HOLY WEEK BLOG #4 – The Easter Egg

HOLY WEEK BLOG #4 – The Easter Egg  

 

For many people Easter wouldn’t be Easter without the annual Easter Egg Hunt.  I’m sure most of us got into the act as children when mom prepared all those tea cups full of hot water and food coloring.  And even many churches make sure to take the time for a little Easter Egg Hunt as part of their seasonal activities.

Did you ever wonder where the tradition of the Easter egg came from?  Maybe you’re curious about the name of the holiday itself.  I could spend a lot of time trying to answer these questions and explain the history behind it all but I’ve decided to include a lengthy quote from an article written by Jahnabi Barooah, Assistant Editor for Religion for the Huffington Post. 

Brightly decorated eggs, Easter egg rolling and Easter egg hunts have become integral to the celebration of Easter today. However, the tradition of painting hard-boiled eggs during springtime pre-dates Christianity. In many cultures around the world, the egg is a symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth. For thousands of years, Iranians and others have decorated eggs on Nowruz, the Iranian New Year that falls on the spring equinox.

Some claim that the Easter egg has pagan roots. According to this website, even the word Easter is said to have to come to us from the “Norsemen’s Eostur, Eastar, Ostara, and Ostar, and the pagan goddess Eostre, all of which involve the season of the growing sun and new birth”

For Christians, the Easter egg is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Painting Easter eggs is an especially beloved tradition in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches where the eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross. Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal vigil and distributed to the congregants. The hard shell of the egg represents the sealed Tomb of Christ, and cracking the shell represents Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular egg-related traditions. An egg hunt involves hiding eggs outside for children to run around and find on Easter morning. Eggs are rolled as a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ’s tomb. In the United States, the Easter Egg Roll is an annual event that is held on the White House lawn each Monday after Easter.

It’s amazing how much symbolism is assigned to the lowly hard-boiled egg, isn’t it?  I hope the above explanations are helpful to you in understanding some of the history and traditions behind the Easter egg.  There are those who feel that since the Easter Egg and actually Easter itself sprang from pagan roots that it is evil and should have no place in our churches.  These same folks often feel the same way about the Christmas tree and other holiday symbols.  They consider such things as idols and therefore, taboo for any Bible believing person.  They are certainly entitled to their position and I don’t mean to challenge that but for me such an idea is hogwash!  I’ve never known a single Christian who worshiped the Easter egg, the Christmas Tree or any other similar symbol.  They often go to great lengths to find meaning in these items as they remind the believer of the new life found in Jesus Christ.  To me, that is where the great value can be found.  When anything which is part of God’s great creation can be used to remind us of Him then, for me, it has added value in the celebration of these holidays and therefore is certainly appropriate to include.

The hard-boiled egg has been a part of several important meals in the Jewish culture.  The most notable is the Passover Seder meal.  In this meal a hard-boiled egg which has also been slightly roasted after boiling is eaten.   This egg, known as the HAGGIGAH represents the “holiday sacrifice that was made in temple times”.  While that sacrifice was meat, the egg is a representation of that sacrifice.    Many interpret this egg as a symbol of new life and hope and triumph over death (resurrection).  During the Seder meal the egg is sliced and given to all at the table.  They dip it in salt water, used several times during the meal, which represents the tears of the Israelites in their suffering at the destruction of the temple.  Another interpretation of the salt water is that it represents the tears shed by the Hebrews during their enslavement in Egypt.  Still others have said that the tears represent the difficult struggle by the Jewish people as they spent 40 years in the wilderness.  Regardless of the example a similar thread seems to run through several of these descriptions.  I find that the idea that the egg represents the hope of “new life” or life beginning anew seems to keep appearing.  That, of course, certainly applies to the Christian view of Easter.  It’s all about new life, isn’t it?  It’s the new life that is possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  As another author put it:

The roasted hard-boiled egg symbolizes the festival sacrifice that was offered in the temple in Jerusalem. The sacrifices were actually meat offerings, but the egg is symbolic as a visual reminder of the destruction of the temple. The roundness of the hard-boiled egg also “symbolizes the cycle of life; the continuous flow between life to death to rebirth, and the springtime renewal of Passover,”

I don’t believe you will find a single verse of scripture which speaks directly to the egg as a symbol.  Yet as you have read some of the descriptions above you can see that it can carry very meaningful messages about the Christian view of Easter: new life, hope, Christ’s broken body, the tomb as well as Jesus’ resurrection.  I found a wonderful story which illustrates the Easter egg in powerful way and I want to end todays post with that story.  After you read it I doubt that you will ever look at an Easter egg in quite the same way again.  The story is simply entitled The Empty Egg. 

                                         The Empty Egg

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind.  At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn.  His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises.  At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation.  As the Foresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school.  It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems.  Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."  Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."

Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Foresters.  After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class.  She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction.  Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write.  Why waste any more time trying? 

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought.  Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy.  From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares.  Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.  "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear.  The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red.  She stammered, "Wh--why that's very nice, Jeremy. N--now, please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter.  Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg.  "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"  "Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically--all except for Jeremy.  He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises.  Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection?  Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it.  After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day.  She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents. 

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk.  After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs.

In the first egg, Doris found a flower.  "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said.  "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here."  A small girl in the first row waved her arm.  "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. 

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up.  "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly.  Yes, that's new life, too."  Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it.  She explained that moss, too, showed life.   Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg.  She gasped.  The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?"  Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty."  He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped.  When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know

Why the tomb was empty?"  "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father made Him alive again."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died.  Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.

Now go get that box of tissues and reflect on the power of the symbolism of that lowly, common object we call the Easter egg.  Then take some time to thank the Lord Jesus who was willing to be “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”  Because the "egg" is empty, our hearts and lives can be amazingly full!  The next post will focus on the symbolism which surrounds the Last Supper.  Until then, God bless you all.