Jars of Clay leading worship, Albuquerque, New Mexico

By Brian Nixon

Special to ASSIST News Service

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (ANS) -- Easter is the pinnacle of the Christian year. It’s on this day that we celebrate the reality of Christ’s resurrection. We marvel at God’s interaction with humanity through His Messiah, Jesus. And we ponder God’s goodness in His saving grace.

Easter is special, indeed.

This Easter was unique, however. True, I followed my traditional routine of Holy Week: prayer, services, and preparation.

But what made this Easter distinctive is what I did on Easter morning and whom I did it with.

To start, I attended the largest Sunrise Service in New Mexico, sponsored by Calvary of Albuquerque. At 7:30 in the morning, 22,000 people filed into University Stadium to worship with the group, Jars of Clay, and hear a message by Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Many came forward, dedicating their lives to follow the Risen One.

I then went to Calvary of Albuquerque for the additional morning services.

Crowd at University Stadium, Easter 2011

While moderating news cameras and people coming in, I brought one cameraman backstage. After connecting him to the right people I noticed (out of the corner of my eye) someone watching an English Premier soccer match on a computer: Arsenal vs. Bolton, to be exact.

Being the huge football/soccer fan that I am, I pulled up next to this fellow to partake of the match.

As we watched, I found out that this fellow was an Arsenal fan, which are known in England as The Gunners. I had to stop. You see -- I’m not an Arsenal fan. When it comes to London clubs, I’m a Chelsea man. So anyone playing against Arsenal is the team I root for.

Yet, I saw the score was 1-1 (Bolton wasn’t being crushed), so I decided to stay and watch, and to give this nice fellow a hard time.

Stephen Mason cheering on Arsenal backstage at Calvary of Albuquerque

Through the course of match, we chatted back and forth about soccer and life. He said he married into soccer through his wife, who was born in Great Britain. My viewing buddy then told me how his wife’s family became Arsenal fans. Going beyond soccer, he talked about he met his lovely wife, a former BBC journalist.

We then turned to more serious topics: authors we appreciated and the like.

I was quite enjoying the time -- and the game. So I decided to introduce myself to my new soccer buddy.

“Hi, I’m Brian,” I said.

“Oh, so sorry,” came the reply. “I’m Stephen Mason.”

“Are you here with the band?” I asked kind of naively.

“Yes, I am. I’m the guitarist for Jars of Clay,” came the reply.

“Great,” I responded.

Ok. Ok. I know what you’re thinking: Shouldn’t I know more about this Grammy-nominated, Dove award-winning group? I suppose I should. But I didn’t.

A scene from the game. Arsenal are in red

What I did come to realize and appreciate in Stephen is a human being that opened up about his life, the love he had for his wife, and a common respect for a game played by folks kicking a ball around a green pitch. In short, I was drawn by the fellowship rather than the fame.

Then it dawned on me: Isn’t this why Christ came to die and rise? To provide salvation? To instill fellowship through the Holy Spirit? To break down any barriers that might arise between human beings: rich, poor, male, female, Native American, black, white? Famous or not?

The answer: yes, yes, and yes. And much more! Easter is the grand display of God’s unending love for the people He created and with whom He is intimately involved.

"Christ is the great unifier. In Him we have true fellowship. Or, as Saint Paul reminds us, “By whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

The Easter message is so grand -- so encompassing -- that mere words will not do it justice.

N.T Wright, in his Easter message entitled “The Uncomfortable Truth of Easter,” comes close to summarizing the true impact of Easter:

“Easter is about real life, not escapist fantasy. Easter is about God’s judgment, calling the world to account and setting up his new, glorious creation of freedom and peace, and summoning all people everywhere to live in this new world. Easter is about God’s rich welcome to all humankind. We Easter people are called to celebrate all of that in practical ways as well as in glad and uninhibited worship… That is the point of it all.

“And it’s all because Easter is about Jesus: the Jesus who announced God’s saving, sovereign kingdom; the Jesus who died to exhaust the power of this world’s rulers; the Jesus who rose again to be crowned as king over all things in heaven and on earth. God give us grace, this day and from now on, to live as Easter people, celebrating Jesus’ love and joy at his table and making his kingdom and justice known in his world.”

To that I say, Amen.

So, without feeling guilty for watching a soccer match on Easter day, I can rejoice that God has provided fellowship through His Son, to be enjoyed by thousands of people on a Sunday morning singing songs of gratitude and praise -- or by two fellows watching a match and talking about life, family, and faith.

Either way, Christ was glorified. And for this I am thankful.

It was a great Easter: because we serve a great Savior!

And, by the way, Bolton won the game, 2-1. Sorry, Stephen. Maybe next year!

Brian Nixon is a writer, musician, minister, and family man. You may contact him at www.briannixon.com

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