Easter bunnies, and Jesus

Easter bunny/google images

I’ll bet you think I’m one of those ultra conservative religious types who is going to say that there is no way Easter bunnies and Jesus  can co-exist this Easter season.

Nope. I’m not going to say that.

You see I’m one of those people who believe that “things” are not evil in themselves. Nothing inanimate can be.There’s nothing intrinsically “bad” about Easter bunnies. But I’ll bet there are all kinds of people of faith who wouldn’t have an Easter bunny around the house anymore than they would a Santa Claus.

Do you suppose Jesus told parents of His day to throw away everything in their home that wasn’t overtly religious? Especially where their children were concerned? Do you suppose He attached any evil to the toys Jewish children played with? Do you suppose Jesus only played with toys (I’m assuming here that Jewish children had “toys”.) of spiritual significance?

Jesus talked about love. When He mentioned “things” it was about how we used them not their intrinsic value. He knew “things” only had as much influence as we gave them.

Jesus

We get so caught up in denying ourselves (or our families) “things’ because we think “things” are somehow evil. We worry about what people will think about our “things”. If our lives are what they should be, if God is the center of our lives, Easter bunnies are not going to harm us or our families in any way. As long as our families know the true story of the Christian holidays we don’t have to get all worked up over such inconsequential things as Easter bunnies.

My Easter table will include bunnies and baskets. But there will be no doubt about Whose life we will be celebrating. For those who are ready to kick me out of the Christian community, let me add that I’m not going overboard with the bunnies. They’re just “things”.

Certainly, we can obscure the message of Christian holidays. That, I think, is a mistake. But I believe we can practice balance while keeping the message strong.