A Saturday Evening Post

Did you know that 2 Hezekiah 3:18 commands that the faithful “shall first boil the eggs, and then shall obtain the bright dyes and shall paint them. Then, they shall hide them around just as the Easter bunny lays, and then in honor of Christ, the children shall seek for the eggs, but not eat them. It shall also be allowable, in order to prevent food poisoning, to hide colorful plastic eggs, containing flavored ‘beans’ that can be feasted upon (but not the black ones).”

Oh wait! The Bible never talks about Easter bunnies, or eggs or marshmallow chickens anywhere in the scripture? Yet faithful Christians will celebrate the time honored tradition of eating ham to celebrate the life of a Jewish Rabbi.

Maybe we should crack the scripture and see where we got off the beaten path…

              And He took bread and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying , “This is my body which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

The tradition of the Easter egg hunt predated Christianity. it was a part of pagan ritual symbolizing fertility. The tradition of painting the eggs began in Ukraine. Now, we even have plastic shrink-wrap sleeves that you can cover the egg with, drop it in water, and produce a perfectly ‘painted’ egg. In Ukraine, following our Easter egg hunt (because we did, have Easter egg hunts…I mean, candy, right? ) sometimes the kids took real painted eggs and had an ‘egg joust’, crashing their eggs together. The winner was whoever’s egg lasted the longest.

When we lived in Ukraine, people often tried to convince us of the ‘miracle’ of the Holy Fire. To them it was an evidence that the Orthodox church was the true church. Maybe you aren’t familiar with this event so I’ll describe it.

On ‘Great Saturday’, the day before the Orthodox Easter (which will actually take place next week as Orthodox and Catholic faiths observe different calendars), the “faithful” in Jerusalem begin the religious rituals around 11:00 am. The Patriarch of the Greek orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox both enter a small structure built over the alleged burial place of Jesus inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Civil authorities search both men, and the structure to demonstrate to observers that neither have anything on their person or on the inside of the tomb besides the candles. They enter into the structure and kneel in prayer before the marble slab where Jesus body is said to have been laid, after a few minutes a blue column of light is said to form above the marble slab.

Amazingly, the candles spontaneously light by the very power of the Holy Spirit! Moments later, the two priests emerge with their candles and the priests then light the candles of the crowd, and the Holy Fire spreads across the room. Soon, the whole temple is lit up with the flame, and then spills outside of the temple to the crowds outside.

Within minutes, candles all over Jerusalem are lit, representatives from Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, Romania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Lebanon fly into Jerusalem to bring the Holy Flame back to their own countries, and by Easter morning the ‘Holy Flame’ burns in lanterns all over the world in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Impressive.

But is it a miracle?

There are many critics of Holy Fire, in 1009 AD, Al Hakim, the Muslim Caliph of Jerusalem, ordered that the church, and the monument be destroyed because he felt the whole ritual was idolatrous. By 1048, the structure was rebuilt, and the rituals resumed.

But superstition is persistent.

Edward Gibbon wrote scathing remarks of the ritual of Holy Fire in his Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire: “The Ottoman traveller, Evliya Çelebi (1611–1682), said that a hidden zinc jar of naphtha was dripped down a chain by a hidden monk.” Edward Gibbon (1737–1794). Of course, we know that theory is incorrect, because civil authorities search the tomb.

Michael Kalopoulos, an author and religious historian, was aware of this sleight of hand that originated in the Zoroastrian religion in Iran centuries before Christ was even born. In 2005, he demonstrated the magic trick by dipping three candles in white phosphorus. Phosphorus is water soluble or sometimes combined with carbon disulfide. As it evaporates, the white phosphorous residue is left behind and begins to react with oxygen. Depending on the density of the solution it can take twenty minutes or up to a half hour and the flame will spontaneously ignite.

In 2002, a disagreement between an Armenian and a Greek over who should emerge from the Holy Sepulcher first with the miraculous flame led to a struggle. The Greek patriarch twice blew the Armenian’s ‘Holy Fire’ out (“don’t let satan *poof* it out…”), and the Armenian was forced to reignite his ‘Holy Fire’ with a cigarette lighter. A holy scuffle ensued and the Israeli police finally had to intervene and restore order.

But superstition is persistent.

Other churches report crying ‘icons’ (the Russian and Greek word for ‘image’); instances in which the statues seem to cry. Faithful Christians will flock from miles around to see these phenomena, and many have claimed to have been healed of sicknesses, or to have received blessings from these icons. Upon investigation of the substance that the icons secrete, some report scented olive oil, some secrete human blood, in one instance it was shown to be chicken fat. It is rarely water based substance, though in 1980 in Pavia, Italy, a priest was caught applying tears to an icon using a water pistol! 

Joe Nickell a former stage magician and critique of the ‘crying icons’ wrote an interesting piece on several of these crying statues, and noted that “whenever I have been able to securely control such statues and icons, they have always ceased to “weep.” (Joe Nickell. The Center of Inquiry, September 10, 2018).

But superstition is persistent.

The ‘image of Mary’ was spotted in a water stain in a parking garage in Columbia. Also, on a piece of toast, and in the condensation in a hospital window, which caused such a disturbance in the parking lot, the hospital considered removing the window so that worshipers wouldn’t impede traffic to the hospital.

And then there was the sandwich, which sold for $28,000.

The coming of the Lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders. – 2 Thessalonians 2:9

We are drawn to what appears to be supernatural. The Bible describes some amazing actual miracles, “the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are brought back to life.” Those are undeniable miracles. The things that Jesus did were verifiable. They were also directly helpful. Feeding crowds, reuniting loved ones, restoring function of legs and arms…etc.

But notice what Jesus said to the apostles:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father, and whatever you ask in my name that I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14: 12,13

Jesus was not referring to crying statues and images on toast here.

If you have ever wondered if God does miracles, ask a first responder, or an emergency room doctor, but even that is not the type of miracle I am referring to here.

Many are familiar with the children’s song ‘This little light of mine.’ As I watch the Holy Fire light numerous candles across the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, I’m moved watching the light spread. Attendants claim the temple actually gets quite warm, as the fire moves across the crowd. Within moments the entire city of Jerusalem is lit up with the Flame and within hours the same flame burns all across the world.

To be clear, this is a hoax and has led many astray. I’m not moved by the ‘miracle’ but by a true miracle that it makes me think of; one that began at a tomb where He resurrected 2,000 years ago. 12 men took that light, and soon it was 120. A few days later, it was 3,000, and then 5,000. It spread throughout Jerusalem and on to the farthest corners of the earth, Where Jesus never traveled on this earth. It became a series of letters and books, none of which Christ wrote himself.

It still spreads through the hearts of men. As Christians, we should be carrying it with us to school, and to work, and to church. The fire should burn in our in our hearts and lives, warming the world where we are. It is not a candle that sits on a lampstand, and it shouldn’t be left to burn in a church building.

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

Words to a kids song, but it is a very grown up idea. Sometimes, the lying signs and wonders get so much attention that they can actually draw away from God. Skeptics might see an image on a piece of toast and think that is all Christianity has to offer, because Christians haven’t shown true light; how the true miracle of the gospel is working in our lives, our marriages, and our homes.

“Don’t let Satan *poof* it out!…Let it shine, let it Shine, let it Shine!”