I walked into a room filled with colorful balloons and streamers. There was upbeat music playing and a real sense of excitement in the air. I must say that I was surprised, even though it wasn’t even a surprise party.
It wasn’t anyone’s birthday, anniversary, or retirement. The occasion was a Sunday school class on Easter. Rather than have class as usual, the teachers decided that the most appropriate way to celebrate Easter was to throw a party. They pulled out all of the stops to create the atmosphere of a party, and we had a great time: we sang, ate party food, and celebrated the great gift God had given us in Jesus Christ.
I was a junior in high school at the time. This is not what I’d call an impressionable age, but Sunday school on that Easter Sunday sure made a big impression on me. Up until that time, I thought that appropriate ways to observe Easter involved hunting for eggs, eating jelly beans and chocolate bunnies, getting dressed up for church, and eating a big dinner. As for having an actual party, well, that was different.
But their decision convinced me that this is absolutely the right attitude to have on Easter. When the Bible tells of the reaction of the disciples to Jesus’ resurrection, it is one of joy. Earlier in the gospels, Jesus says that his followers should “rejoice in that day and leap for joy.” (Luke 6:23) If that’s not partying, I don’t know what is. And what better reason could there be for having a party than Jesus’ victory over the powers of death, guilt, loneliness, doubt and despair. Now that’s some good news!
The resurrection has always evoked a range of reactions, from shock and awe to disbelief to worship and adoration. After all, how can we mortals get our minds around an event that has divine origins? To some degree we simply cannot; but we can respond with all that all that we are, our faith, our gratitude, our devotion, and especially, our joy.
So as you approach Easter, pull out the streamers and balloons, crank up your favorite music, and celebrate the great things that God has done. He has certainly given us cause for celebration, on Easter and every day in between.
(Monte Johnston is the pastor of Clayton Presbyterian Church. He invites readers to come by and share a cup of coffee with him at the Coffee Mill each Friday at 8 a.m. or to contact him at 
claytonpc.com