This morning at my house we had lengthy conversations about the physical improbabilities of the Easter Bunny and his (her?) delivery tactics.
It seems my girls have reached an age where they are struck by the seeming logistical impossibilities of a bunny delivering chocolate eggs to our house, and they are more ruthlessly logical and scientific in their questioning than I would have expected them to be.
I keep explaining to them that there is a certain magic to the whole process, a magic we simply can't understand or explain. I liken it to the magic of Santa and the Tooth Fairy, but alas, they are already wary of such answers.
Now some would say I'm doing them no favors by continuing the charade. Teaching them to believe in such fantasies is considered unhealthy by some, and unchristian by others. But I've decided I disagree.
I'm sticking up for the Easter Bunny and his other seasonal associates because I believe there is something important about all of us learning to believe in magic, in mystery, in wonder, and in things we simply cannot explain.
There will be plenty of years for them to be immersed in scientific rationalism. But for all my education as a scientist I've found an empirical world-view to be sorely lacking when it comes to deciding how to live a life worth living. In my thirties, learning to encounter and embrace mystery has been crucial to my sanity. (some may object to this...the part about me being sane that is....)
It turns out, that to live in acceptance that there are things I cannot explain or understand has far more integrity than the false certainty of religious or scientific dogma.
So I'm going to let my kids believe in magic for as long as they choose. They'll get more than enough materialism in their lives in due time. I think it's more important to nurture their sense of wonder than for them to know exactly who or what is "real" and who isn't.
And next year they may not believe in the magic of a bunny who stealthily hides treats in our house. But I want them practice living with magic, mystery, and uncertainty in this thing, so that they can learn to live with the other great mysteries we wrestle with at Easter.
As we read in 1 Cor 15:51:
"For behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed"
Their questions about the Easter Bunny are just a precursor to the questions that I, and hopefully someday they, raise about this mystery of resurrection.
It's good to ask questions, but I don't have to understand it. It's historical details and scientific feasibility are becoming less important to me as I learn to witness resurrection. Things die and new life springs forth. People see parts of themselves die, and new life emerges. Old habits, old ways of seeing things, old fears, old grudges, old sadness, old selfishness, old destructive patterns...all of them can be put to death and new life emerge in their place.
May you this Easter practice the mystery of resurrection in your own life....
....and may you witness this mystery of resurrection all around you.
