More than a Good Egg

26 Mar 2023 • Articles

Almost everyone likes Easter Eggs, but what do eggs have to do with Easter?

Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Day, gives a warning about what happens when people put themselves first and turn away from God: they kill the goodness in the world, and when Jesus was here as a human being they killed him. So during Lent and Holy Week Christians increase their attempts to live unselfishly, putting aside some of the good things which can usually be enjoyed. In days when people had very little money, they used to keep all the eggs laid by their chickens during Lent, then they painted the eggs and gave them to their friends on Easter Day.

An Easter egg, whether it is made in a chocolate factory or laid by a chicken, is a treat for a special day of rejoicing. Jesus rose to new life on Easter Day, and eggs are a sign of new life. An egg can also give us a picture of the day of the resurrection. The shell can be imagined to be a cave, like the cave to which Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. The cave was sealed up at first, and it was to be broken open early on Easter Day. When an Easter egg is broken open, if it is hollow, then it is like the empty cave after Jesus had risen, or if it contains a yolk or cream, then it symbolises the rich goodness of God's power and love bringing Jesus into the world again on Easter Day.

Easter Day brings us the joy of knowing that God's goodness cannot be limited, turned away, banished or destroyed, even when we turn away from God. God's Son, Jesus, came back to the world on Easter Day to claim us to be God's children, too, and through God's Holy Spirit Jesus is still with us now and always.

With every blessing for a very happy Easter,

Ann