Today is Holy Friday. I do not know if any other countries celebrate the Passion Week as we do here in the Philippines with all the rituals and the mass services and the reenactment of the sufferings Jesus had, to "atone" for whatever evil and wrong things they may have done before in their lives and they expect to have a "clean slate". Plus the whole nation is in a Holiday. No work, no stores open (so you have to do your groceries and shopping before Holy Friday or you will starve), and and almost non-existent public rides! Almost everyone is trying to be holy and stand still because they do not want to "anger" the Lord or do not want to get hurt because they would not heal for a day - the Lord is dead.
Such backward and naive thinking, I thought but imagine my surprise and shock when one of my co-workers told me that one of the mother amongst our beneficiaries blurted out that Jesus dies every year during Holy Week! She was really in awe to know that Jesus Christ died only once almost 2000 years ago to save us from our sins! And she was like, What???!!! really!!!??? "I thought that Jesus has to die every year that is why, I feel guilty the worst this time of the year!
When i heard that I laugh because it seems to be unthinkable that in our country at this time when we thought that almost everyone has heard of the truth already, that Jesus died only once and is now alive forevermore, there are still sooo many people like this. So innocent and blind of the greatest truth ever. I laugh then i sobered up...because i can feel (almost) my heart cracking and breaking. This woman has been with us for almost 6 months and she doesn't know this ultimate truth. It's horrible. I have to do better than that; we have to do better than that
.
This Holy Week is not like the previous one's... this week my eyes were open because of this one woman. That we don't lapse around in our christian duties. We were not saved to just come to church and hear sermons and feel good if we do a good thing or two... we are saved so we could tell others that there is more to life than just cooking sticky rice on Holy Week, more to life than just going to mass, more to life than just wiping their hanky's on a dead idol so they be blessed for the rest of the year, more to life than just staying inside the house during Holy Friday... that our Christ died only once so that we could have LIFE and have it more ABUNDANTLY!
Such backward and naive thinking, I thought but imagine my surprise and shock when one of my co-workers told me that one of the mother amongst our beneficiaries blurted out that Jesus dies every year during Holy Week! She was really in awe to know that Jesus Christ died only once almost 2000 years ago to save us from our sins! And she was like, What???!!! really!!!??? "I thought that Jesus has to die every year that is why, I feel guilty the worst this time of the year!
When i heard that I laugh because it seems to be unthinkable that in our country at this time when we thought that almost everyone has heard of the truth already, that Jesus died only once and is now alive forevermore, there are still sooo many people like this. So innocent and blind of the greatest truth ever. I laugh then i sobered up...because i can feel (almost) my heart cracking and breaking. This woman has been with us for almost 6 months and she doesn't know this ultimate truth. It's horrible. I have to do better than that; we have to do better than that
This Holy Week is not like the previous one's... this week my eyes were open because of this one woman. That we don't lapse around in our christian duties. We were not saved to just come to church and hear sermons and feel good if we do a good thing or two... we are saved so we could tell others that there is more to life than just cooking sticky rice on Holy Week, more to life than just going to mass, more to life than just wiping their hanky's on a dead idol so they be blessed for the rest of the year, more to life than just staying inside the house during Holy Friday... that our Christ died only once so that we could have LIFE and have it more ABUNDANTLY!
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