As I prepared for today’s service, I figured I wanted to include something either North American or Danish. A movie or a novel, a poem or a comic. Something about Easter.
But I realized that not much such literature exists about Easter. Easter – despite being the main Christian holiday – does not seem to have a lot of stories told relating to it.
Unlike Christmas. Christmas is booming with both movies and novels, poems and comics. How come Easter does not?
In short, I think it might have to do with the serous topic of Easter: death. Resurrection as well, but to some – and maybe especially to kids – death might overshadow resurrection despite it being the exact opposite way around.
As I figured not much literature existed, I decided to make my own. My very own North American Easter story. I decided to rewrite the story of ‘the Grinch’ and make it into an Easter version.
Do you all know the Grinch?
Well, I believe the main plot in the story about the Grinch is about love and hatred. The Grinch does not have a big heart. Something to do with a troubled childhood. And because of his little heart, he does not possess a lot of love. Rather opposite, he possesses a lot of hate.
And one Christmas he cannot stand all the love that surrounds Christmas. Therefore – in hatred – he decides to steal Christmas.
But luckily somehow shows him love despite his hatred making his heart grow. Grow so that all the hatred within him is overcome by love.
Hence, the story is about love and hatred. How hatred is overcome by love.
As I wanted to make the story into an Easter edition, I figured I had to choose some other feelings. Some other opposite feelings. And luckily it was not very hard to decide which feeling an Easter edition of the Grinch should be about, because in the Gospel of Easter we are presented for two such feelings: Fear and joy.
Fear and joy. Those are the two feelings that are used to describe the two Marys as they leave the tomb, where and angel told them, that Jesus was not dead. He had resurrected.
Fear. They were filled with fear because of what had happened. Jesus had been crucified. The word of the angel cannot remove this feeling completely. After all, death is unavoidable part of human life. But besides it came joy. A joy the two Marys had never had before. Could there really be more to life than death. Could death truly be followed by life anew?
It could. In faith. That was what was revealed to them on Easter Day. That is what we celebrate today. We celebrate that not only should we live our lives with fear – fear of death – through the salvation of Jesus Christ we can live our lives with joy – joy of resurrection – as well.
Now we have two opposite feelings. How then would an Easter story with the Grinch unfold?
Well, I see before me a saddened Grinch. He is filled with fear. Every single day. The people around him are playing and having fun. In an Easter edition of the story kids might be collecting hidden eggs around the village.
But the Grinch does not dare to go outside. There is so much danger out there in the world. Nor does he dare to collect eggs. To him the eggs reminds him of what he fears the most – death. After all, the shells to him are as cold and hard as rocks.
Why do people bother so much about eggs? – he wonders.
One Easter he unexpectedly received a letter. A beautifully decorated letter. To start with he did not dare to open the letter, but his dog was too curios and had torn the envelope apart.
The Grinch was terrified. But despite being afraid, the Grinch had good manners and wanted to return the letter. The only problem was that the sender had not written a name on the envelope. The sender had written his or her name with dots instead of letters.
Now a lot of things could happen in the description of the Grinches attempt to find the sender. This most definitely could be developed if one wanted to make a full story out of my idea. But let us just fast-forward to the Grinch finding the sender of the letter.
“You found me,” the sender says. “Now I owe you an Easter Egg.”
The Grinch wanted to run off, but the dog smelled that this egg was not just a dead thing as the Grinch feared. There was something more to it. The egg hid something good.
The Grinch found some courage, and removing the shell of the egg, the Grinch learned that chocolate was hidden inside. What joy.
And that was what made something grow inside the Grinch. That was what melted all the fear that once occupied every though of his. He took another egg that was hidden in a bush. Truly, inside the hard and dead shell, something joyous was revealed.
And from that day forward the Grinch feared no longer. Because the Grinch had learned that despite of death – despite of fear – there is more to existence. There is life. There is joy. There even is life everlasting.
Did you like my thought experiment of how to make an Easter edition of the story of the Grinch?
Well, I found it fun. I cannot believe that such an edition has not been made yet. Maybe I should change my career.
Or maybe not. But either way the story tells us something important. The story makes us reflect upon the mixed feelings of the two Marys as they leave the empty tomb. The story makes us think about fear and joy. The two feelings of Easter. And it highlights what the entire Gospel is all about: Fear not.
Fear not. It is the word of the angel to the two Marys. And it is faith’s response to all illness that happens to us. Fear not. It is the message of hope that we are told. And it is something that comes true on Easter morning.
We have all the reasons to fear. But beside fear – in faith – we have every reason to feel joy as well. Because death – the greatest fear of ours – is defeated. Defeated by God’s son, Jesus Christ.
I wish all of you a happy Easter. May it be joyous and fun, may all the eggs be full of chocolate, and may we give praise to our Lord for granting us the gift of life – the gift of Easter.
Amen.