I was raised a Christian. I was baptized and then confirmed in the Episcopalian - Anglican church. I even wore the long black dress and helped the Padre out with Sunday services. I stood up on the stage just like him. I didn’t really have a very important job though. I was the douser. When the time came to put out the candles, using the little brass bell without a clanger in it, which was mounted on the end of a broom handle like stick, I would go around in my cute black dress and extinguish the candles. All a part of the ceremony. The light show, music show, and the rituals that get people all stirred up and filled with religious fervor before the collection plate is passed around.
Today is Good Friday. Now here is the story:
“It’s the day Christ died on the cross,” the Rev. Dee Sim, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Menasha, said of Good Friday. Christ died for our sins so we would have new life in him. It is similar to the whole idea of baptism, she said.
Can you figure this out? This Jewish guy was a good man. And he got executed in a horribly degrading manner because he opposed the Roman Empire’s power structure. I have never felt real comfortable about calling this day “Good Friday.”
The miracle of Christ’s Easter resurrection is the basis of Christianity. The Bible’s Romans 10:9 says the two things needed to go to heaven after death are confessing your sins and believing God raised his son from the dead.
And then there is the part about the unmarried young lady getting pregnant with God’s child even though she was still a virgin. Oh Yes, right. Of course she never had sex with a guy. You Bet.
And then after a couple of days the corpse, who was really completely dead and well rotten and putrid, comes back to life. Only his girlfriend sees him back alive and reborn. But she isn’t allowed to hug him or touch him in any way.
Does much of this ring true to you?
Easter is about Peter Rabbit and hunting colored hard boiled eggs. It is a nice fairy tale just like Santa Claus, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice In Wonderland, and the Tooth Fairy. And the stories about the Carpenter from Nazareth are good fairy tales too.
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Postscript: A good friend’s long time dog (best friend) died today. About 5 minutes before she died she came over to my friend and leaned up against him. Then Sheba proceeded to die. He got down on the floor with her and comforted her during the last minutes. She was a very nice dog. I really don’t feel one bit comfortable about calling today Good Friday.
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