Holy Week

This morning I chose Celestial Seasonings "Sweet Coconut Thai Chai" tea. It's spicy but mellow, which I found very appealing today. My mug is covered with dogwood blossoms, and the legend of the dogwood is printed on one side. I'm not going to take the time to relate the legend—you can Google it if you're interested.

But I will relate that the dogwood "blossom" usually has four white leaves which resemble flower petals (actually bracts), and the real flower buds are in the middle of the blossom. Each leaf is heart-shaped, and the vee of the leaf has a reddish stain which is reminiscent of the nail holes and blood stains in Christ's hands and feet as He hung on the cross. The flower buds themselves are likened to the crown of thorns placed on His head. It is a visual reminder of what He endured when He was crucified.

When I was a child, Easter was almost exclusively a Christian holiday, and most of the decorations and merchandise for sale bore Christian symbology. Most Easter activities were Christian in nature and designed to teach and remind people, especially children, of the meaning of Easter.

We dyed eggs, but all the stickers and decals included in the dye packages were Christian in design. We bought candy eggs and cakes, and all their wrappers sported Christian images. When we made a trip to the grocery store, the hardware store, the clothing store, all were decorated with Christian motifs.

We went to church on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, where we heard sermons about Christ's death and resurrection. We even, please brace yourselves, read about it and took part in Easter activities in public schools. I will now pause while you find a container for your horror and grief.

Back then retailers catered to Christians, and they knew most parents would only buy Easter products that had Christian themes. Was everything pastoral and wholesome? No. There were a number of things that should not have been allowed. Most notably a number of merchandisers sold live baby chicks that had been dyed in pastel colors. I wouldn't even hazard a guess of the number of baby chicks that suffered from the effects of the dye, not to mention at the hands of ignorant and insensitive, if not downright cruel children. The practice continued for years, so there were probably tens of thousands of dead baby chicks across the country each year.

But today I find it almost impossible to find any Christian-themed Easter item unless I go to a Christian store. Most people celebrate "Easter", but they don't want the Christian story or Christian images and symbols to intrude on their holiday. Everyone wants the colored eggs, the bunnies, the baskets, the candy, the new clothes, but don't inflict them with any of that Jesus claptrap.

I find that very sad.

Do you know why Christians invite people to church? It's because once a person becomes aware, really and truly aware, of Jesus as a true, living person, and they feel the Holy Spirit move in them, there is a joy that bubbles up inside of them, and they can't contain it. They want to share it. They want to give that gift to others. They want everyone to feel what they feel.

One of my favorite movies is "When Harry Met Sally". Harry, played by Billy Crystal, and Sally, played by Meg Ryan, move in and out of each others lives for a number of years. Then one day they both come to the end of relationships with other people at the same time. At loose ends, they develop their own relationship that develops into a deep friendship. Then one night they share a disastrous sexual encounter which ends the friendship. Harry desperately wants to put the friendship back together, but Sally is too hurt, and they are at an impasse.

But then, on New Year's Eve, Harry suddenly has en epiphany. He runs through the streets of New York City to a hotel where Sally is attending a party. He rushes up to her and announces that, after a good deal of thinking, he realizes he loves her.

There is more dialog, but Sally remains unswayed until Harry says the one thing that hooks Sally, and the viewer, and almost guarantees to heal the rift between them:

"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Take that scene, and that feeling, and now instead of Harry and Sally substitute a Christian and someone else and change the line to, "When you realize there is a real Jesus, and He has prepared a place for you to spend eternity and it's wonderful, and the alternative is horrible, you kind of want to gather everyone you know and tell them about it so they can know it, too."

Why is that so offensive to some people?

I think maybe some people get hung up on thinking Christians want to "convert" them (like maybe "converted rice", where they would be fundamentally changed?). But conversion to Christianity, at its core, is simply a desire to let others in on a really good deal.

But then, the problem with some of us Christians is our enthusiasm gets the best of us and we go for the hard sell, because we just don't want to take "no" for an answer. We tend to treat people as if they were either deaf, so we raise our voices, or mentally deficient, because they don't "get it", so we try to drag them along.

Compare this to someone who is determined to lead someone out of a burning building while the person doesn't know the building is on fire. "I'm doing this for your own good," doesn’t' sway the would-be victim if the would-be hero looks and sounds like a nut or a crazed kidnapper.  

The sad thing is Jesus and Christianity get the bad rap for our bad behavior. Mahatma Gandhi said, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." It is sad. It is true. But Christ was the Son of God, and perfect, and no mere human being can obtain perfection. So we are left to make mistakes.

The truth is that Christians can behave badly. We are, after all, only human. Anyone who thinks most Christians think they're perfect should realize that most of us are well aware of just how imperfect we are. But we have two things we hold to when we blow it: God isn't finished with us yet, and we're not perfect, but we are forgiven. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Anyhow, this week, Holy Week, I plan on attending the Maundy Thursday dinner at church, and I will spend Good Friday reflecting on Christ's life and death. And then Easter Sunday I will go to church where I will join others in celebrating His resurrection and our salvation. I will also eat Easter dinner with family members. During all this I will pray that everyone I know will find the joy and peace I have found in knowing Jesus as a real person, a real friend.

Happy Easter, however you choose to celebrate it. And God bless you.