The Power of the Easter Story

Know your path. Tread boldly. Be reborn.

The Church of The Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. According to tradition, the Church contains the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Image © Tom Hayton

I’m not religious. But this year, I’ve thought a lot about the symbolism of Easter. For Christians, it represents the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of eternal life. But for everyone else, there is a message, too.

In the Easter story, Jesus is betrayed, arrested, subjected to a sham trial, and executed. Two days later, he rises from the dead and his friends and followers are all gob-smacked (or God-smacked, perhaps).

This story provides the foundation of Christian faith. But like all good stories, it contains some universal ideas. It is fundamentally a message of hope and rebirth, which we all have access to, regardless of religion. As a storyteller, I’m interested in how these universal ideas can be applied.

There are three key points:

Know your path

Jesus knew who he was. He had a strong sense of purpose. He didn’t hesitate or stray from his path.

Tread boldly

He also knew that, on paper, it wasn’t going to end well for him. He knew he would be betrayed by one of his friends and die a horrible death. But he went ahead anyway, because he saw the big picture.

Be reborn