For the past week or more, this has been the message on one side of the Nazarene church’s sign here in Litchfield:
The Easter Bunny didn’t rise from the dead.
Zing, right? He sure didn’t. And, really, aren’t we glad?
I mean, I love Santa, and I like the Tooth Fairy, but I have never been a big fan of the Easter Bunny. (Pro Tip: The Cadbury Bunny, who lays delicious chocolate cream eggs and clucks like a chicken? He is tops.)
But this guy? This guy is a little creepy:
So, I’m really glad that instead of raising a giant rabbit (who, according to this photo, is also a milliner?) from the dead, God raised Jesus. I’m glad that in baptism we are joined to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and not the Easter Bunny. I’m glad that Jesus is alive, and that we have new life in him.
And if I were in charge of putting pithy sayings on church signs, I might have gone in that direction instead of picking a fight with a big ol’ bunny. Because I want to tell people about Jesus, and also because I don’t know what that other guy is capable of.
What are your (least) favorite church sign messages?
Never Done It That Way Before 
That last sentence? Left me giggling. I love this short essay so much, M.!
Did you ever read David Sedaris’s piece about trying to explain Easter in bad French? It’s so funny it will make you cry a little bit.
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Just about ANYTHING David Sedaris writes makes me want to laugh until I cry. Great stuff.
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He is great! I really enjoyed all the audio versions of his books when I was commuting between Milwaukee and Chicago. He is a great performer, too!
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Too much talent for his own good. His sister, too. Hilarious stuff.
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Thank you very much! I aim to please.
I did not read it, but I listened to him read it, and you are right! (I listened again after reading your comment to refresh my memory, too! Thanks, internet!) I feel like I am speaking bad French when I try to explain the resurrection sometimes. To say nothing of the bunny with the eggs.
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The “two morsels of wood” part always kills me. (He is GREAT on audio, isn’t he?) It wasn’t the first time I had stopped to think about how one explains an entire major Christian religious holiday, but it was the first time I found myself howling when a group of non-native French speakers did try to explain it to someone. In French.
I re-read his stuff all of the time. I’ve heard the audio versions, but I don’t commute enough to justify getting them just yet. I bet those are perfect for a commute!
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Yes! The rabbit of Easter. He brings of the chocolate.
Oh, and I didn’t buy any of the audiobooks I listened to that year (Harry Potter, Jane Austen, and Little House on the Prairie were my other favorites)–they were all from the library. Except for Austen’s Persuasion, which I own (although I can’t remember buying it–I didn’t sleep much that year). I should find that and listen to it again . . .
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Out of curiosity, does your denomination skip the church sign? Are more evangelical churches more likely to have a sign?
Also, I agree with you – the Easter Bunny is creepy.
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Well, my two churches have signs with “just the facts”: church name, worship and Sunday school times, pastor’s name. I have seen Lutheran churches do more creative messages, and mainline Protestant churches do messages or sermon titles. I am not at all opposed to them in theory, and I admire the folks who come up with all the messages!
And, yeah, that Easter Bunny is not my thing. Zoe will get a basket, but we won’t be talking up the bunny too much . . .
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Interesting on the signs. The pastor’s name always caused me to scratch my head. Is it a sign of respect? Do people come to the church because of the name on the sign?
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That is a great question, Beth! I never really thought about it before. And now that I do think about it, I don’t know that the pastor’s name was on the signs of the church where I grew up, churches where I worshiped in Chicago, or the churches I served in Milwaukee. So maybe it’s a regional thing, or a small town / rural thing? Very mysterious.
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“Stop Drop & Roll” doesn’t work in Hell
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Ha ha! Burn. (See what I did there?)
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Is that a flower pot he’s putting on her head??
Sorry, I didn’t stick to the point but the flower pot was just too funny.
Not sure myself where the bunny comes in exactly. Ducklings, goslings and chicks are also plentiful the same time of year. It could have been the Easter Chicken or the Easter Duck or Goose. After all they at least have potential in the egg business.
It truly is strange the “icons” that have been created to associate with religious holidays that only serve to grease the wheels of toy and candy companies. And ultimately the diet companies.
Don’t misunderstand me, I LOVE holidays and family and food and giving gifts and getting together, coloring and hiding eggs or baking holiday cookies with a house full of chaotic kids, decorating the Christmas tree with little ones and everything else. But the connection between the event and the holiday is an almost invisible line.
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Well, I think it’s a bunny because bunnies have lots of babies, and so they go with the idea of new life, and eggs are a symbol of new life, too? Something like that. The bunny and the chocolate are definitely fun parts of Easter, but I never thought about the benefit to the diet companies! The toy and candy companies, yes. I was startled by all the big Easter toy ads we got in the newspaper. We managed (okay, I managed) to keep it fairly simple this year in terms of the Easter basket. But when her birthday rolls around in a few months, all bets are off . . .
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