The Dangerous Universal

Complete this statement, "If it rains on Easter, you will ________."

Did you say you will have rain for the next 7 Sundays? Or were you thinking something more simple like if it rains you will get wet? Growing up I heard that folklore every year. My mother said it, I am pretty sure her mom said it - it's common knowledge... or I thought it was.

Today is Easter and it's raining, which made me think about the folklore, and if it was as common knowledge in my new home as it was in the area I am proud to call home. Turns out..... nope. Which started me thinking about the danger of thinking that something is universal. If we operate under the knowledge that everyone knows the same things that we know and has the same interpretation that we do... we are missing a lot of possibilities.

Mary, Peter, and the disciple that Jesus loved (whoever that may have been) all saw exactly the same thing, and each had a difference interpretation - one believed, one returned home, and one stayed behind to weep. What about us? Some see Easter as being about the salvation from sin, some see it as the proof that hate and fear cannot defeat love and mercy, some see it as the plan for redemption and completion of prophesy... and to be honest some see it as a chance to hide eggs and eat chocolate. But here is my fear, what about those who still haven't seen the empty tomb? What if we assume that our personal interpretation is universal and never engage others? If we think everyone knows the same thing we know about Easter, then I think we miss some of the power of the event. To think that Easter is universal is to limit that empty tomb to having just one purpose, and then what do we do with all the other cool meanings?

There is no such thing as universal - everyone comes to the present with their own background, experiences, and interpretations... that's what makes life so hard and wonderful all at the same time!

Happy Easter!

The Road to Darkness

Today is Maundy Thursday, and its one of my absolute favorite religious days of the whole year. Why? Because I love talking about death and betrayal? No... great for drama, but not what I base my life on. It's my favorite because of the meaning that it holds, the symbolism and the final lessons that Jesus offered around that table.

Jesus gathered with his friends for a final lecture series, for the summary of his life and ministry, knowing that this was it for him on this earth as a fellow member of humanity. So what were the lessons?

1) Sometimes things suck, but it's how you handle them that matters.

- Jesus reminds Judas that he has acted like a total jerk, but that's it! We could stop here and get into a real theological debate about whether Judas had the choice to betray Jesus, or if it was part of God's plan and he just happened to draw the villain straw... but that's not my point. Jesus doesn't exclude him from the meal, or the foot-washing, or the cup - in fact only in John is he sent out at all... the rest of the Gospels leave as him as part of the group. My point? Being human means things don't always go like we wanted them to - in this final night Jesus continues to be the Savior of mercy and grace... even to Judas.

2) Spend time with people you care about - and know when it's worth surrendering.

- Jesus could have gone out and tried to get people to listen right up until the last moment, but he didn't. In those final hours he returns to a quiet meal with people he cares about, he goes to the garden but doesn't walk there by himself, and he sits and eats with the people who gave up their lives to follow him. When the world is too much, or when you know that change is coming - do we follow this example? Do we make the time to say a proper goodbye, to have closure and cherish the people we love? Our to-do list is always going to have stuff on it, and there will always be one more thing we want to accomplish... but at what cost? Sometimes the better choice to is to leave unfinished business and in return have complete relationships.

3) Know the power of humility and service.

- I LOVE that Jesus, according to John, washes their feet - and its one of those moments I wish I could have been there. I want to see the guys' faces when Jesus takes on woman's work, when he humbles himself to the status of a servant, and when he calls Peter on having a problem with it. Here is my favorite of the final lessons: you are never too important that you can't get down on the floor in front of people that have served you and that you love. Service is a form of love and it means that you care enough about someone to place their needs above your own. That's why we get the "faith high" from serving in the soup kitchens, and doing good deeds - it's because in those moments we are connected to what it means to be humble and a servant. While I am all about the women's right movement; I can see some of the beauty in the historical role of service. When the wife and mother cleaned, cooked, and nurtured - I don't think they thought of it as subservient as much as they saw it as an act of love - the problem society got into was limiting that opportunity to love in that manner to JUST women. So if this lesson had a theme song, it would be "Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord" and he shall lift you up, higher and higher. (Great song, great lesson)

Today is the entrance to the road to darkness. It ends with pain, and suffering, and a world without a savior... but, man, are there some cool things to learn along the way. To know Resurrection we must first know death, to know what is good about the world, we must first know what is broken, and to get to Easter, we have to go through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Happy Holy Week!