Easter and Chocolate

Easter is approaching and what are some things that come in our minds as Easter draws near?  I asked my kids this question and they both answered “church” then followed that answer with “chocolate.” 
​
I must say they are not completely wrong!  Easter should be about anything related to church.  It should be about the Church, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  It should be about salvation, resurrection, and new beginnings.

But it is also about chocolate.  Why chocolate?  Well, I’d like to think chocolate at Easter time represents happiness and relationships.  Just think about it!  Every commercial I see on TV that is about chocolate shows people who are happy, and the commercials are generally happy.  And most people eat chocolate when they are happy.  I do not think I have ever seen a mad person munching away at delicious chocolate. 

Chocolate makes us happy, and it is a good companion to have chocolate present with us for Easter.  Easter is about happiness as well.  It is a joyful day because Jesus is risen from the grave.  Jesus is resurrected and through His resurrection won us victory over death.  That is something to celebrate.  And resurrection is a representing for us a new life.  It is out with the old and in with the new!  It is a time that we can re-invent ourselves, a way to put away bad experiences and move on to something else.  It is about seeing our “failures” not as failures but as a way that we move on from them into something better.  Easter represents all of this; it is a joyful time.  And what better way to be present with our joy than with chocolate. 

Also, chocolate is about relationships.  I just recently watched a Hershey’s commercial that showed a boy using sign language to give a chocolate bar to a girl.  Typically, we like to not just eat chocolate when we are happy, but also, we use chocolate to give to other people to make them happy as well.  It is the beginning of relationship building. 

Resurrection is also about relationships.  Sometimes it is about rekindling a relationship, or repairing a relationship, or being at peace with past relationships.  And we should all be reminded that Jesus is all about relationships.  God came to earth as Jesus is be in a relationship with us humans.  God loved us so much that all He ever wanted was to be close to us not just temporarily, but eternally.  Yes!  God wants to be with us… FOREVER!  In order for this to happen, God must get face to face with death.  God planned on being victorious against death and therefore has bargained our freedom from it if we choose so. 

And immediately, when God through Jesus is resurrected from the violent death on the cross, from the darkness of the tomb, He gets right into meeting people.  Meets the women at the tomb, the disciples in the locked room, and also the disciples on the road.  Jesus is all about being in a relationship and resurrection is the symbol of God continuing to be with us, even after death.

So, chocolate is about happiness and by giving chocolate to other people, we are extending our relationship with them.  It is no mystery that Easter and chocolate cannot be separated from each other, just like how God cannot ever be separated from us.  

---