This is the seventh in a series of post on Lent.

I have a confession. I am a etymology nerd. The meaning and history of words is very interesting to me. Easter and Passover are both words used to describe what Christian in the English speaking world celebrate the resurrection of Christ and they both have fascinating histories. For fair warning those not interested in theological word studies this post may not be for you.

The English language is a mutt language and doing word and history studies for the words of the Church can be problematic. English is a mix of Anglo, Pix, Saxon, French, and German with a liberal sprinkling of Latin. The Christian faith spread in the English world adding ideas from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The word Easter is not native in any of these three biblical languages.

Some modern skeptics, from my observation both the hyper-fundamentalist Christian and Atheist variety, believe the word Easter has its root in paganism. The best guess of its origins is that it is a Germanic word. In this view the word Easter comes from a German word meaning Springtime. Once upon a time people deified spring as a feminine goddess who was according to the 8th century writer Bede worshiped in the month of April. The cult had died out by the time of Bede as Christianity had spread. Some fringe groups have advocated not using the word because of its supposedly questionable history.

Easter is a good term for Christians because it heralds the idea of Spring and new beginnings in the here and now. If Bede was right it is also another testament to the power of Christ resurrection. A people who once followed a pagan god instead abandoned their gods for a new beginning in Christ in the here and now. The reason the word tracked in the English world was because it resonated with the early people including those that became the early church. The fact that we worship Jesus and not Austrōn, the name of the possible dawn goddess behind the word Easter, in the West is a testimony that the reality of the resurrection is more powerful than myth.

Most of the rest of Christianity in the West, particularly those of Latin influenced languages such as French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish use derivation of Pashca or Passover. There is at least a dual idea in this that is wonderful. First it links immediately back to the Exodus story and unites the Old Testament with the New Testament. It identifies well with first century Judaism and the culture of the immediate first century Church then predominantly ethnically Jewish. Besides the linguistic and cultural linkage the theological implication is breathtaking. Jesus is our Passover in his resurrection. This second implication is by far something the term Easter touches on but does not draw forth the rich ideas of Scripture and the biblical idea of passover nor does it have the symbolic meaning that gave the early Church such hope.

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” -Revelation 5:6.

Reading Revelation 5 is a goldmine for how the early Church was led to see the person of Jesus. In his first introduction to the entire Church of Revelation he is shown as the once slain Lamb who now lives. The lamb was the central animal in passover. In Judaism for centuries countless lambs had been slain for the people’s sins and been prepared for the ritual meal. When all was said and done the lamb was completely destroyed. Yet here Jesus as the lamb of God was slain but now lives.

That is great hope for the early Church which was a persecuted people.

You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations” -Psalm 44:11.

The early Church truly suffered for their faith. In the last few centuries the English versions of the Church have been afflicted at times but in historical terms it has faced very mild persecution. Having people think you are weird, loosing a job, strained or lost relationships, maybe having a building burnt down, or when the incredibly rare loner kills a individual or small group of Christians is historically speaking very mild persecution. We in the English Church particularly the white ones have had little need to desperately cling to Jesus corporately in need of hope to come.

The early Church was as a whole persecuted for their faith and this made their annual celebration of Passover very meaningful. When they celebrated the Easter time Passover they were celebrating the fact that though they may die for their faith they knew that like Jesus they would be raised again. It attributed to a theology of hope.

Perhaps we can take from both ideas and celebrate the glory of the resurrection as both a time to reflect on personal new birth for us and new life that is found in Christ and also be ground in a theology of hope. May we become a people that celebrate the Easter Passover.