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Holy Hijack, Batman

Posted by Mark Winebrenner on Apr 8, 2019 1:33:33 PM
Mark Winebrenner

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As a kid in the early 70s, I watched reruns of the 1966-1968 Batman series starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. At that age I watched it more as a serious action crime show and did not understand nor appreciate the wonderful humor. According to Wikipedia, Executive Producer William Dozier once described it as the only situation comedy on the air without a laugh track. After seeing some of the episodes as an adult, I agree.

 

One of the running jokes that appears in every episode is Robin’s “holy” exclamations such as “Holy Guacamole” or “Holy Hole in a Donut”. According to BuzzFeed, Robin made 359 such statements during the 3 season, 120 episodes run. That’s three “holies” per show!  A member of the BuzzFeed staff listed and rated all of them. Holy Hijack came in at 170.

 

“Holy Hijack” describes well what secular cultures have done to two prominent Christian celebrations, Christmas and Easter. Of the two, the cleverest crime was the commandeering of Easter. For Christians, Easter is the day we remember and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead.

 

Over the years people have argued about the origin and meaning of the word “Easter” and when that word was used in conjunction with this Christian celebration. Frankly, I don’t really care. At the core this is not a matter of one day being any more important than another. It is simply a day set aside since the second century for Christians around the world to collectively celebrate what God has done because the entire Christian faith rests on this one event.

 

“For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.”

1 Corinthians 15:13

 

As a self-proclaimed witness to Jesus’s resurrection, even Paul, who wrote over half of the New Testament, said he and all the apostles would be a bunch of liars IF the resurrection never happened.

 

“And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.”

1 Corinthians 15:15

 

Yet most of the apostles were executed for teaching about Jesus and the resurrection. You can also count Jesus among the liars because He said:

 

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John 11:25

 

Would you die for a lie?

 

Today in many homes Easter is recognized with little more than a Santa-like, candy-giving rabbit and the tradition of finding plastic eggs filled with treasures.  The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend over $18 billion this Easter mostly on clothing, candy and gifts. Of course, there is nothing wrong with fun family traditions. The hijack is the diversion of our attention away from an event that has the power to forever change us and the world.

 

Listen to God’s heart for you: “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead.” Philippians 3:10a

 

What is the power God promises?  

 

“And God will raise us from the dead by His power, just as He raised our Lord from the dead.” 1 Corinthians 6:14

 

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance-an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

1 Peter 1:3-4

 

There is no dispute that Jesus lived and was crucified. There is no dispute that the apostles lived and died for their faith in Him. What is disputed and must be settled in your heart is whether they were all liars and lunatics, willing to die for a lie, or God did raise Jesus from the dead as your Lord and Savior.

 

Just like He did with His first disciples, Jesus asks each of us today, “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15

 

If you want to experience His resurrection power in your life, invite Him to be your Lord. It will be an Easter you will never forget.

 

Topics: Encouraging Words