Christians recently have celebrated the events of Holy Week.
They include two days, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which may seem diametrically opposed in every way. Yet, both days offer the treasured gift of hope to those who are open to their meaning.
In the year 2000, I spent nearly six months in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is a large city filled with churches.
Tens of thousands of its residents spend every Good Friday processing from one church to another to another as they recall the “Via Crucis,” Jesus’ carrying of the cross to Calvary.
In Bolivia the commemoration of the death of Christ is given more attention than his resurrection, which may seem strange or even morbid to outsiders.
For people in poverty-stricken lands, however, who have to struggle daily to survive and who have seen much suffering and tragedy throughout their lives, the suffering and death of the Lord speak volumes.
He has undergone so much and thus he understands the pain of those who are beaten down. His agony speaks powerfully of hope and love to those who may see little of either. They are united with him by his passion and the total outpouring of his being.
The scene on Calvary is not the final scene, though. It is no credit to us Christians that we often act as though we never have read the next chapter. We are people of the resurrection and should be living life accordingly, actively encountering all that life brings to us with eagerness and trust in the Lord both with us and before us.
If the Lord has conquered sin and death, then we should go forth with confidence, determination and joy to share that message by deed as well as word.