Givin' It Up

Well, here we are at the three-week before Easter mark.  If you're like me, it’s a time when things seem to be moving more quickly than normal. 

Around my house, there’s a sense of changing seasons, and the work that needs to be done as we’ll be going into winter soon, but unlike you folks in the northern hemisphere, that doesn’t mean putting up the storm shutters and tuning up the snow blower … more like exchanging the short-sleeved shirts in the closet for long sleeves and packing away the snake discouragers from around the trash bins and water taps. 

The snakes are still around, but they move a lot slower when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Some of my friends at this time of year are talking about “Lent” and what they’re planning to give up for it. In a way, it’s reminiscent of New Years and the lists of resolutions we like to make in January. 

I grew up in a Baptist home that eschewed any and everything that hinted of “Catholicism".  We rarely had fish on Fridays, for example, because the Pope had said everyone should not eat meat on that day but that fish was okay. 

After a long career with close associations to fellow believers whose personal choices didn’t always agree with mine, I think I’ve become more tolerant - dare I say accepting - of the folks I used to avoid. I mean, what’s wrong with a little return to confession time, so long as it’s not thought of as part of my salvation? 

And then there’s Good Friday, a day when Australian Anglicans jump in with both feet. It’s a national holiday and you’ll find many people are in Church that day, grieving with God about the upcoming Crucifixion.  Our Baptist church will have a service on Friday , as well as a Maundy Thursday (even gloomier) the night before.  We'll be there.   

Is that a bad thing?  I think not.  Sometimes, perhaps we’re a bit 'too happy' about the 'Free Grace”, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it. True, it’s a wonderful gift from Jesus, but that doesn’t give us free rein to do whatever we please, knowing we’ll be forgiven. How about it?  Would you be willing to 'give up' something or some things, just for a moment in remembrance of what Jesus did for us at Easter? 

Maybe allow yourself to be just a teeny bit sad over the fact that it was our sin that made Easter necessary in the first place. 

Before you start admiring my halo, I won't confess to doing anything particular for the occasion, apart from admiring those who do take the idea seriously. . . and put their actions where their words are.   

It’s a wonderful time coming up. Enjoy a chocolate Easter bunny for me and maybe dress up just a bit on Easter Sunday, but take every opportunity to help others understand what it’s all about. 

Celebrating the Day, 

Marsha 

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