Childhood Easter Memories

I don't have as many childhood memories of Easter Sunday as I do of other liturgical holidays, or even Wednesday night Lenten gatherings of my childhood.

When I was a child, I liked Christmas Eve much better than Easter Sunday, which probably doesn't come as a surprise; most people do. I also loved Good Friday. I mean, I LOVED it. I remember some conversations with my father, where he explained why I should love Easter best of all the Christian holidays, but I was not convinced.

My childhood church did Good Friday much better than Easter--or at least more memorably. I cannot recall one single Easter Sunday from my elementary school years. But I remember Good Friday. On year, our pastor read an article that talked about the crucifixion from a medical point of view, an article which told us exactly what Christ experienced on the cross. Another year, the lights and candles were extinguished throughout the service, and at the end came the big bang of the book being slammed shut.

What can I say? I'm a drama major at heart. Just as I think that teaching requires a certain element of theatricality, I also think that worship services require some theatricality. Otherwise, it's just all of us mumbling our way through the memorized liturgy.

These high holidays give us so much opportunity for good theatre--here's hoping that we're all going to churches today that will give the children memories that will last for 30 years.