Easter, once again, and I lack a congregation in which I can celebrate this Holiest of days.
I wonder if that is not actually a good thing, however, since I don’t fit into the typical faiths – I may not care for their mode of celebration? I recall the only Easter service I have attended as an adult. It was a beautiful celebration in a small town in Alaska. All the churches gathered together in the town hall and had one large celebration.
Each leader gave a sermon. Each choir sang a song. It was interesting to see how each faith interpreted the Crucifixion lessons. I, of course, did not easily fit into any of them.
When considering Easter and what it means, I tend to focus more on the Good Friday side of things than the Easter Sunday side of things. I believe the lesson is more in how Christ acted on the Cross than whether or not he rose from the dead (I find this highly unlikely for many reasons). But while on the cross, he was next to two criminals – my favorite story from the Bible.
When one criminal calls out to him and asks if he is God, why not save himself, the other criminal condemns the first stating that Christ is in their same position, but has done no wrong. Jesus looks to the second and states “I tell you the truth, today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Even in his most daunting hour, he was forgiving of an unrepentant criminal who acknowledged him.
But even more moving, are when we see the human side. When, after pages and pages of reading of the goodness, the doubtlessness, the faithfulness of Christ, he calls out ” Eli Eli lama sabachthan” which translates to “My God, My God, why have you foresaken me?”
He was scared, he was unsure, he wanted to be saved. He was human. All he wanted was to hear, and receive comfort from his Father. And in that moment, I can very much relate to this much honored man.
Happy Easter. Believer or not, take a moment to think on the life of Jesus today, and how we could all do to act a little more like he did.
mac
5 months ago
In my opinion, it is a good thing you don’t have a congregation.
You believe what you think is right, NOT what someone else tells you is right. I see so much of that in organized religion. Most of those folks don’t even understand why they believe what they believe, other than it’s what they’ve always been told to believe.
Michael Lockridge
5 months ago
It is possible to exist within the various manifestations of the Christian culture without necessarily conforming or fitting in. I have done so for decades. The church needs the challenge, from time to time. Complacency can be fatal to any social order.
The choice to believe in the existence of God is a choice. So is the choice to believe in the improbable/impossible incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why you may make such a choice is individual, based on your own experiences and needs.
In my own faith, it comes down to God’s grace. I stand before God completely dependent on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Wherever I am lacking I am made whole and complete in the eyes of God through the adequacy of that sacrifice. Even where I am incomplete in my understanding and capacity to reason and explain there is adequacy in that sacrifice.
Happy Easter, your Easter.
Mike
the lion
5 months ago
Michael, if the churches of today were not so hate filled and un-Christlike, I might actually attend one and simply challenge where I believe they are wrong. But I refuse to sit in a building and and listen to people pretend to praise God while insulting everything Christ died for with their hate filled speeches.
There is one church, and one church only, I would join. Sadly, I don’t live in Bakersfield, CA so I cannot join. The Reverend there is the single only Reverend I have met who, while we disagree on many subjects, is truly compassionate, judgeless, and kind. He embodies Christ in a way that few others can.