Jesus, a real man, was put to death around 2,000 years ago, and then came back to life. I, along with many others, am convinced of the fact.

In fact, because Easter is the heart of Christianity, Christians don’t only talk about it during the calendar season. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus make up the staple theological diet of most Christians around the world. And rightly so, for it is the centre of the Christian faith.

It was the will of God to put his Son to death. Jesus’ anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane is real and palpable. Jesus died for the sin of the world. I am forgiven. Jesus’ resurrection secures my life, forever. In these events the world is turned on its head.

But when it comes to Easter services, I find it easy to think, “yeah, yeah, I know.” I am reluctant to get up early, twice, on a long weekend to go to church and hear things of which I am already convinced.

Sometimes it just feels a bit stale.

Does saying, or even thinking, this mean I have “itching ears,” like the people Paul refers to in 2 Timothy 4:3? It certainly could, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.

It’s not the message that’s stale; it’s me. My eyes have dimmed. My heart has built a garden around the crucifixion and resurrection. I have domesticated it. The message of Easter is as revolutionary as ever, but my eyes and heart have learned to look through it.

The events of Easter are still there, they still matter to me, and they are still the central tenets of my faith. They are the lenses through which I view the world, but I have forgotten that the crucifixion and resurrection are not only the lenses, they are events worthy of examination and reflection in and of themselves.

I don’t need a fresh message; I need fresh eyes.

So where do we go to get these fresh eyes? Nothing is foolproof, but these might help:

• Take an hour, turn off all the devices, and read through the gospel accounts of the crucifixion and the resurrection. My favourite is Luke, especially this verse: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).
• Watch some of the visual depictions of the crucifixion and resurrection and let yourself feel the weight of the suffering. They are gory, to be sure, but they represent the real suffering of our Lord Jesus. Sometimes we need a little visual help to bridge the gap between the 1st and 21st Century worlds.

This one, from The Bible miniseries:

Or this one, from The Passion of the Christ: