A Time of Remembrance
In this day and age, we are constantly bombarded with intense images. The video games played by the younger generation have intense graphics and audio effects. TV movies are more extreme, and often more explicit, than ones we used to view at theaters. When it comes to discussing our faith or beliefs, we pull back. We tend to downplay our perspective for fear of offending others. What if we took the intensity of today’s society and applied it to what we commemorate on Easter?
I think of the battered body of Christ, shrunken and drained by the pain of His final hours. His hair is matted with blood from the puncture wounds from the crown of thorns that was so roughly forced upon His head. Every rib stands out in His gaunt frame, and gaping holes adorn his hands and feet. The side wound, where the spear was thrust, is sharper and cleaner.
Was it in the tomb that they lay this broken body on His mother’s lap so that she could mourn quietly and privately for just a little while before they wrapped Him in the burial cloths? Her heart almost bursting with sadness, did she remember how she feared she would lose Him because of Herod’s edict to kill all males who were less than two years old? The trip to Egypt was a lonely one. They could take little with them, and only had time for a hasty farewell. With the memory of the fear of that time, and the sorrow of having to live among strangers, also came the memory of the love and gentleness of Joseph, and how he would stand with his arm around her shoulders as they both loving gazed upon the perfect infant.
As she looks at this wounded corpse, she hears His laughter as He runs and plays with other children on the hills on Nazareth. She remembers His chatter as He helped her set the table, and the mingling of His voice with Joseph’s as they worked together. She could hear Him tell Joseph what he had learned in the Temple that morning, or recounting a funny story about something He had done with His friends. There was a joy and peace in her heart, broken from time to time by a shiver that would run down her spine, and she would feel a strange sense of foreboding. Being young and having a deep faith, she would shake off the feeling and resume her humming.
There was that time when He was left behind in Jerusalem. He was twelve and entering manhood. Until then He had always stayed with the women and other children on the trips to Jerusalem. This year, he might have traveled with the men, so when they started out neither Joseph or Mary were concerned about His whereabouts – each thought He had chosen to travel with the other group. It was not until they stopped for the night and gathered for a communal meal that they realized that their son was not with them. The stab of fear that scathed Mary’s heart left her breathless and shaken. Despite the danger of bandits and wild animals that prowled the route, Joseph and Mary immediately returned to Jerusalem. Arriving soon after daybreak, they wound their way though the busy, crowed streets and alleyways searching and praying. Upon reaching the Temple, they overheard people marveling at the young man within who was actually sharing knowledge with the leaders of the Temple. Could it be Him? How out of place these tired, dusty travelers felt in the magnificent Temple! But, how relieved they were to find Him alive and unharmed. When they asked Him about His staying behind, they were a bit taken aback by His answer that He must be about His Father’s business. Overcome with joy and relief, they could only ponder this as they turned toward home.
As Jesus grew to manhood, everything seemed to return to normal in their home. When she heard Him talking with Joseph as they worked side by side, did she have a premonition that He would be leaving them some day? When she watched her nephew, John, retreat into the desert and begin to teach repentance and the love of God, did she have any inkling that Jesus would soon begin His travels? Jesus may have confided in her that He had come to do the work of His true father, but with the death of Joseph, she had pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind. Then, there came a dawn when they finished their prayers and sat for a moment watching the sunrise, and Jesus told her that He must spread the word of God. There was a beauty to His features as He told her of His excitement in at last beginning what He had been born to do. Then, as she stood in the doorway until His figure faded from view, the unbidden tears gently rolled down her cheeks as she realized her life would never be the same again.
There were times when He came home while He preached in Nazareth and nearby towns. How she would enjoy cooking and baking for Him and His disciples, and listening to them talk in the evenings! She would lovingly gaze at her son, happy to listen to the talk of the men and their enthusiasm for sharing the ministry of Jesus.
Did she sense that the simple Seder meal that she and her friends prepared for Jesus and His friends would be His Last Supper? Jesus and His friends had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, and the women were cleaning up and putting the room back in order when they heard a commotion as Jesus was led through the streets. The disciples had scattered at His arrest, and one of them came to tell Mary. While Peter went to the courtyard to learn what was happening, Mary retired to her room to wait and pray. Unable to bear it any longer, Mary joined the crowd that waited below the balcony where Pilate displayed Jesus, bloody and weak, with His head bowed. Her heart exploded within her when she head the cries of “Crucify Him, crucify Him” and saw Pilate wash his hands and turn away.
Along with His apostle, John, she was among the crowd that walked along the way to Calvary with Jesus. When He fell, she ached to pick Him up, wipe the blood and sweat from His brow and cradle Him in her arms. But the soldiers got in the way, lashing him and calling to Him to get up. Finally, they turned to a large, burly stranger and ordered him to help carry the cross so that Jesus would not die on the way. The three hours that she stood with John below the cross, praying and drained of tears, were ones of agony for her. The fierce winds, thunder and lightening that turned the day into night, could not reach her. Her soul was being battered as she heard her son cry out for water, finally cry out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” and lower His head in death.
The gentle urging of Joseph of Arimethea, interrupts her reverie. The Roman guards are growing restless and want to close the tomb. It is over. She can hold her son no longer. His spirit has gone, and she must allow them to place His body on the burial slab.
His followers needed her now. Frightened and confused, they needed someone to hold them together and encourage them to have faith. They needed to regroup. Putting aside her grief, Mary retreated with them to an upper room. It was a time of remembering what He had taught, and pondering on how it applied now that He had died. They were puzzled that He brought Lazarus back from the dead, but did not save Himself. Before dawn, on the third day, Mary Magdalene and other women disciples went to the tomb, while others gathered for prayer. Loud banging on the locked door and jubilant shouts of an empty tomb announced the return of the women.
He has triumphed over death. Each spring, we celebrate this joyous occasion. We are spiritually renewed. It is an “aha” moment, when we once again realize what life is really all about. Jesus came to give us life and give it abundantly. He came to show us that death has no power over us and that life is everlasting. He showed us that there are trials and tribulations along the way, but His Way leads to eternal life. May you have a blessed and joyful Easter.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
These articles are published in the Spirit of Bainbridge every three weeks, and mailed to every home and business in Auburn and Bainbridge Townships (zip code 44023).
Additional copies are distributed locally at Arabica, Bainbridge Library, Lowe’s Greenhouse, Sirna’s Market & Deli and other locations in Auburn, Aurora, Bainbridge, Chagrin Falls, Chesterland, Solon and South Russell.
Approximately 7,300 copies of Spirit of Bainbridge are circulated.