Holy Week is typically a very emotional one for me. I am a little melancholic and depressed. I have a feeling of sadness that just follows me around.
I know that the season is supposed to be about joy and it will be. On Sunday. Sunday is when I feel an exuberance that truly is like a new beginning. Sunday is when I am reminded that I have been resurrected again through Jesus.
Since becoming a Christian nine years ago, I have learned so much in a rather short amount of time. However, there is still just so much that has yet to sink in. I’ve also learned, through experience, that in our walk with God, the learning is excruciatingly slow. You can’t hurry love, babe.
Sometimes I find that I need to just sit and marinate in it for a while because that’s all my little pea brain can fathom. I am slow to digest. I need time to process, time to think, time to apply.
Last year I purchased a wonderful teaching tool and tradition for our family called “Resurrection Eggs”. It’s simply a dozen plastic eggs in which we open one egg daily the twelve days before Easter. Inside each egg is a small symbol of the Easter story. A Bible verse is included with each symbol and a short (one to two paragraphs) story is told in kid-friendly language.
My friend Marcy told me a while ago that the best way for a new Christian adult to learn about the Bible was to pick up Bibles meant for children and read through them. It’s simplified and easy, purposely written to be understood by children. I was a baby in my faith and at the time, I did just that – I learned the basic Bible stories through children’s versions.
I have since moved on to the “real” Bible and read scriptures often; however, sometimes I find that I may not be seeing the forest for the trees. I am not at all suggesting the Bible is unreadable because the more I read it, the more I realize how actually very applicable it is to our world now. I will politely and with love disagree with those who suggest it is merely a textbook and not meaningful to our current society because in all truth, everyone who has ever suggested this to me typically answers a quick “no” when I ask if they have ever spent time studying the Bible. But I’m sorry. I digress.
The first egg contained a small donkey to symbolize the donkey that Jesus rode in on amidst palm fronds and cheers of “Hosanna.” Susannah became deeply interested in Palm Sunday after learning this and decided to worship with us this past Sunday. She was mesmerized.
Her innocent, little girl voice said, “Mommy, people really DO love Jesus, don’t they?” as if I was just blowing smoke and Jesus might have been another one of mom’s crazy ideas.
Yesterday, Sawyer opened the egg that contained the leather whip to symbolize the government officials who beat Jesus. They drew blood. They tortured him. They inflicted pain beyond belief on a man that was guilty of nothing.
Sawyer, being a boy about to turn three, is simply fascinated about the fact that Jesus got a spanking and “he didn’t even do anything.” Susannah was horrified.
Today we opened the crown of thorns.
A lightbulb went off for me, friends.
We read that the same government officials who beat Jesus with a whip also fashioned a crown of thorns to mock the fact that people thought of Him as “the king” and pushed it hard on his head. He bled yet again.
I would also like to add that I have not yet been able to watch “The Passion of the Christ.” I want to. I’m just a little scared of it.
I think it might be time.
I had no idea that this is why Jesus wore that crown of thorns in all of those crucifiction pictures I had seen.
Can I admit to something else? The kid-friendly language of the Resurrection Eggs stated “We know that because Jesus was the son of God, He could have stopped the men from hurting Him. But He let them continue. Do you know why? Because even though He hadn’t done anything wrong – He had not sinned – Jesus was taking the punishment for all the wrong things that any person had ever done or ever would do. This includes you and me.”
In the Old Testament, one had to sacrifice an animal to repent for their sins. The price for sin was bloodshed.
I thought because Jesus shed his blood, this was the reason why they say He died for us. His blood was shed and we were cleansed.
But to write in the very simple text that “he took the punishment for all the wrong things anyone would ever do” made me understand this sacrifice on such a deeper level.
He really did take the fall. It’s like me taking the blame for a thief who stole goods from the grocery store or taking responsibility for a murder I didn’t commit.
Unfathomable.
Yet it wasn’t to Him. It was very real.
May the crown of thorns grace our heads this week as we feel His pain, His fear, His sadness.
Then may we take it off on Sunday to realize how light our heads feel, how free we are.
Blessings to you this week, friends.
Injustice wrapped in justice. The ultimate wrong to make us right.
Thanks for the reminder.
You are very welcome. I love the “injustice wrapped in justice.” Beautiful. And so very true.
This is such a great post! My husband and I just finished a 6-week course at church on the final 24 hours of Jesus’ life – and boy, has it opened our eyes even wider! We’re planning on renting The Passion soon, and although I’ve seen it once, I know I’ll be seeing it in a whole new light.
I know we have never met, but I want to let you know how excited I am that you and your family found the Lord and are soaking in all that He offers!!! And you’re sharing that information too, which is even more awesome! :)
Thanks, Katie – I am a writer by nature and have found that I can’t NOT write about my faith. I have tried to “appeal to the masses” but I just can’t do it. When I am silent about my faith, I feel like I have duct tape over my mouth and can’t tell the entire story.
Let me know what you think of The Passion – I know it’s time for us to watch it.
What a wonderful post. Seeing through the eyes of your children the price Jesus paid, what a precious thing. Swinging through from SITS, God Bless
.-= Lizzie ´s last blog .."If Going to Visit Your Grandparents Was the Thrill of Your Childhood" =-.
Hi, Lizzie! Thank you for commenting and reading – I visited your blog but couldn’t leave a comment? Could be user error. Anyway, I LOVED your review of “The Lonely Doll” – that has been my favorite book for AGES. Love it and I love sharing it now with my daughter.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I tried to watch The Passion, but I just couldn’t make it past the part where Jesus was carrying his cross up the hill. Pathetic of me, I know.
Wonderful post, Natalie.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..One project down… =-.
Not pathetic – authentic. This is the new word I am using – I think we all need to be real and I love that you are!
Thanks for your perspective – I will remember it while I am watching!
Just wanted to share my little entry after watching Passion of the Christ for the 2nd time about a year ago. You should watch it…difficult at best, but life changing for sure!
http://8-is-enuf.blogspot.com/2009/03/unworthy.html
.-= Debi´s last blog ..How HE Loves Us =-.
Debi, thank you. I will check it out!
Your family is so fortunate to know the truth that you are teaching them. I used to make Resurrection Eggs with my Sunday School classes. I still have all of them. In my opinion those are the true Easter eggs…although there’s certainly nothing wrong with a good ol’ Reese’s Peanut Butter egg to go along with them. See you Easter Sunday. He is risen indeed! xoxo Julie
Yes, they are the “REAL” eggs though Sawyer would disagree. I think he prefers the two Butterfinger eggs I give him after dinner. :) Looking forward to seeing you!
yeahh.. I still don’t fully “get this”.. but I choose to believe…
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..things I am lovin’ …. =-.
You know, I am not sure we can fully “get it”, Elizabeth. I am beginning to think that we will not ever really be able to fully-grasp the magnitude of this sacrifice and God’s love until we are with Him. I understand completely what you are saying!
If time is money you’ve made me a weatleihr woman.
My husband and I have watched the Passion several times. I cry every time. It’s such a beautiful movie. The music is HAUNTING (I highly recommend the soundtrack!) and the story comes to life! (I would not recommend it for children, however, as it is very graphic.) The part where Mary is watching them lead Jesus through the streets reaches me on a totally new level now that I am a mom. Have a BOX or two of Kleenex ready.
I want to try those Easter Eggs you were talking about. I love how they marry the true meaning of Easter with the commercialized version. =)
Happy Easter to you! I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!
~Mandy
.-= MandyP´s last blog ..One-Up Weekends "Public Humiliation" =-.
I am going to watch it. I’m not sure when but I am. I have heard it is so amazingly powerful. I meant to add in my post that one of the reasons why Holy Week touches me a great deal is because of Mary. Now that I am a mother, I think of her every Christmas (poor third trimester pregnant mama riding on donkey? AND she was a teenager?) and cry for her on Good Friday.
The Resurrection Eggs are fantastic – I thought the same thing. They do bring those two perspectives together so well.
Happy Easter to you, my dear! May you enjoy a renewal in Him.
This is beautiful.
I saw The Passion of the Christ in the theater when it came out with friends. At one point I was sobbing and as I looked around saw others sobbing too.
It made me realize, really realize, what He did. For Us. Out of Love.
I have not watched it since that day until last year. I watch it on Good Friday. Because I had too. I had to remember what He had done. The beautiful lamb shed His blood for Us.
It’s a hard film. It’s a beautiful film.
Because it reminds of how very much He Loves Us.
This is an absolutely beautiful post, Natalie!! Letting the truth of what Jesus has done for us (and I don’t think we’ll ever know the half of it) seep into our souls and sharing it with our children, too! What your little ones are learning will stay with them forever!
Oh and you just have to see The Passion! I wept through the entire movie. It was painful to watch the crucifixion scene, but my love for Jesus wouldn’t let me look away. I just wanted to be there, to hold his body as they brought him down from the cross, to wash his face with my tears. It was so powerful.
.-= Joye´s last blog ..sp"egg"tacular =-.
I know – it’s time. I am going to watch it…You are correct.
Thanks for reading you new mama of FOUR!!!! What a cutie little Legend is!
Natalie,
Your writing is so beautiful and such an amazing gift. I always look forward to “hearing” your thoughts and today’s post was no exception. Thank you for reminding us what “holy week” is all about. I also find it so hard to wrap my head around HIS incredible sacrifice.
I am taking the “alpha” course right now (which is INCREDIBLE by the way – and it is not just for ‘new’ Christians, but for anyone who has ever had questions about the Christian faith) and a few weeks ago we were talking about why Jesus had to die. Couldn’t God just forgive us for our sins without his death? He is after all, all-powerful? Nicky Gumble, the English Vicor who we are watching in the video series summed it up in a very good story. He said there was a judge, who was a very fair and just judge, who looked up one day and saw his long lost college buddy in his court being charged with some horrible offense. The judge could have dismissed the charges, no one would have known any better. BUT he just couldn’t. Instead he found his dear friend guilty and imposed the maximum fine. His friend was hurt and angry but the judge just asked him to meet him after work. When they met up, the judge handed his friend a check for the fine. He paid the price! He couldn’t just let his friend off the hook. He was a JUST judge. But he paid the price!
God could have easily just let us off the hook, but he is a JUST God and someone had to pay the price for our sins. “For the wages of sin is death…” Jesus knew the price had to be paid. He paid the price simply because he loves us! AND he loves us, simply because he loves us, no matter who or what we are or what we do. HE LOVES US BECAUSE HE LOVES US! Wow! What an amazing thought!
Anyhow, I love your post. I look forward to reading your blog all the time ;) You amazing woman you!
Beautiful, Collette. I’m sorry I am just now responding – I took some time off to soak in Holy Week.
The parable of the judge is wonderful – I love it. I’m glad you are enjoying the Alpha course – I hear nothing but wonderful things.
Thanks again for sharing your awesome wisdom, sweet one. What a perspective and a great reminder, my dear. Thanks for the kind words, you amazing YOU!
Hi Natalie!
I love your post. This is a very emotional week for me too. I can never make it through this week’s services without crying. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in this. Thanks for being so honest!
“We know that because Jesus was the son of God, He could have stopped the men from hurting Him. But He let them continue. Do you know why? Because even though He hadn’t done anything wrong – He had not sinned – Jesus was taking the punishment for all the wrong things that any person had ever done or ever would do. This includes you and me.”
What a wonderful way to put it. I love this.
.-= Caroline´s last blog ..Paper Flowers for Easter =-.