Easter in Annapolis

After church, we spent a lovely Easter day in Annapolis with our friends Lexi and Josh. They showed us around the town and then we had a 4-course Easter dinner with Lexi's family and neighbors. Picture old women sitting around a table saying hilarious and embarrassing things like, "That boy sure knows how to please a lady." It was great.

Good Friday

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

This afternoon I walked down to the Basilica and sat in one of the pews. I watched as people filed in and out of the silent church, taking a few minutes to kneel and pray before returning to the day. Today is Good Friday, the day more than a billion people commemorate the death of Jesus. Today we remember a mystery of the faith, that his punishment brings us peace and his wounds bring healing.

There is something inside of me crying out that suffering and war and hunger are not how things are supposed to be. This world is not as it was supposed to be. But, because of what happened on Good Friday, I have hope. There is more. There will be a day when God wipes away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death nor sadness. This is the reason that today is called good: it does not end with the death. Easter is coming.

Ash Wednesday

As the forehead of the congregant is marked with ash, the church leader says, "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). I need that reminder. I've got pride issues, as David loves to tell me.

Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of the season of Lent. Despite not being Catholic, I have been practicing Lent since junior high. That was a time when giving up candy or soda was cool, and my friends and I loved being able to complain about our sacrifices. "No candy for 46 days! How will you do it?" "Not that big a deal when you're awesome" (paraphasing).

This year, I'm praying for something different. My hope is that Lent will help me reflect on my own depravity so I can better understand how undeserving I am of God's love. I am but dust.

For those who are wondering (VANESSA), I'm giving up snacks.

Lent

This is the first week of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter. For forty days, Christians attempt to recognize their own sinfulness so they can fully appreciate what happened at Jesus' death and resurrection. Easter is meant to be a celebration, full of life and light and not full of bunnies and chocolate and terrible pastel colors. I'm not saying these are bad things (except maybe the pastel overload), just that there is a little too much attention paid them during the holiday.

Though it may sound strange, I find so much comfort in knowing that I am broken and entirely dependent on God. At the end of my life, whatever I did that was good was only because God was merciful. It was not by my power, but His power working through me. I will not look back on my life and say, "I should have done more," or, "I wasted my life." If I live in my own power, those statements will always be true. But if I recognize that any good I do is a gift, I will be appreciative rather than regretful. 

Jesus said that children will inherit the kingdom of heaven. It is not because they are pure and innocent, but because children cannot do anything on their own. They are dependent, and they do not fool themselves into believing that they can accomplish great things on their own. 

Let me be like a child.