St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

If you squint at an Easter basket, especially one stuffed with faux shredded grass, you can totally see its origins as a nest. Remember the German Osterhase tradition? Well, there was more to it—to encourage this mythical bunny to stop by their houses, children would fashion nests for it to come and lay its colored eggs. Over time the nests evolved into baskets.

Like the bunny and the eggs, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when people started making hot cross buns—sweet rolls studded with raisins or currants and marked with a cross on top—during the week leading up to Easter Sunday. It’s said the tradition started in the 12th century with a monk who was inspired to mark his rolls to celebrate Good Friday.

The first written record we have of them dates back to an issue of Poor Robin’s Almanac from the 1730s: “Good Friday comes this Month, the old woman runs, with one or two a Penny, hot cross Bunns.”

The Day of Resurrection – 249

This has to be one of our oldest Easter hymns still in use today. While the tune Ellacombe first appears in the Mainz Song Book of 1833, the words are the inspiration of John of Damascus who lived from AD 675-787. John was a Greek poet and is considered to be one of the Fathers of the Greek Eastern Orthodox Church. He wrote many theological works and was responsible for much of the Greek hymnody. He believed in the use of icons – images to guide in prayer; he codified the practices of Byzantine chant and he wrote papers on science, philosophy and theology.

But while John of Damascus has become quite well known for his hymns and his theological writings, he started out following in his father’s footsteps as an official in the court of the Muslim caliph in Damascus. At about the age of 40, he became dissatisfied with his life, gave away his possessions, freed his slaves, and entered the monastery of St. Sabas in the desert near Jerusalem. There he stayed for the rest of his life.

Lord of the Dance – 250

Sydney Carter wrote one of the best loved Easter hymns of the modern era. I know that it is one of my personal favourites. I couldn’t find any biographical information on Sydney. This song was copyrighted in 1963 and plays on the theme of life as a dance. The Jewish people themselves certainly are familiar with dance as a metaphor for life. In fact, dance plays a large part in many cultures and the life of many religious communities.
As a celebration of life from the beginning of time, we picture Jesus rejoicing at the creation of the world. Seeking to bring that joy back to the people, Jesus seeks to engage the religious leaders of the day. Rejected by them, he turns to the fishermen. They respond to his invitation and the dance goes on. In the end, no matter what happens, the dance goes on and we are invited by Jesus to dance wherever we may be remembering that he will lead us as he is the Lord of the Dance.

Now the Green Blade rises – 256

Using the tune French Carol, this hymn properly belongs to Easter, yet it found its way into the Oxford Book of Carols.

John Macleod Campbell Crum, who wrote this hymn, was born in Cheshire, England in 1872. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1900 and served in various pastorates until retiring in 1943. In addition to writing hymns, he also authored a number of books.
Using the imagery of seeds of wheat buried in the ground, John relates how that which seems to be dead contains life. So, it is with Jesus. He who was dead to the world was very much alive.
In the final verse, John relates the time of winter as a metaphor for dark and lonely days in our lives. Whether in grief or pain, the touch of Christ can bring us back to life again.
I love the refrain: Love is come again like wheat new-springing green.

Hail, thou once despised Jesus – 214 (OB)

John Bakewell wrote this one with the tune Hyfrodol being added after his death. John was born in Derbyshire in 1721. At about the age of 18, his mind turned towards religious truths. From that date he became an evangelist and in 1744 he began to preach. He was a contemporary of the Wesleys and spent much of his life preaching for their evangelistic meetings. He lived to the age of 98 and was buried in the Wesleyan burying ground.
This hymn was his best known.