What isn’t there to love about Easter? It’s a holiday that’s just hopped into our rearview but celebrates over-the-top, festive and gay bonnets with fringe upon them and chocolate – lots and lots of chocolate.
Well, as a decidedly non-Christian Quaker, the “real meaning” of Easter is problematic for me.
You can pray all you want for my eternal soul but I won’t accept Jesus as anything other than a profoundly enlightened soul. There is no fateful battle going on for me that is reliant on me accepting this wonderful man as anything other than that.
Since I don’t believe in Hell, it’s hard for someone to say that because I don’t accept Jesus as a “personal savior” that I’m going there. To me, the idea of someone rising from the dead sounds more like the plot of an overdone zombie movie than it does the miracle it’s touted as in the modern, inconsistent tales of the Bible.
So a holiday that celebrates things that are theologically inconsistent with my beliefs becomes an issue. Especially in our decidedly Judeo-Christian culture where everyone sort of assumes I’ll be singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” in a church pew. I won’t.
As with most Sunday (or First Day, as we Quakers call it) mornings I was in silent worship in the St. Pete Meeting House. Traditional Quakers don’t put any particular emphasis on any given holiday, preferring to believe that all days made by God are holy in their own right.
Yet even among us heathens sometimes we are moved by the spirit of this holiday. A few years ago there was an elderly friend who liked to bring a boom box and play quiet, classical music before our silent worship.
On a typically spectacular Florida Easter morning, his classical breath of fresh air ended with the “Hallelujah Chorus.” My mama told me that this song was the national anthem of the Christian faith and no matter what I believed you should stand for it.
I did and others joined me. Somewhere along the line we began singing. Let me tell you that an entire Quaker congregation singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” is not traditional – but it was one of the most spiritual experiences I’ve ever had. But let me also add that the St. Pete Meeting has never been called “traditional” by anyone, including other Quakers.
I’ve had to find new meanings in the message of Easter. Isn’t it the core message that life is eternal and death is just a phase we go through as eternal beings? That’s getting closer to my own beliefs.
It seems ludicrous to me that God would create us and then shut us down completely in death. What is the point of life then? Life continues on and on, always rejuvenating itself as Easter seems to say.
While they don’t do it as dramatically here in Florida as they do up north, when we look around we can see that the seasons change. Brilliant green oaks and stunningly beautiful azaleas pull me out of the short winter funk we experience here. The cycle of life may be a bit more subtle here but it certainly does exist.
Likewise, when one looks around in the universe the message of rejuvenation is all around. Even stars that explode create new entities. Our own sun is at least a third generation star, so that means for billions of years others have come before us; If you study science you might become even more convinced that there is an entity behind it all.
The “ultimate sacrifice” that Jesus made for us makes me question what sacrifice I have to make to God to make me “worthy.” Aren’t we all close to perfect when God has made us?
Apparently she made us in her imagination. Why do I need to sacrifice something to live up to the way God made me? By the way, God made me gay and it was far from being a choice. I think it’s nonsense to believe that God wouldn’t have.
Like modern Christmas, there is a commercial side of this holiday that I also enjoy. I have to admit I love Reese’s Peanut Butter eggs, though Peeps are gross. I was 12 or 13 when my parents stopped giving me an Easter basket and I still kind of still miss it.
If I have to put on a suit and tie and go listen to a boring message at church then there had better be a chocolate bunny when I get home.
Easter is tied together with Spring. Life is eternal and we are all a part of this amazing reality we share together. Whatever your beliefs I wish you much hope and renewal in 2021. May each of you hop into this year, which is certain to be better than 2020, with that message.
Greg Stemm is a 37-year resident of Pinellas County. He is a founder of St Pete Pride and currently sits on the board of the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Public Library. Greg is an outspoken activist on many issues including HIV/AIDS education.
