity for Christian ministry. Again, our priority in sharing the Gospel should not direct us to break ties with Believers, but it should lead us to, in Christ’s Spirit, redeem a pagan practice to attempt to redeem a pagan in the community to give glory to God. A group of believers cannot allow the complacency of a few individuals to stop the group of believers from sharing the Gospel- the priority of the Church.

Second, there are pagan issues in the holiday we call Easter; but, the most important part of the Gospel is also proclaimed on Easter (the resurrection). Although the Bible does not command the celebration of the resurrection, without the resurrection we are still under the Old Covenant and the Christian Faith is false (1 Cor. 15)- something to celebrate! In our celebration of the Gospel’s truthfulness, we should seek to transfer things that were once Spiritually Dead to Spiritual Life. (Eph. 2) Even though there are obvious pagan practices on this day, the children of God should not shy away from living for and celebrating an act of God. Ceasing to celebrate an act of God due to sinful practices associated with a certain date, minimizes the act of God and shows our fear of sin that compromises our victory in Jesus.

Despite the pagan sides of Easter (that only a few individuals know about, let alone practice), we should always see pagan activities as an opportunity to redeem them to a Christian meaning. Because sin is a deprivation of all things originally created to be good (Gen. 1), everything pagan has the opportunity to be redeemed and should be redeemed to a God-centered purpose so as to glorify God. God has the Holy Spirit working in connection with His Church to act to redeem and transform everything into something God-honoring. For instance, the early church sought to do so by creating Easter to replace pagan holidays with Christian ones (even though Easter coincides with the actual time of the Resurrection)! The Bible also contains several instances where Godly men used pagan practices and stories to share God with others: Joseph and Daniel interpreted dreams (a pagan practice) but did it to the glory of God, Paul often turned pagan beliefs into opportunities to share the Gospel in his missionary journeys (Acts 17), and John, in the book of Revelation, took pagan stories and Christianized them to share Gospel truths. In following Biblical example and Church tradition, I think that we should always be ready to redeem a pagan practice to be used by God; after all, what shows a greater picture of the Gospel than to take something pagan and redeem it to God’s glory?

Is it possible to redeem the practice of Easter egg hunting? Sure! Although the eggs were a originally a pagan symbol depicting fertility, they could easily be made into a Christian message. For instance, one could share with the children that originally the eggs were celebrated by pagans to be signs of fertility, but God can use them to share a message too. In fact, just as the eggs are placed in different places, so men are in different locations all over the world in need of finding. Each person who finds an egg represents the Gospel going forth to find and save lost men and women. In order to truly cherish someone, we have to see the beauty of God in their lives in the same way that we excitedly search for treasures in the eggs. By sharing a message like this through the once pagan activity, the church now uses it to share the Gospel with those from the community who came to the church for the egg hunt (assuming the church was missional minded and invited the community to the church for the egg hunt).

            My personal answer and conviction, as you’ve probably already guessed, is that churches should choose to open their doors to the community to allow the community to be a part of a Christianized pagan practice—even Easter egg hunts. I’ve been a part of churches and under ministers who preached against Easter’s pagan sides, and in their desire to be holy and set a part, they missed great ministry opportunities. Interestingly, I’ve seen a greater Gospel proclamation in the churches and pastors who desired to be holy and set apart while being a part of the community in sharing the Gospel (through things like egg hunts), allowing them to speak into the community by being a part of the community through opening the church for community activities. I am a huge proponent of doing everything possible to turn pagans into Christians and pagan practices into opportunities for evangelism and discipleship.

In summation: If Jesus can redeem my life, Jesus can redeem and transform a pagan practice like an Easter Egg hunt for His use and for His glory.