As with everything I write, please take what you like and leave the rest.
Easter is fast approaching. I know the image of it, for many, is bunnies, pastel colors, and candy. Originally this holiday---or holy day---was about the event that occurred after
Christ's death, his resurrection three days later.
Yesterday was the day when Christ's crucifixion and death is observed. It was an intense and prolonged form of execution. It was a severe Roman punishment, causing the victim to slowly die from suffocation while suffering excruciating pain (the origin for this adjective is crux, cross).
Easter can still be reminder of its original message. It's an opportunity to consider what transpired on this Friday, more than twenty centuries ago.
This day gives us pause from our typical duties and what usually preoccupies our minds. We can consider the Christian message of this holiday. It is more meaningful than most distractions provided by television, the internet or smart phones.
The story of Easter is that we are not self-sufficient. The holiday is about divine help available that enables us to transcend our limitations.
More than two millennia ago, a man suffered outside the walls of Jerusalem. What was considered a victory by his enemies was actually a cause for restitution between God and man. His death became a substitutionary atonement for those who believe in and yield their lives Him.
The following was written in 1926 by Dr. James Allen. They are worth considering today:
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
until He was thirty, then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher
He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never had a family
He never owned a house
He never traveled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself
He was only thirty three when
the tide of popular opinion turned against him
His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to His enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
the only property he had on earth
When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend
Nineteen [now, twenty] centuries have come and gone,
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race,
And the leader of mankind's progress.
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on this earthHow About You?
As powerfully as that One Solitary Life
What does this weekend mean for you? Do you have any questions about Easter? Let me know.
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3 comments:
Greetings, honorable Innkeeper! I enjoyed reading your post about the meaning of Easter. Thank you for opening this opportunity for us to reflect on the life of Jesus and how it relates to the things that we might struggle with.
He was but "one solitary man", who never flinched from his life's mission. While Peter, at HIS testing moment, as most of us would, lost nerve and denied not only Jesus but himself, Jesus stayed true to His love for God and desire to help mankind. I often think, if at my deciding moment I can be true to my calling as well.
Dear Innkeeper,
Thank for your post about Jesus. I saw a quote over the weekend that reminded me of your post. It was from Ghandi:
"A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act."
Dear Innkeeper,
He had no credentials, but himself. That is inner-reference to God. Trusting God. Trust has been a strong theme running through my consciousness of late. I can't blame me for not trusting people and life, even God. I grew up in an unsafe environment. However, I can feel God's presence nudging me to trust it. I'm grateful for my higher power, support group, counselor, and sponsor.
-CK
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