I have been on an incredible journey this Holy Week. I have a better understanding of why we celebrate the way we do this week. I have been powerfully convicted, inspired, and awestruck. We consider what happened 2,000 years ago such a far cry from our "civilized" way of behaving now. We are closer now to the time when Jesus was walking the earth than the early humans walking this earth were. The earth has existed for billions of years! I don't care to research the figure too much but a quick glance source estimates that Adam and Eve walked the earth 6,000 years ago or 4,000 years before Christ. In the eyes of eternity and in the eyes of this galaxy, we are just a page turn away in the history books from the day Jesus was crucified.
That was conviction #1 "this is ancient history"
I love Jewish tradition. There is so much to learn from something as basic as what type of food is eaten for Passover dinner. It was a little more beyond black eyed peas for good luck or ham because it tastes good. The meal is a painful yet powerfully symbolic way to remember the plight of their ancestors. Christian communion was birthed during Jesus's final Seder. I've always taken communion seriously, by that I mean I reflect and pray but it's not like I ever went looking for communion or asked for it, so it was always a passive form of worship. On whatever day the church decided, that would be the day I remembered Jesus's sacrifice by consuming bread and juice. But this Maundy Thursday when I really put myself as best I could in the shoes of those disciples sitting around the table I felt like I was losing a friend. Imagine if I said to you " _____ (insert name), this is the last time I'll be with you. From now on every time you hear 'Jesus Take The Wheel' think of our time together. Think of me, how I loved that song more than any other, and that pieces of me are wrapped up in those lyrics. And even though I'm gone, I'm not really gone."
I know the Bible is a historical document and it's hard to think of so many lines of the text as being "real" but I can relate to that moment. Jesus had to let his closest friends from the last 3 years know that he was leaving, and that his leaving would actually be a good thing. I had a hard time digesting my communion this week. It figuratively and then literally became hard to swallow the fact that this small "ritual" puts me right back at that table in Jerusalem.
Conviction #2 "it's okay to remember"
Things may change later but right now I can't say "happy easter". I'm not really sure what "easter" is. I certainly don't want anything to do with the bunny. So confused by all of that. At least St. Nick had some relevance to the birth of Christ celebration. Yay for candy, but I'm still figuring this one out. I know it's a mouthful but this year I'm sticking with Happy Resurrection Sunday.
Favorite songs of the week
Conviction #3 "my sin debt is already PAID IN FULL"
"I'd rather be wrong on this side of eternity and there be nothing for me after I die than get it wrong here and spend the rest of time wishing that I'd believed." These are true words from a former agnostic...me.
The best is yet to come,
~Adwoa
That was conviction #1 "this is ancient history"
I love Jewish tradition. There is so much to learn from something as basic as what type of food is eaten for Passover dinner. It was a little more beyond black eyed peas for good luck or ham because it tastes good. The meal is a painful yet powerfully symbolic way to remember the plight of their ancestors. Christian communion was birthed during Jesus's final Seder. I've always taken communion seriously, by that I mean I reflect and pray but it's not like I ever went looking for communion or asked for it, so it was always a passive form of worship. On whatever day the church decided, that would be the day I remembered Jesus's sacrifice by consuming bread and juice. But this Maundy Thursday when I really put myself as best I could in the shoes of those disciples sitting around the table I felt like I was losing a friend. Imagine if I said to you " _____ (insert name), this is the last time I'll be with you. From now on every time you hear 'Jesus Take The Wheel' think of our time together. Think of me, how I loved that song more than any other, and that pieces of me are wrapped up in those lyrics. And even though I'm gone, I'm not really gone."
I know the Bible is a historical document and it's hard to think of so many lines of the text as being "real" but I can relate to that moment. Jesus had to let his closest friends from the last 3 years know that he was leaving, and that his leaving would actually be a good thing. I had a hard time digesting my communion this week. It figuratively and then literally became hard to swallow the fact that this small "ritual" puts me right back at that table in Jerusalem.
Conviction #2 "it's okay to remember"
Things may change later but right now I can't say "happy easter". I'm not really sure what "easter" is. I certainly don't want anything to do with the bunny. So confused by all of that. At least St. Nick had some relevance to the birth of Christ celebration. Yay for candy, but I'm still figuring this one out. I know it's a mouthful but this year I'm sticking with Happy Resurrection Sunday.
Favorite songs of the week
- "Not Guilty" by Mandisa
- "Cornerstone" by Hillsong
- "God Speaking" by Mandisa
- "Just As I Am"--hymn
- "Arise" by Newsong
Conviction #3 "my sin debt is already PAID IN FULL"
"I'd rather be wrong on this side of eternity and there be nothing for me after I die than get it wrong here and spend the rest of time wishing that I'd believed." These are true words from a former agnostic...me.
The best is yet to come,
~Adwoa
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