CHRISTIANS CAN CELEBRATE EASTER MESSAGE YEAR ROUND.

Byline: Jim Urbanovich

HALLELUJAH! He is risen! Celebrate!'' Only one problem.

I dislike holidays. It has always seemed to me that the only meaningful gestures and acts in life were those that emanated from a sincere and genuine desire in the heart.

Holidays represent forced and contrived ritual, insincerity and an opportune time for the money-changing capitalists to greedily feed off people's sense of tradition and emotion. Frankly, the loss of focus on the reasons why a holiday exists in the first place leaves me little reason to celebrate.

Of course, maintaining such views does not make one popular with friends, family and church during the joyous holiday seasons. This is particularly difficult for a pastor. One who holds such views is generally considered the Grinch of society and the joyless drops of rain on the holiday parade. Although such an attitude toward those like myself who dislike holidays is entirely expected, the sentiments are nonetheless highly offensive.

The reality is that those who hold such views toward the holidays do not lack joy, but possess a deep desire to live out their lives in such a way that lacks hypocrisy and is true to their convictions. However, society doesn't see me or others as people of integrity simply trying to live out their honest and true feelings, but rather as dysfunctional creatures who must have an Ebenezer Scrooge-type experience to overcome the conditions that made them this way. I personally have been advised to go through counseling and therapy to uncover those mysterious and deep, hidden traumas that cause me such holiday angst. Many are praying for me.

There is nothing deep, hidden or mysterious about the ailments of our holiday seasons. There is nothing mysterious about the Christmas season, for example, which puts people into a spending frenzy and causes great anxiety as we watch depression and suicide rates soar to annual highs. There is nothing deep or hidden about a time of the year set aside by Christians to celebrate the resurrection of their savior only to be outdone by Easter eggs, bunnies, chocolates and a diluting of Christian ideas with secular lore. The question: Would Jesus himself celebrate under these conditions?

I do not fight the holiday; I resist it. I do not judge others' right to celebrate it; I watch.

We are wrongly focused, they say. We are focusing too much on what others around us are doing and not focusing on the reasons for celebration in our own hearts. By that logic, I should be able to attend a house of prostitution for the purpose of prayer, so long as that's the reason in my heart for attending.

As an associate pastor I must face the holiday seasons head-on, though I am afforded the luxury of not having Easter Sunday pastoral demands.

However, as I sincerely am thankful for the vast amount of annual church one-timers who will be filing into the pews this Easter Sunday in hopes that they can truly be touched by a risen savior who deserves unadulterated worship and celebration year-round, on this particular day I will simply observe.

A genuine faith joyously celebrates always. I do not only appreciate my wife on our anniversary or my children on their birthdays; I love them always.

And though setting aside a specific time in which to formally recognize a person's worth or accomplishments is commendable, it is only truly valuable if that is what we actually do. Often the party gets in the way of the purpose.

It is the fundamental belief of Christians around the world that some 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth died as a result of crucifixion as an atonement for the collective sins of mankind.

Three days later he rose from the dead and conquered spiritual death, that all who believe in him may have eternal life. Believing in him offers us the opportunity to conquer death and live forever with him. For those who believe, it is reason to celebrate.

My celebration is evident in my utter thankfulness and dependence on his grace, realized through faith, in my life day after day, year after year. And as my soul declares: ``Hallelujah! He is risen!'' I won't let something like Easter get in the way of true joy and year-round expression.