feet and feast

It's Holy Week... do you know what happened today in the life of Jesus? 

Sadly, many Christians don't focus much on Holy Week... and I've traditionally been one of them.  For many of us, Easter is about Sunday, and the days leading up to it are about preparation, shopping, cooking, travel or just an extra day off work.  But, there is a reason why tomorrow is a national holiday... and it's not just because the "actual" holiday falls on a Sunday.  No, it's because the celebration of Easter is an event, not just a day!

Thursday, being Christ's final full day on earth, marked these important events:

• Jesus joined the twelve disciples for a Passover meal (often referred to as "The Last Supper"), during which He instituted the observance of what is now known as Communion.  Luke 22:14-19
• Jesus took on Himself the role of a slave, and washed the feet of the twelve, then commanded them to follow his example to serve others.  John 13:4-17
• Jesus predicted his betrayal during the Passover meal.  John 13:21-30
• Jesus prayed, was betrayed by Judas and was arrested, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Luke 22:39-53

In some Christian traditions, today is marked by Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday observances, often involving foot washing and/or Communion.  "Maundy" is a bit of a foreign word for me, but it is from the Latin word mandatum, which means mandate or commandment, the significance of which comes from the commandment of Jesus to go and serve others, as he modeled in the washing of the disciple's feet.

But, I think perhaps the washing of the feet was more significant than just modeling humility and service.  Perhaps the real significance was in the symbolism of the cleansing.  Just as the elements of the first Communion were symbols... the broken bread representing the suffering He would endure in His body as it would be broken, and the cup representing His blood that would be shed as the end-all payment for sin... I see the cleansing of the disciple's feet as symbolic of the cleansing from sin that was about to be made possible by His impending death.  The commandment, then, was bigger than just acts of service and kindness, or to "serve others as I have served you", but to model the example of Christ in a way that points others to Him and the true cleansing His death offers.  That's a big calling for the twelve... and for me?

Easter... it's not just about Sunday!

he said what?

I heard a word in church this past Sunday that I don't believe I have ever heard in church before!  What's more, it was spoken by my Pastor... from the pulpit, no less!

And, the word was...

Lent.

Some of you may be scratching your head about now... wondering why this is such a big deal.  Well... it's just that I grew up with a Baptist background.  I have always attended Baptist (or Baptist-similar) churches, and, from my experience, Baptists don't do Lent.

Now, if you regularly partake in the Lenten season, please forgive my possible ignorance in this post... I'm no expert on the subject (see above).  But, I have to give props to my Pastor for bringing a "foreign" concept to the pulpit of our church.  It caught my attention, and I've given it quite a bit of thought over the past few days.

I think that there are two main approaches to religion, and, even more specifically, to Christianity... performance and grace.  Performance based is the mindset akin to "impressing" God.  Grace based is the realization that there is nothing we, as mere mortals, can possibly do to impress God.  I subscribe to grace based Christianity.  I believe that there is nothing we can do to earn our way to God.  All I can do is accept the grace he freely offered when He gave His son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of mankind.  Therefore, any "good works" are performed out of gratitude for what has already been done on my behalf.

That said, I still often find myself falling into the trap of performance based Christianity... doing things because I think I should.  But, herein lies the beauty of Lent for a Baptist, like me... since we don't normally do Lent, there are absolutely no preconceived ideas or expectations.  Elements of our regular worship practices can become habitual, almost ritual.  But, stepping a little out of our norm once in a while can allow us to get a fresh perspective.

This was the point my Pastor was making.  His entire sermon was not about Lent.  It was actually from the 11th chapter of Mark's Gospel, where Jesus is found cleansing the Temple. 

(15) On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, (16) and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. (17) And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (NIV)

The point being made was that the Temple area and the "worship" that occurred there had become something it was never intended.  In many ways, the genuineness had been lost and perspective and right motives needed restored.  The same thing can happen with individuals.  Hence, Pastor suggested changing our normal "routine" once in a while to gain a fresh perspective... perhaps Lenten participation as one possible way to prepare the heart for the upcoming Easter holiday.

Ah, Easter.

I have addressed my frustrations with the Easter holiday in a previous post.  It ties in very well with this post, if you have the time to read it.  If not, the crux is this:

"I think a big part of my Easter frustration is due to the fact that my church background has focused so much more heavily on the Resurrection and tended to gloss over the Crucifixion. And why not? Resurrection is happy... crucifixion is not. But, how can you fully rejoice in the Resurrection, without first sharing in the sorrow of the cross?"

I believe Resurrection Sunday is the holiest of days for the Christian.  And yet, I think many of us do it a great disservice by not preparing our hearts through the events leading up to the Resurrection, or by doing it in such a routine way that the significance and genuineness have been lost.

Technically speaking, Lent has already begun.  I mean no disrespect to those of you who adhere to a more strict practice of Lent, but since it is not a regular part of my faith practices, I don't feel the need to adhere to as strict of an iterpretation of the observance as others might.  But, I am considering it... perhaps a "modified" version this year... or observing it another year... or, maybe not at all.

He said what?

Lent?

Yeah... and the cool thing is... he made me think a little out of the box.

Easter Scrooge?

I think it best that I start this post with a few disclaimers:

1. I am writing to no one, specifically, and I am in no way criticizing you, nor do I think less of you, if you celebrate Easter in ways that I question. (Many of you do and will likely continue!)
2. Many readers will likely disagree with my thoughts (my wife included).
3. We can agree to disagree and still be friends.
4. What good is writing and blogging if you can't be honest and transparent?

That being said, I admit it: I am an Easter Scrooge.

Oh, I know Easter is the most significant of Christian holidays. For a long time, though, I've really not been that into it. Guilty? Oh yeah, I've felt terribly guilty about my mediocre and apathetic response to this event that celebrates the resurrection of my Lord. But I can't deny it, so I'm trying to make some sense of it.

The older I get, the more I tend to question traditions. I find, though, that most people don't like traditions messed with. Hence the disclaimer. I'm not rebelling against traditions, per se, I'm just questioning... asking "why?" a lot. Why is it done this way? Why do we do that? Do we have to do it this way? Who says we can't do it differently?

I think, perhaps, this is partly the result of being a dad. I'm far, far, from being a model anything, leastwise a Dad. But, I do have a desire to be a good leader for my family and I try to parent very deliberately. Sometimes that deliberateness makes me cling desperately to dying traditions and other times it causes me to want to deviate from well-entrenched ones.

So, let us explore some Easter traditions through my lens.

Although I must admit I like a little commercialism with my Christmas, overall, I'm not a huge fan of commercialism, especially at Easter. Maybe I have undiagnosed ADHD, but I've long been very distracted by Easter's commercialism. A bit confused by it, actually. Maybe I have a difficult time multi-tasking, because I struggle with packing the religious and the commercial in one weekend... HE's not here (but the bunny was), for HE is risen! (what did he leave in your basket?) Bunnies and baskets? Bonnets and bows? I just have to ask why?

Ah, yes... tradition.

Now, I'll admit, as a child I loved going to Grandma's house over Easter break and spending some time with my cousins. I always looked forward to Grandma's Saturday evening Easter egg hunt. Everyone got a room in the house with an equal number of hidden candy to find, and one-by-one we'd work our way through the house. It was a fun... um... tradition. But, at some point after I quit believing in an Easter Bunny, the tradition of waking up on Sunday morning to an Easter basket seemed a little distracting to what the day was really about. (Mom, I know you read this... that's not a criticism... just thinking out loud!) I really didn't process it that way at the time, but I think the roots of my frustration with the commercialism of Easter reach somewhere back toward childhood. Even then, I think I sometimes wondered why Jesus should share the day with an egg-laying bunny and if some of the church attenders came for resurrection rejoicing or wardrobe wearing. (Again, don't take it personal if you gussy up for Easter service... it's spring... it's cute... just thinking out loud!)

This year, however, hasn't been just life as usual. Because (as I've mentioned in earlier posts) we are on our "church tour" seeking a place to call home, Easter was a little less predictable. I did a bit of an a-la-carte Easter this year. Dylan, Zachary and I attended an Easter play at one church, Good Friday service at another, and Jen and Zachary attended Easter service at yet another church. (We've been passing colds around, so we had to attend in part). I was really looking forward to Easter service this year, and although I was on sick kid duty and didn't get to go, I think it was more meaningful to me, personally, than many other years... for a few reasons.

This year, I focused my thoughts a lot more on the cross. I think a big part of my Easter frustration is due to the fact that my church background has focused so much more heavily on the Resurrection and tended to gloss over the Crucifixion. And why not? Resurrection is happy... crucifixion is not. But, how can you fully rejoice in the Resurrection, without first sharing in the sorrow of the cross? Sadly, I don't know that I've ever been to a Good Friday service before this year. Maybe I have and just don't remember? The boys couldn't understand why we would go to church on Friday. I explained to them that we were going to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf and to commemorate His death on the cross. We discussed the service on the drive home. I think they started to get it. As part of deliberate parenting, I hope in future years to focus my family's attention more on the events leading up to Easter, to try to frame for them the full relevance of Resurrection Sunday.

Also in the area of deliberate fathering, I suggested that we drop Easter baskets this year. Jen conceded (a bit reluctantly), but felt I was robbing my children of childhood joy. I see her point. We struck a compromise for future years to have some very minimal commercialism at some point during the Easter weekend, rather than Sunday morning Easter baskets. It is not my intent to stamp out all childhood fun, but to adjust tradition to be less distracting from the real significance of the holiday.

Lest you think I am just a Scrooge down on tradition with little factual backing, let me conclude with some Easter history I discovered. I'm certainly no expert, but I briefly searched Google for the basis of some of our modern Easter traditions. Did you know that Easter originates from a pagan festival to honor the Goddess of Fertility, Eastre? Rabbits and eggs have long been symbols of fertility. Since both the Resurrection and the fertility festival occurred in the spring time, the progression of history has brought us the modern day Easter, with its bunnies, eggs and empty tomb. For this reason, some churches avoid the term "Easter" and favor "Resurrection Sunday". Hmmm... I think I like that.

So, are Easter traditions harmless childish fun that combine with springtime to help point us to new life and resurrection? Maybe. I doubt that any of you really pay homage to the Goddess of Fertility with your eggs and rabbits. Just the same, though, I have to ask... my Lord and Saviour, who gave His life to redeem my sinful soul, and rose to life the first Resurrection Sunday... should He have to share His glorious day with Eastre and the world's commercialism? Call me a fanatic if you want, but I struggle with the conflicts posed by... Eastre Sunday.

Easter

We spent three days over Easter weekend visiting with family, but I forgot to pack the camera. But, here are a few pictures of the kids from Sunday. I meant to get one with Ben, but we ran out of time before church, and forgot when we got home... poor Ben!

I'm too practical to buy special Easter outfits, but a friend handed down this adorable outfit for Lily.

Isn't she cute?

Our church has an Easter egg hunt after services. Here's Dylan and Zachary competing for eggs.

The younger kids were in a separate area of the yard. Lily caught on pretty quick and recruited Mama to hold her bag.