Easter Symbols, Old and New

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The Easter season is fifty days long, affording us plenty of time to ponder this fantastic mystery of our faith: Jesus made it possible for us to live forever. We celebrate the death/rising phenomenon employing various symbols that point to new, abundant life: eggs, rabbits, lilies, the sun, spring. I’ve thought of a new Easter symbol for our modern world. The other day my computer “died.” For no apparent reason, the screen became dark. No amount of clicking and pushing buttons brought back the manuscripts I was working on, the artwork I saved, and access to my email account and Facebook. After several long minutes of panic, I pulled out all the plugs and replugged them, and then turned off the power on the surge protector and turned it on again. Miraculously the computer came back to life. You can imagine my relief and joy. This experience, like other metaphors, limps. Yes, what was dead was revived. But on Easter, Jesus came back different—with a new and glorious life. He could walk through walls, appear and disappear, and he would never die again. Alas, after dying, my computer is not improved at all. It still has a virus, and it still won’t let me view certain videos. Moreover, I know that someday it will konk out again. Click to continue

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