03 Apr 2023 A Page Turner

By Donald Brazile

I’m sure by now you’ve read in the paper or heard on the news about Joby Pool.

Pool, 32, used a stolen truck with false plates to snatch a trailer containing 200,000 Cadbury Crème Eggs (worth more than $38,000) from an industrial unit in Telford, central England. The police pulled over a vehicle “presumably pretending to be the Easter Bunny” and arrested Pool on suspicion of theft. Pool appeared in court last month, where he pleaded guilty to the charges. Presently, he’s in custody until his scheduled court date. If found guilty, he’s “eggspected” to serve about two years for his creamy crime.

Each year around this time, I have a twofold ritual: consuming my share of Cadbury Crème Eggs and rereading the story of Easter — and each time I revisit the story, I think and feel something new and something old. It’s a brilliant, irresistible story, full of hope and dismay, but mostly enthusiastic hope. Each sentence is filled with astonishment and amazement and is well worth the time.

I’d like to invite you to consider stepping away from one of your favorite activities, and/or take a break from the exciting book you’re presently reading, and move through the story of the resurrection with me. You might be asking what benefit would be gained from rereading a story that you’ve heard over and over for years. Why even bother? You know exactly what’s going to happen and how the story will end.

For me, rereading the story of Easter is a way to recover a sense of the years traveled between my younger days and the present. Despite all the days gone by, I can still be moved and edified by the very same things in the story. And there’s another thing too — each time I reread any story, I find something new and refreshing.

If you decide to join me in reading the story, try to see and feel each word again. There’s so much to take in and there is no need to rush. Allow it to be a calm and steady way to begin holy week. After reading and/or listening to the story, please consider taking time between now and Easter to plan a meaningful and memorable Easter weekend with your family and a local congregation.

One last request: Let me know that you’re reading along with me. My email is: [email protected]. Which gospel account of the story did you most enjoy? What stood out to you that was old but you’d forgotten, or what was new to you that was obviously always there? Any other thoughts from the reading?

Before I forget, here are the references to the Easter story in the gospels (Matthew 26-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 22-24, John 17-20). Come on! Let’s Easter together!

Easter is a long, magnificent story and so I will say no more, to give you more time to dive in and savor it.

It’s definitely a page turner.