A week following my own church's celebration of Christ's resurrection, some other believers in town and out of town celebrated the same event. The one-week divergence between Easter and Pascha (Orthodox Easter) stems from the 11th century (yikes!), and a story of faith-inspired Pope-rejection, and a whole lot of stuff I don't know right now.
I wish had more pictures from Pascha to share with readers, but I'll have to mostly use words to describe instead. I'll also add a video I find inspiring.
First, as a means of comparison between Easter & Pascha, let's have a docu-style look at Easter. I'm sticking mostly to food. (This is not a theology blog after all, and yet...).
Props to my mother, Sally, who put together a feast fit for a King. King present only in Spirit, my parents & I enjoyed Mom's grilled chicken, fancy-pants rice with shredded veggies, green salad w/almonds, and corn on the cob (in April!)...
Pink plate perfection. My dad's backyard haven and an inherited milk glass serve as a backdrop to Mom's strawberry shortcake. Miam!
At another family event, my cousin Alexia offers these minutely-detailed, edible sugar shrines to celebrate the sweet side of Easter.
The Fructose Flock congregates on Mount Chocolate. Very "Council of Elrond" for Peeps.
This Myers reunion is a small miracle in itself.
Voilà donc my very blessed & bright Easter 2012. What I experienced a week later was a chance to examine and celebrate the Risen Lord from a whole new angle (Perhaps we could say "from the East" since Orthodoxy is the "eastern Church.").
But I see a stunning contrast between fake green grass, sugar palaces, and multi-colored eggs & the Pascha basket which I learned just the slightest bit about from friends & acquaintances from St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville. I don't think Christ necessarily has a preference for PAWS or the dark red eggs of Orthodox Christianity, but I'm intrigued by the intentional egg-symbolism foreign to me. Moreover, I'm humbled and drawn to reverence shown to a worthy Savior, the Bread of Life.
...
Going without. I didn't grow up in a tradition of fasting, but to cut a long story short, imagine how much SWEETER food would be if we took a break from our favorite dishes even just for a while? This isn't about shedding pounds or "cleansing" the system, it's something more profound. Better yet, it's done with family (Christians see themselves as brothers as sisters with God as their Father.).
Following the final celebratory Orthodox service, duration about 3 hours, the priest joyfully (this priest exemplifies this word) sprinkled waters of blessing on the baskets brought to share, much like the "bread of fellowship" was shared with non-Orthodox attendees during the Eucharist. The 3am feast that followed resembled me as a 7 y/o at Christmas. Speaking of children, "We don't have to fast anymore!" one of the youngest declared to me. "This is better than Christmas for her," said the child's mother. "I've never heard anyone that young say anything like that," I couldn't help but say.
So to close, I admittedly had not participated in any fasting during the recent fasting season prior to Easter or Pascha (a period known as Lent), but in the spirit of welcome that is Christ, I joyfully partook in the Pascha feast upon invitation from a church member friend. "This is my body broken for you..." Christ said to his disciples in Luke 22:19.
If there was a word I'd use to describe my "second Easter," it would be intentional. Any habit, red Pascha egg or Wal-Mart special Easter dye kit, can become blasé. I'm glad that this year God blessed me with a second Easter to make sure I didn't miss the point of it all. And He blessed me with a regal feast in the process. Indeed he is risen!
As promised, here is a Orthodox Christian song you won't want to hear just once!
