PLATTEVILLE, March 25 — The Christian Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday April 5.
Most Christians are preparing for the celebration through meditation, prayer, and almsgiving during Lent. As Easter can and is celebrated in many different ways, the most common that most are familiar with includes an Easter basket full of jelly beans, treats, and chocolate bunnies.
For many who celebrate their Christian beliefs, the day is also enjoyed by dressing up and attending Holy Mass or by going to another Christian church service. Two of the most attended church services each year remain to be Christmas and Easter.
From a Christian perspective the question of the importance of Christmas vs. Easter prompted expert opinions from clergy scattered throughout the area. The answers that question focus on Jesus and the Bible teachings of his sacrifice.
“When it comes to major Christian holidays, the two most significant ones that come to mind are Christmas and Easter,” said Rev. Nate Kuhn, pastor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Richland Center. “These two are the proverbial bookends in the life of Jesus Christ and the primary moments that point towards God’s loving plan for our salvation.
“But when asked which is more important, we might find different answers. Of course, Christmas is perhaps the most popular of the two, with the level of commercialization and broad cultural participation. The warmth and sentiment of Christmas, as often portrayed in Hallmark movies, captures the imagination of young and old, even when not directly referencing the origins of the celebration. Because of this, many will gravitate to Christmas as the most significant of the faith-centered holidays. The birth of Jesus our Savior invites us to consider the beautiful gift of life and God’s love made visible in our world.”
The New Testament book of Luke shares the moments in history where Mary is approached by the angel, and is accepting of the will of God to bring the baby Jesus into the world. Later, the birth is announced by the angel. The book of Matthew showcases the genealogy of Jesus, as well as his birth, and the visits from the Magi as they pay homage to the newborn King.
“When we turn our attention to Easter, we might find that we are approaching it with a sense of secondary importance,” said Kuhn. “After all, God sending His Son into our world as our savior is of utmost importance. But, as we look to Easter, we realize that we are preparing to commemorate the pinnacle moment in the life of Jesus, namely His Resurrection from the dead. As Christians, we recall our Savior fulfilling the plan of salvation, foretold throughout Scripture, beginning when Adam and Eve were first cast out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Even though Adam and Eve were disobedient to God’s instructions, God did not desire that humanity should be forever separated from him because of sin and death. Thus, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son, so that we might receive adoption as His sons and daughters (Galatians 4:4–5) by breaking the bonds of sin and death in rising from the dead.
“Easter then is the greater of the two celebrations as it puts the finishing touch on God’s centuries-long promise of eternal life. Yes, for this to happen according to the Divine plan, Jesus needed to be born. But Jesus’s birth was just the beginning of something much greater. It was the first step towards the fulfillment of the loving plan of salvation, won for us at the moment of the Resurrection, at Easter.”
The approach to the topic varies slightly, even with clergy of the same faith.
“From the order of sequence, I would say that Christmas is more important because we can’t have the resurrection without God becoming man and uniting humanity to His divinity,” said Rev. Gregory Ihm, Parochial Administrator of the St. Dominic Pastorate in Platteville, which includes Roman Catholic churches in Platteville, Benton, Cuba City, Dickeyville, Hazel Green, Kieler and Sinsinawa. “The resurrection on the other hand fulfills God’s plan of gathering those affected by sin, into eternal blessedness. He told his disciples ‘do this in memory of me.’ And he was referring to the celebration of the ritual of liberation: the last supper, the passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus became man to redeem us and it was accomplished through his passion, death, and resurrection; Christmas was the beginning and Easter is its fulfillment.”
“While at Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (the Incarnation), Easter remains the bedrock of the Christian faith,” said Rev. Michael Chika, Parochial Vicar of St. Isidore the Farmer Pastorate in Darlington, which includes Catholic churches in Belmont, Calamine, Elk Grove, Gratiot, Shullsburg, Seymour, South Wayne and Truman. “St. Paul gives a synthesis of this theological reality when he says that ‘if Christ had not been raised from the dead, Christian Faith would have been futile, preaching would be meaningless, believers will still be in their sins, and those who have died in Christ perished’ (1 Corinthians 15:14–19). And arguably, Christians would have been the most miserable of all people and Christianity considerably a scam.”
Rev. Nick McElrath, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Darlington, supported but also contrasted the views of the Catholic clergy.
“I would say that it might be worth making a couple of subtle distinctions,” je said. “First, this would be my answer from a Christian Protestant point of view, and would likely come with disagreement from a Roman Catholic perspective. Second, Christmas and Easter are not mentioned in the Bible at all, nor is Lent, Ash Wednesday, or even Good Friday. The celebrations of holidays have very few biblical instructions regarding how they would be viewed, and what the Bible does claim actually seems to minimize the value of specific days being "holy" or more important than others (Romans 14:5, Colossians 2:16–17).”
But with separation of faiths, there is also the common distinction.
“That said, the more important question might be the value of what Christmas and Easter represents: Christmas is the recognition of the incarnation of Jesus, Easter the resurrection,” said McElrath. “Both would be deeply consequential, and dependent upon one another to explain Christian beliefs.
“As to the resurrection specifically, it is the most consequential truth claim in all of human history. If Jesus really did rise from the dead, then you have to believe that he was who he claimed to be, and therefore, humans can be reconciled to God through faith in Christ alone, with no other way (John 14:6, 2 Corinthians 5:14–21). Also, if the resurrection is not history, those who call themselves Christians are a people more pitiable than any other (1 Corinthians 15:19) because they have wasted their lives on a false hope.
“Of course, my strong conviction based on the evidence is that Christ has been raised, appeared to more than 500 people in his resurrected state (1 Corinthians 15:6), and that many of them were persecuted and even martyred because they would not deny this life-altering truth. I think this is what makes Easter a significant remembrance of a truth that ought to be equally influential for 365 days a year.”
Easter and Christmas continue to be affirmed in various Christian faiths.
‘I first want to acknowledge that my answer comes from my perspective as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Others from different traditions may answer this question differently,” said Rev. Clayton Faulkner, D.W.S., pastor of Wiota Lutheran Church and Dean of the Chapel at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque. “Both Christmas and Easter are feast days in the calendar of our church and typically the time of highest attendance for worship. Both occasions recall crucial pieces of the story of Jesus. One is about his birth (called the incarnation in theological language). The other is about his death and resurrection (called the pascha in theological language). While both are crucial, Easter is more important than Christmas for several theological reasons.
“The death and resurrection of Jesus is the decisive event that is the foundation of our religion, but it is also the confirmation of Christ’s victory over death and evil. Lutherans try not to separate the crucifixion from the resurrection. Jesus’ crucifixion and death is not his abandonment by God. It is the evidence that God is with humanity in the depths of suffering. God does not abandon anyone in their suffering, because Jesus went through it as well. Jesus’ death and resurrection are two sides of the same coin that is God’s saving action. The salvation that we receive from God is the gift of faith, something that we can’t accomplish for ourselves. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are justified (made right with God) by grace (the unmerited favor we receive from God) through faith (the gift God gives of being able to trust that what Jesus did was for us). Easter is God’s proclamation that Christ’s saving work is valid for the whole world.”
Easter gives renewed hope each year to those who believe.
“The resurrection at Easter is also the hope of the church,” said Faulkner. “It is the story that death does not have the final say for any of us. There is life beyond the tomb — both literal life in what comes after we die, and metaphorical life when we are facing overwhelming circumstances. In our baptism, we become connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection through the water and the word and are given hope for new, abundant life. Easter is the center of the church’s time and calendar. It has the longest season of preparation (40 days of Lent) and the longest season of festival (50 days). Easter is more than a day; it is an entire season of marveling at the glory of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Easter was celebrated very early in the history of the church, but Christmas was a later addition to the calendar.
“Lutherans absolutely affirm the essential value of Christmas and the fact that God became fully human (while also being fully divine) in the birth of Jesus. Easter shows us what Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection, to provide salvation for all.”
From the womb to the tomb, the life of Jesus Christ, although well celebrated and discussed, still remains a mystery to some. As His life has traveled through the short span of 33 years, He remains to be one of the most celebrated humans to have ever walked on the Earth. The Christian belief that we are saved by the blood of one man is profound, and most definitely deserves much attention. God made into flesh to die upon the cross for our sins, is in fact, one of the most earnest discussions in human history.
