It’s Sunday morning and the faithful have gathered. There’s a more festive spirit in the room than most Sundays. In a couple of hours everyone will be sitting down to an above-average meal. In most cases, the number of people around the table will also be more than the norm. I expect the local grocery stores restocked the Jello shelf more often than usual the last couple of days and they sold a lot more eggs than what will be eaten.

But this day is about something more than food and family. The Easter hymns are somewhat exhilarating, but their impact is dulled by the fact that familiarity breeds lethargy. There is more to this event we are celebrating than I’m able to assimilate. But it seems the lead up to Easter involved Christ abandoning basic self interest and adopting God’s agenda. Not an easy act to follow.