March 2024

Language evolves. Each new age, each revolution invents words to describe its changing environment. The digital revolution, in whose torrent we are now swept up, is no different. Just think of some of the terms that trip off our tongues which would have been unintelligible to English speakers as recently as the 1960s. Email, website, blog, internet, wi-fi. 

Somewhere in that list you will find content creator, a catch-all term for someone who produces digital media for an audience; and among the things with which content creators like to delight their audiences are Easter eggs. Yes, language can be hijacked too. 

Easter eggs, in the digital sense, are hidden messages or surprises placed within movies, video games, or software. They are not immediately obvious to the casual observer but can be discovered by those who search for them. They point to hidden meanings or deeper layers and invite us to investigate further. You might also see them as a metaphor for the rewards that can be found only by those who explore below the surface.

And isn’t that precisely what real Easter eggs are meant to be? Beyond the obvious messages about Spring and new life, they are hints, echoes of a deeper reality which can only be found if we commit ourselves to the search. The God of the Bible gives us this promise: “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). The Easter story, with which we are concerned this month, is the ideal place to begin that journey of exploration and an endless source of fresh surprises for experienced explorers.