If you Google “Obama Easter” you get hits for over 3,000 news stories. Some of the stories talk about the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. But, most do not. You see the Christian community is all up in arms, yet again, that the President didn’t issue an Easter proclamation.
You can look up the articles. You can find the video of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney laughing off the questions from reporters about why the President didn’t issue a proclamation. Especially since he’s previously issued proclamations for, gasp, Muslim holy days.
Carney points out that the President is a “devoted Christian” and celebrated Easter and attended church with his family.
Still the stories circulating are how he “ignored” Easter.
Interestingly though, I find little mention of the Easter Prayer Breakfast the President hosted last week. I wrote about it at the time. In his remarks the President said:
But then comes Holy Week. The triumph of Palm Sunday. The humility of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. His slow march up that hill, and the pain and the scorn and the shame of the cross.
And we’re reminded that in that moment, he took on the sins of the world — past, present and future — and he extended to us that unfathomable gift of grace and salvation through his death and resurrection.
In the words of the book Isaiah: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Is that ignoring Easter?
I don’t think so.
But for some of my Christian brethren, that’s just not good enough. Yesterday the other link circulating via emails and Facebook was this one: As Obama Ignored Easter, White House Hit By Lightning.
Seriously? Like God has nothing better to do?
And I’m not even going to get into the rantings about Obama’s pastor actually said.
I do think that perhaps it was a public relations mistake for the President not to issue a proclamation or at least a statement. Then again, perhaps it was strategic. Think about it.
For the past 24-48 hours Christian conservatives have been distracted by this issue. That means they’re not focusing on Obama’s abysmal foreign policy, or the fact that he wants to tax us into oblivion.
It’s my own personal theory for why we haven’t seen his birth certificate. He actually benefits from the distraction.
Whether or not that’s true is irrelevant. Reality is that those most upset by the President not issuing a proclamation would not like him any more if he had.
This is what it boils down to for me.
My faith is not in the President. My faith is not in the Government.
My faith is in Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died and buried, and who rose again on the third day. The power of the Resurrection has nothing to do with whether or not it is recognized by the government of men.
Thankfully Mary and the Disciples did not wait for a proclamation from Pilate to celebrate the Empty Tomb.
Cross posted at The Write Side of My Brain.
