Pastor's Prayer: Calendar Calculations

In 2024, Easter falls on March 31. Does that date seem early this year? Well, it is. At least it is earlier than in recent years.

There’s something different about the Easter holiday. Christmas is always on December 25, but Easter, like the eponymous bunny, hops around. That has everything to do with the early Christian church. They wanted the celebration to occur around the Jewish Passover. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Last Supper was a Passover meal. In John, Jesus is crucified on the same day as the Passover lambs are being slaughtered. The Hebrew calendar is tied to the lunar and solar cycles, so the Passover dates vary, meaning Easter also varies.

The changing date does cause some consternation (especially among church staff), but it is better today than it has been in the past. Back then, there was no standard way of calculating the date for Easter. There were competing calendars, and astronomical data was less precise than today. Slight variations would creep in. It was not uncommon to find different Christian communities celebrating Easter on different dates. In fact, some communities even celebrated the holiday on a weekday. These differences sometimes grew into deep fights.

To promote Christian unity, the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 standardized the date to the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. Still, some wondered if this was less about Christian unity and more about control by the bishop of Rome. Debates in the West about the date of Easter raged well into the Seventh Century. Even today, the Eastern Orthodox Church calculates the date a bit differently. They will be celebrating this year on May 5.

If you are like me, all this talk of calendars and dates is a bit confusing. Celebrating Jesus Christ's resurrection doesn’t require waiting for an annual date on the calendar. In fact, Christians celebrate Jesus’ victory over death every week. Very early, Christians replaced the Jewish day of worship, the Sabbath, Saturday, with the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Rather than waiting for a holy day, Christ redeemed all of time. Easter is a great time to renew our faith, to embrace God’s love and Christ’s triumph. However, the best time is actually right now.

Grace and Peace,

James Hodsden