Why Easter is our strangest story

In a world where time often feels relentless and predictable, Easter stands as a strange and captivating story that transcends the ordinary. This ancient narrative, rooted in the death and resurrection of a God, offers a unique blend of timebound and timeless truths that can serve as a refreshing break from the constant stream of news, politics, and daily routines.

Easter is a story that defies the linear progression of Kronos time, which is all too familiar in our modern lives. Kronos time is the time of school runs, news reports, and endless debates about the future. It is the time that demands accountability and progress, often leaving us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from the stories that shape our world. Easter, however, invites us to step into a different kind of time—Kairos time. This is the time of once-upon-a-time, once-beneath-a-time, and once-before-time-was-stretched-on-the-rack-of-infinite-progress. It is a time that transcends the mundane and offers a glimpse into the glorious and the extraordinary.

In an era marked by turmoil, war, and constant stress from our screens, Easter could be a valuable opportunity to curate our imagination and engage with a story that challenges our perceptions of reality. While it is easy to slip into the comfort of consuming chocolate eggs and watching movies, delving deeper into the Easter narrative reveals a tale of profound strangeness and wonder.

The story of Jesus, the dusty healer from Nazareth, is one of defiance and transformation. He disrupts the established order of polite society, outraging and blessing in equal measure. His life is marked by an unusual journey: born as a fugitive, executed as an outlaw, and then returning from the dead. His parables, designed to challenge our understanding, force us to question the norms and conventions that govern our lives.

The Gospels themselves are ambiguous about the exact manner of Jesus' resurrection, yet they agree that it happened. A rock was rolled away, and the world was forever changed. While Jesus is not the first mystical character to return from the dead, his story resonates across cultures and time periods. The Sumerian goddess Inanna, the Egyptian god Osiris, and the Greek god Dionysus all share similar tales of death and rebirth. These myths, like the Easter story, offer a universal language of hope and transformation.

Easter is more than just a day off from work or an opportunity to indulge in chocolate. It is a chance to engage with a story that challenges our understanding of reality and invites us to imagine a world beyond the constraints of Kronos time. By stepping into the Kairos time of Easter, we can find solace in the strangeness of a story that transcends the ordinary and offers a glimpse into the extraordinary. In a world that often feels overwhelming and predictable, Easter serves as a reminder that there is beauty and wonder to be found in the unexpected.