Easter Dinner

Easter is a day of celebration. The church sings alleluias after a quiet season of Lent. People dress in new clothing in springtime colors. Children and a few sneaky parents consume a lot of chocolate. And many, many people gather around full tables. On Easter day, Isaiah's ancient poem begs the question, "What's for dinner?" Check The Food Channel or Better Homes and Gardens. Everybody offers suggestions for a tasty Easter menu. On one website, you can find recipes for glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, citrus salad, and molasses biscuits. If that doesn't do it for you, there's a Greek-themed menu featuring Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb and homemade baklava, or an Easter Brunch Buffet with poached salmon and passion fruit Mimosas. Hey, what's for dinner? As the prophet Isaiah describes the generous work of God, that's where he starts to sing with the promise of a generous banquet. "The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines." (25:6) One thing you can say about the people of God--they love to eat. The two great Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter are celebrated in our homes by extravagant dinners. One of our sacraments is a meal that we call the Lord's Supper. If that isn't enough, you can always find a mountain of donut holes at many of our churches during coffee hour.