Sunday 1 April 2018

Life

I saw a comment on another blog this week in which the commenter said they would rather celebrate new life at this time of year than death and torture.
Easter isn't meaningful for everyone, or even most people and certainly the spring equinox has relevance for everyone, no matter their religious inclinations so I get all of that.

This year, my comment about Easter is just to say that I don't celebrate torture and death. On Good Friday I commemorate, rather than celebrate, the death of an innocent man. I go to a church service which is generally sombre and spend the rest of the day doing something quiet. It isn't exactly a day of grief but I do mindfully avoid some worldly pursuits.

The celebratory part of Easter is a celebration of life. It comes on Sunday when we recall a miraculous resurrection. On Sunday we find joy and hope in the story of the risen Jesus, in the promise of new life.

In the end, the people who loved Jesus and had seen him die a brutal death we reunited with him. Their loss was temporary and their pain vanished as quickly as it had come. The promise that pain and loss will be temporary is what I celebrate.




I’ve come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

15 comments:

  1. Actually, some people think the equinox or any celebrations or even recognition of the equinox is pagan. Is that not weird? It is a fact of nature not some woo hoo idea made up.

    I do not nor ever saw a need for quietness on any Sunday or Easter. But, I do know that some people avoid certain activities. These days, I am all for not a lot of activity...lol.

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    1. I was never one for the ideas of no sport on Sunday, or no TV! We never shopped on a Sunday, though and I still avoid it

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  2. Religious traditions from the Hindu to the modern mega-church are all conflated and mixed together in this era, with the ever less than divine cry of "mines the only truth."

    I know what I am regarding my faith--it is enough religious observation for me. Though I must say your take and actions on Easter week end are very similar to what I grew up through Kylie.

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    1. "the ever less than divine cry of "mine's the only truth" "
      There's not a lot of humility in that idea, is there?

      I grew up in a very protestant family and the older I get the more meaning I see in some of the old traditions that were brushed away long ago as too restricting so it's no surprise that my actions reflect an earlier time

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  3. Your Good Friday is one of respect and compassion. Amd commemoration is a lovely word - and concept.

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    1. I love the way you are positive about a faith which is so far removed from your own beliefs

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    2. Thank you. I try and lead an ethical life. And don't have definitive answers about so many things that I cannot, just cannot, dismiss other people's paths - when they are lived with integrity.

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  4. Well said. While I focus on the earth's renewal at this time of year it is a metaphor for the reborn human spirit as well. Everything is linked together.

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    1. Yes, everything is linked! Of course here in the Southern Hemisphere we should be entering autumn (it may never arrive) so there is no correlation between the season and the religious observance and that is ok.

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  5. I applaud your expressions of faith!

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    1. Thanks Anne. I don't want to be too overt with it but it is Easter :)

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  6. Perhaps if one is not raised with any religious instruction, it is easy to mistake the commemoration for celebration. My family attended church when I was young, so that instruction was part of my life education. I am glad for that even though I did not chose to continue with it. And I do try to respect others' beliefs as I wish them to respect mine. I think you do that admirably!

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    1. I'm sure that some time in Sunday School or church is good for a person's general education. There is probably a whole list of experiences like that: museums, sporting events, concerts....

      also, thank you

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