In Tagalog, the word for Holy Week is “Mahal na araw”. Now I don’t know which definition of “Mahal” they are using for this as it can mean two things — expensive or love.
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, it just occurred to me that regardless of what the original intent of the one who called it “mahal na araw” was, it can be either.
It is Love because we remember that this week God proved His love for us, that while we were sinners, God died for us. He didn’t wait for us to come to Him, He didn’t wait for us to apologize or at least for our attitudes to improve… Honestly, God could have just made a new breed of humans to replace us, and yet He chose to run after you. Why? Because He loves you.
It is Expensive, because to redeem you, God paid a really hefty price – None less than the blood of His one and only Son Jesus.
But what do we do during this holy week?
- We go on vacation and forget about why we’re on vacation. Nothing wrong with chill’in or relaxing, in todays fast and stressful lifestyle, I know you deserve every second of it, but wherever you go, why not take Jesus with you?
- Instead of remembering the resurrection Sunday we’ve called it Easter. Where did this come from? Ishtar, is actually the pagan God of fertility. That’s why there are rabbits and eggs. If you’re a Christian, be vigilant and don’t allow this. Santas and Reindeers have already invaded His birth, let us not allow anything that keeps us from focusing on his death.
- We attempt to pay for our sins all over again – How? Some people choose to be nailed, some carry the cross and those sort of sacrifices… while there is really nothing wrong with acts of sacrifices, usually these are done with the wrong intention of lessening our sins. We need to understand, Jesus death didn’t pay for some nor for many but paid for ALL of our sins. Our attempts to pay for something that’s already been paid for is futile and useless and shows our distrust on Him. N
So today, it’s not too late. Remember the cross. if you look at it closely it is made of two beam join together, the horizontal one showing you how wide the love of God is and the vertical one showing that His death has bridged heaven and earth. Christianity isn’t about a list of things we need to do… it shows us what Christ has done.
