Most years, I have stayed close to home during Holy Week and the Easter Season. This year, external family circumstances have meant that I have been on the road a lot. I have stopped in at several churches, but there has not been the usual parish rhythm of most years. Still, I have had a Bible and devotional books. So this spring on the move, I have worshipped more often as a stranger and a pilgrim. I have used various forms of daily prayers along with lectionary selections from Scripture.
This approach has been less settled and more low-key than most years, but it has been meaningful. It has forced me to focus on Jesus' Cross and Resurrection. And if anything, I have had a greater appreciation for St. Paul's exhortation in Colossians 3- "If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
Such an awareness should be the goal of all our observances, elaborate or simple. As Christians, we believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus are core historical realities. We must affirm these events, and beyond that affirmation, we must also seek to apply our beliefs to our personal and corporate lives. As Christ has died and risen, so have we by grace. Through baptism and faith in Christ, we have died to our old selves and we have been offered new life. Therefore, let us set our affections on heavenly and spiritual matters and live accordingly.
