Hi. I’m Stephen Kneale. You may remember me from such public service announcements as Enjoy the trappings of Christmas without guilt, Merry Gnostic Christmas and the undying reminder that Christmas isn’t in the Bible so can’t measure spirituality & shouldn’t bind consciences. These are all calls, in one form or another, to remember that Christmas is not a command of Christ, our celebrations are not a measure of our love for him and we shouldn’t guilt people over the way they celebrate (or choose not to celebrate) Christmas. If you enjoyed those sorts of posts, you’ll love this one!

It can’t have escaped your notice that Easter will soon be upon us. If you’re either Catholic or an aspiring pseudo-Catholic, you may have been enjoying – or rather enduring – Lent. But even those who prefer to keep their Protestantism unstained may well be looking to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It would be anathema (so many judge it) if we dared suggest we weren’t going to do anything in particular for Easter. Don’t you want to remember the Lord’s death and resurrection? What’s wrong with you?! Are you even Christian?

Well, once again, let’s just heed my little public service announcement: Easter is not in the bible, Jesus does not command us to celebrate it at this time of year, there is no compulsion for us to do anything in particular. Whether you celebrate Easter or not, how you celebrate Easter if at all, are not the measure of your love for Jesus. Your understanding and belief in the gospel is not determined by whether you choose to have an Easter Sunday service or not, whether you eat lamb and hot cross buns and make an Easter garden. None of these things are commanded in scripture, none of them are laid upon us by Jesus, there is no biblical demand on us to do anything at all.

Now, before you get the pitchforks and flaming torches, take note of my caveats. Of course, the death and resurrection are recorded in scripture. Of course, they are vitally important aspects of the Christian faith. But you will not find any command to celebrate Easter. Jesus has given us a meal by which we ought to remember his death and resurrection. Depending who you ask, it is a weekly (or at least reasonably regular) affair. In a sense, the regular practice of taking the Lord’s Supper, whereby we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, renders Easter – whereby we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection – (on face value) a little redundant. It is almost strained to suggest that we are remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection at Easter, as though that isn’t what we are doing every Sunday.

It also bears saying, if you want to celebrate Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, you’re absolutely free to do so. We will be holding a Good Friday and Easter Sunday meeting at our church. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. But we have to be clear, there is nothing biblically demanded of us in that regard. There is no compulsion. It is no sign that we love Jesus more because we are doing something than a church that decides it is just another Sunday. The same is absolutely true of every Christian who goes home, eats lamb and hot cross buns and makes every aspect of their afternoon cause them to focus more specifically on Jesus’ death and resurrection as well as those who go home and treat it like every other Sunday (whatever that may look like for them).

The reason we do something for Good Friday and Easter Sunday are entirely cultural and contextual. The reason any of us do Easter really is cultural. We live in a country whose history and culture have been developed in the shadow of the Catholic and later Anglican Church calendars. These things are ultimately expected because it is culturally significant. Which, given the lack of biblical command to celebrate Easter or biblical support that it was a pattern established by the Apostles for the early chuch, we must treat it as such: a fundamentally cultural festival celebrated primarily for cultural reasons.

Of course, contextually – particularly for us in a Muslim-majority part of town – there is an expectation from our neighbours that we will do something to mark Easter. Just as they go parading up the street on Mohammad’s birthday, they would find it decidedly odd if we were not seen to celebrate one of the core aspects of our faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus. For the sake of our witness locally, we want to make sure that we are seen to take seriously the core elements of the faith that we insist really are vital for salvation to our neighbours.

The other factor is a much more simple one. Many Christians (rightly or wrongly) expect an Easter celebration. Much as there is nothing in the bible about it, there is nothing that would stop us meeting together more, spending more time together and enjoying one another. There is no reason NOT to focus a little more on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Much like Christmas, if there is a load of cultural add-ons and bits to enjoy, why not? If it makes us think a bit more about Jesus and the gospel, why not? If people both expect and enjoy it, there seems little reason not to do it.

This should take away any guilt over how, or even if, you celebrate Easter. The basic point is this: Easter is not in the bible, it is not a command of Christ, you can enjoy or avoid it such as you feel led. But it should also make us a little cautious about judging others based on cultural things like Easter celebrations. Your love for Jesus is not determined by one day a year. Your commitment to the gospel is not determined by whether you acknowledge a man-made festival. Following the church calendar is not the essential mark of genuine faithfulness. Jesus is far more interested in your weekly, regular walk with him – far more than he cares about what you do on one culturally appointed day of the year.