Let us mourn.....

Good Friday painted a gather gruesome picture in my memory. Blood steam down from my friend's face as he finally understood why he was the only one who volunteered to play to role of Jesus. Wanna be soldiers waving nylon string on his already painted red backside, hand and feet. As he crawl towards the pulpit on all four carrying that heavy cross, I can hear a few woman weeping and crying. The mood was intensely down and low. At the end of the play, my college mate whom I had invited came and told me that will the last he ever step foot into a church. We said goodbye and I have never seen him since. My hope is that God will touch him in His own mysterious ways and lead him to salvation but to my limited understanding, that play was too intense for him. Can anyone blame him?

Only a person after receiving Christ and understanding about redemption of sins can actually see the full picture of Good Friday. Even Jesus' disciples did not understand why He had to die minutes before He was apprehended. One disciple took matters into his own hand and "defended" Jesus. They were lost and confused when Jesus died and one even doubted when Jesus Himself appears after He was raised from the dead. So how can I blame my college mate for hating this play and did not want to have anything to do with a religion that worship a person they call God, but had to suffer as such.

Perhaps sometimes we take the Holy Week celebration a bit too "seriously". Not that I am saying anything against any play or fasting or partaking Holy Communion or abstinence or even showcasing The Passion of Christ yet again. These are beneficial but question is what does it edify to do it only during the Holy Week (not that I am saying this week is any special than any other week)? Are we dependent on this week to make us closer to God? I am always being critical on rituals and practices people do during certain period to identify themselves as Christians.

Let me make my point a bit clear, I was reading Ephesians 3 and I notice Paul was reaffirming his commitment to minister to the Gentiles. Background story is a bit long but the summary is; the Jewish community thinks they are the chosen people, and if the Gentiles wants to be saved they need to conform to some Jewish traditions, like being circumcised (Acts 15:1). Salvation will be provided through the seed (not seeds) of a woman and that is Jesus Christ. Thus the reconciliation between the Jewish and Gentiles is imminent by the death and resurrection of Christ. Jewish people certainly don't like to hear it. All these while they thought they are the special one. Gentiles on the other hand are more than glad to hear this good news and because of Jewish rejection of Christ, many Gentiles have come to faith. These are good news, results from interpreting the gospel the right way.

I think by making the Holy Week about ourselves is pushing us to act like the Jews. Some of our Good Friday play or things we do segregate the non-believers from the supposedly family of God even more. How will doing the things we do during this week conveys the gospel to them? We need to ask if we are actively looking to seek the lost and not making it harder for them to come to Christ. Let us not use the Holy Week to edify ourselves only (assuming there are benefits from doing the things we do during the Holy Week). If not then how are we any different from the Jews? Isn't this week a point of rejoicing for all of mankind? Everyone has been given a second chance, everyone can be saved, this is just too big news to contain. So let us consider for a moment on what we are going to do and how it can be part of God's plan.