Jesus, Santa, and the Easter Bunny

A couple of nights ago I was putting my 2 1/2 year old daughter Emma Claire to bed when she leaned up and whispered "Mom, does Jesus live in my heart?" Please don't judge me on the theological technicalities of this, but I simply said, "Yes, honey he does and He will sleep with you tonight." (Then silently I may have added "so for the love of his Father please, please, please go to sleep.) Then she leaned up again and said, "So then, where does Santa live?"

Uhm...yeah. Now y'all know how much I love Santa but it worries me just a little that it's April and we're still (or, depending on how you look at it, already) talking about Santa. It's kind of funny because Easter is this week and she has no clue about the Easter Bunny, quite simply because we never talk about him. For all she knows Santa is headed back down the chimney this week. My son Coulter on the other hand, who's almost 6, is fully aware of the Bunny and I'm not sure how I feel about it because while I'm all about gifts and lists and checking it twice in December; this is Easter. It involves nails and crosses; death and Resurrection. This is heavy stuff. The baby Jesus is all grown up and being crucified and I simply can't figure out how a bunny plays into all that. But, I say nothing because if I "out" the Easter Bunny then I'm afraid I'll have bad karma and some punk kid will tell Coulter that his parents are really....oh, never mind....I can't even say it. So, come Sunday morning there will be a basket full of chocolate and a lego set and maybe even some Reese's eggs for Mom.

Another reason for my ambivalence about the Easter Bunny, and, more to the point Easter, is the fact that Easter is hard to understand; and, at least as a parent, it's hard to explain. I remember when Coulter was three. He started asking questions about Jesus dying on the cross. I stuttered and stammered and did what any good Mother would do: I passed the buck and encouraged him to talk to Pastor Brian about it. And then one day he came home from pre-school and he had a little book about Easter that he had colored. He showed me the pictures and said, "Mom, the bad people killed Jesus on the cross. They killed him. But then he aroooooose from the deadness and Mom, that was the good part."

That was the good part, indeed. He arooooose from the deadness. I will never forget him saying that and yet I forget all the time that I don't need to trust myself as a parent; I only need to trust in our Creator (well that, and to give thanks for the Pastor Brian's and Ms. Lisa's of the world.)

Emma Claire doesn't know about the Easter Bunny and she doesn't know about the deadness, but she does know that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey while people waved their palms and shouted "Hosanna!" She also knows that the donkey at 1st Lutheran in Fremont went potty on the carpet last year. I gotta say that this information has really diverted our attention from the meaning of the donkey and the processional. It's Holy week and we tend to go from parade to parade; from Sunday to Sunday. I think I'll have a little talk with her tomorrow about the cross. I want her to know that she's wearing a beautiful pink dress to celebrate the life of Jesus; to celebrate Jesus' victory over death. I'll probably leave out the nails; the whippings and the blood but hopefully I'll be able to give just enough to plant the seed that Easter is about more than chocolate eggs and bunnies.

Recently I told you about a friend of mine who had miscarried. Ready for a miracle? A week later, they found a heartbeat. Victory over death. I have another friend who is battling cancer with more humor and grace and humility than anyone I know. I complain more about a stumped toe (hey, it really hurts!) than this guy does about chemo and I know that God is going to use his story of healing in a mighty way. He needs a transplant. He needs a miracle and this Easter, that's what I'm praying for. Life. Victory over death; that's what we're celebrating and I guess in the end it doesn't matter how we do it. Celebrate with bunnies and eggs. Celebrate with giant chocolate crosses and pretty pink dresses. Celebrate that Jesus lives in our heart (even if that does leave Santa and the Easter Bunny quite homeless.)