How to Celebrate the Summer Solstice

The summer solstice has been celebrated for centuries, with all sorts of traditions growing up around it. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice is usually celebrated on the 21st of June, while in the southern hemisphere, it's usually celebrated on the 21st of December.

Steps

1. 

1

Do some sky observation. From an astronomical point of view, the summer solstice occurs sometime between June 20 and June 21 (sometimes June 22) in the Northern Hemisphere, and December 21 and December 22 (sometimes December 23) in the Southern Hemisphere. Most years it is on the 21st but due to the leap year in the Gregorian calendar, there is a change every few years to the date, to account for the leap years. If you'd like to witness the actual moment of the summer solstice in the sky, read How to witness the summer solstice and be sure to take all precautions to prevent eye damage.

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Seek fulfillment from your life. The summer solstice heralds the beginning of summer. This also represents the time of fulfillment. This is an excellent time to take stock of your life and assess how your goals and aims are going. From the year's earlier New Year's resolutions to the big goals in your life, ask yourself how you're doing in achieving these things for yourself and others you care about.

• Are you still aligned with your goals or have you strayed from them? Take this opportunity to reinvigorate them and to make any necessary changes to achieve your aims in life.
2. 

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Sit outside and read a book. This is a good way to get connected with the sun and nature.

4. 

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Start looking for a new job on this day if your current one is not fulfilling to you. Start looking around to see what is available that you would be keen to try. If you need more experience, training or information, make today the day you begin overcoming such obstacles so that you can start doing what you really want to do.

• Consider starting a gratitude journal if you haven't already done so. Try to recognize all the good and wonderful things in your life, to help you better notice fulfillment when you feel it.
• Be honest with your goal appraisal––set aside those goals that aren't taking you in the direction you want to go now. We all grow and change over time; make sure you're not hanging onto goals that no longer fit the person you have become.
4. 

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Consolidate your energies. The stability of summer and the promise of balmy, warmer days ahead is considered to be a time to develop yourself, to set yourself free and to nurture yourself. As the crops begin ripening, this is a time for self-maturation and for consolidating your energies. Take the easier nature of summer as a reason to make greater efforts to lose weight, to refresh your home (perhaps a new layout, maybe even a new home), to readjust your nutrition intake and to find an exercise that you really click with rather than doing one everyone else is doing.

• Start a new diet today using the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer as your base. Don't just see it as a "diet" though; use this opportunity to align your thinking about food to one that involves eating more greens, more locally grown foods, more organic foods and less processed foods.
5. 

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Renew your wardrobe. If you haven't updated your look in a while and your clothes are beginning to show signs of age, take a fresh look at your wardrobe on the summer solstice. Are those clothes still representative of who you are now? Are those clothes showing you to your best advantage or are they letting you down through ill fit, out-of-date style or simply poor choices? Send the unwanted clothing items to the charity store, a friend or to the rag bag, depending on their quality. Then add some new items that make you feel great and that help you to stay feeling confident about the look you're presenting to others.

• Some budget-conscious ideas to help you refresh your wardrobe include: How to make a whole new wardrobe by recycling your clothes, How to update old clothes, How to make your wardrobe new without buying anything and How to hold a fashion swap party.
6. 7

Consider flexing your healing muscles. Herbs and flowers picked during the summer solstice were believed by people in medieval times to carry healing energy above and beyond any normal healing properties. While we'd nowadays consider this to be scientifically doubtful, you can still honor the sentiment by growing your own herbal medicine garden during summer and learning more about using plants to heal minor injuries and illnesses, such as scratches and headaches. There are many good books about using plants for medicinal purposes, such as National Geographic's Guide to Medicinal Herbs (2012), which details what does––and what does not–– really have healing properties.

• While growing your herbs and veggie garden, remember to thank the pollinators. Summer is a time of high pollination because so many trees and plants are flowering. And yet, in recent years many bees have suffered from disease, in particular colony collapse disorder, threatening the future of pollination by bees. Find out all you can about what is being done to protect bees and give bee keepers who practice natural, organic and chemical-free beekeeping your support. Also think of all the other pollinators, including the much despised mosquito, all doing their part to ensure delicious food reaches your table.

• Other ways to flex your healing muscles include deciding to learn more about a healing technique that has interested you for a while, such as reiki, therapeutic massage or acupuncture. Why not go along to a session to try a new healing therapy for something that ails you, be it stress through to pain? Alternatively, if you would like become a practitioner in healing arts, look for courses that you can take.
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Dance around a maypole. If you're lucky enough to live where the local community has organized a maypole, give it a go! More information on how to do the dance properly can be found in How to do a maypole dance.

• Make your own maypole if there isn't one in your town. Invite friends over and hold a maypole dance at the same time as a party. To help you out, ask everyone to bring some food to contribute to an outdoor buffet.
• In Sweden, maypole dancing is considered an essential part of their summer solstice holiday.
8. 

9

Plan some travel. Consider spending summer solstice away from home, at one of the key destinations where the summer solstice has been celebrated for centuries. In particular, Britain's Stonehenge is a must for the avid observer of the summer solstice. Stonehenge aligns with the sunrise on the solstice, making for spectacular viewing. However, you need to be there very early in the morning well rugged up because thousands of others will also be attending to celebrate the day as the sun rises. Two other places where people like to celebrate the summer solstice are Sedona in Arizona and Cairo (where an ancient sun temple was discovered in 2006).

• A list of summer solstice celebrations can be found in Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice#Solstice_celebrations.
9. 10

Throw a party with a bonfire. A bonfire is part of the tradition of the summer solstice. Fire has always been a source of protection for human beings, scaring off the beings of the night, both real and magical. Nowadays you can reinvent the bonfire as a great reason to hold a summer solstice party with friends. Just be sure to choose a location where it is both safe and permitted to burn a bonfire––check with the local authority first. In some places there will a fire ban due to the dry conditions, so make plans to have a party without the bonfire if this happens.

11. 

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Honor the sun. If you enjoy doing yoga, there is a set of exercises known as the Sun Salutation or Salute to the Sun which you can perform. These exercises are intended to exercise both your body and your soul, balancing both in harmony through both meditation and physical movement in one. Begin this exercise on the morning of the summer solstice and aim to make it a daily habit from this time on.

• For more detail, refer to How to do sun salutations in yoga and How to do the sun salute.

Easter Sermon Year B, "This Day Is Made for You"

Easter Sunday

2006

Text: John 20:1-18

This passage sets out John’s account of the resurrection. Like our own family histories, it shares some of the same details of Matthew, Mark, and Luke; but in some ways is much more detailed and personal in its depiction of Mary, Peter, and “the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.”

Sermon in Nut Shell

The powers of coercion; the powers of death, accident, disease, violence, hatred

– these are all still at work in our world. But so also is the hidden and present love of God. And this love of God is persistent; is a survivor; endures; perseveres; heals; restores; outlives and lives again. Where is Cesar? Where is

Rome? All gone. Where is Christ? Here. Present. Alive.

Sermon Thoughts

This Day Is Made for You © 2006, David Ewart,

The news media this past week have headlined stories that report

– once again – shocking new discoveries that challenge the facts of the Easter story. The Gospel of Judas “reveals for the first time” that Judas was actually a hero who acted at Jesus’ request so that Jesus could shed his

body. Another story claims Jesus didn’t really die on the cross

–

Pilate faked the crucifixion to appear to get rid of Jesus but also keep him alive because Jesus told his followers to pay their taxes! (Which Jesus actually did

not do. Check out Matthew 22:21, and ask yourself, “What would Jesus think did not belong to God?” (Answer: Everything belonged to God, which doesn’t leave

much to “give to Cesar the things that belong to Cesar.”) If only the news media were aware of the historical facts, they would know that such rumours and

stories are as old as Easter itself. Matthew reports that the guards at the tomb were paid to spread the rumour that it was the disciples who had come in the middle of the night and taken Jesus’ body away.

We should not be surprised that there have always been rumours and speculations about “what really happened” on Easter Sunday, because as we see from the followers of Jesus, even they were surprised, astonished, perplexed, terrified, disbelieving and uncomprehending. Even they

were hard pressed to explain what they had experienced. Jesus, who appears and is not recognized at first; and then is known suddenly in the speaking of a name, in the breaking of bread

. Jesus, who asks not to be touched and then invites being touched in order to answer doubts. Jesus, who appears on a beach, in a locked room, on a mountain; who walks and talks and eats; and yet who clearly is also not flesh-

and-blood-and-bones. Jesus, who lived and taught about the kingdom of

God being at hand, is now seen to be alive in the eternal life of God. Jesus,

who was once a flesh and blood reality pointing to a spiritual reality is now a spiritual reality pointing to a flesh and blood reality.

Personally, I accept that Jesus really died, that his dead body was really buried, and that on Easter Sunday his dead body was gone and his followers “saw the Lord.” What they saw was not a resuscitated body. This was not like Lazarus who came back to life and would one day die again. This was a real Jesus who was now living in the eternal life that is God.

Easter is not a rite of Spring where we celebrate the return of life that has lain dormant. It is about the celebration of the reality that though he was killed, dead and buried, Jesus has been raised from death. And being raised from death, we are not simply celebrating that Jesus’ eternal soul continued to exist after his earthly body died. We affirm the integrity of body-soul selves. You cannot have one without the other. And so Easter Sunday is about celebrating that our physical self must also participate in the life to come. Our bodies bear too much pain, too much suffering to be left out of the good news. Our “muscle memories,” the aches and pains that our bodies hold, are raised from death to new life. Jesus, who was really, totally, completely, body and soul,100% dead has been raised to life! Hallelujah indeed. But let us also be clear that the new life we are celebrating today is not just a new improved version of the old life. That might be better news–the way things are in this world could certainly do with some improvement; but that would not be good news. For we must remember today that we are not celebrating simply that Jesus died and is now alive; we are celebrating that Jesus who was tortured and brutally executed by the ruling authorities, that Jesus is the one who is now alive. Jesus didn’t die peacefully in his sleep and then come back to life. That would be pretty amazing all right, but that is not what has drawn us here today. Nor are we celebrating that having been raised to life, there is now no more death, no more torture, no more brutal execution.

Despite what many of our hymns say, we are not celebrating a victory over the powers of death, injustice, disease, and accidents. They still have plenty of power, so it is not their defeat that has drawn us here today. What has drawn us here today? Jesus lived and taught, preached and healed and performed occasional wonders, all pointing to a truth that is both hidden and present. That truth has been variously described as the Kingdom of God, the realm of God, or simply, heaven–the place where God’s will is done. However, as we see in the story about his meeting with Pilate, Jesus steadfastly refuses to be called a King, and states that his kingdom is not of this world. And yet he has come that we might know the truth–a truth that is both hidden and present.

We see in the story of Jesus’ arrest, torture and execution that Jesus is living / abiding in a strength that is hidden and present in him. And we see that this strength does not engage the powers of this world on their terms. Jesus neither engages nor resists Pilate and his soldiers.

Jesus is not a bigger and better King with bigger and better swords. Nor is Jesus without strength. Jesus wants us to see a hidden and present truth that is an alternative to the story the powers of this world want us to believe. They want us to believe in survival of the fittest, in force of arms, in coercion, in the need for control, in the right of Kings. Jesus wants us to believe in the hidden and present power of love. Jesus wants us to see that God is not and never has been simply a bigger version of Cesar. Jesus wants us to see that the source and sustainer of reality is not another Lord and Master in the sky, but is–to use an inadequate metaphor–a loving daddy who pines for us.

God is love, and God has all the power that love has. God is what love is

Now love is very powerful, but love also has two very important qualities: it is not coercive and it is free–freely given and freely responded to (or not). So it is in God’s eternal nature to not have power over–power over events: causing things to happen; power over the future: everything happening according to a plan that God has already mapped out; power over nature: causing (or failing to prevent) accidents, disease, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.

You and I and everything in all of creation–animals, vegetables and minerals–all are free. Our freedom is limited by historical circumstances and by universal “laws of nature.” But we are free to respond to God’s love–or not. This is the hidden and present truth that Jesus abides in; the hidden and present truth that sustains him through his suffering and death; the hidden and present truth he

wants us to see and experience and know deeply and live. God’s power is the vulnerable power of love. God is not interested in Kingship, but in kinship–kinship; love.

The powers of coercion; the powers of death, accident, disease, violence, hatred–these are all still at work in our world. But so also is the hidden and present love of God. And this love of God is persistent; is a survivor; endures; perseveres; heals; restores; outlives and lives again. Where is Cesar? Where is

Rome? All gone. Where is Christ? Here. Present. Alive.

Have you ever been mocked, shamed, abused–physically, emotionally, spiritually? Then this day is made for you; because this day reveals that these realities are not the only reality. They are not the only thing you have to live with for the rest of your life. For Jesus, the one who also experienced all of these things has not died. He is alive and present with you; with the power of

God’s love; the persistent, enduring, healing, restoring love which outlives and lives again. Jesus lives, and you get to live with him for the rest of your life.

Have you ever been betrayed, abandoned by trusted friends, separated from beloved friends and family? Then this day is made for you. Because this day reveals that these realities are not the only reality. They are not the only thing you have to live with for the rest of your life.

For Jesus, the one who also experienced all of these things has not died. He is alive and present with you; with the power of God’s love; the persistent, enduring, healing, restoring love which outlives and lives again. Jesus lives, and you get to live with him for the rest of your life.

Have you ever felt abandoned by God, prayed and had your request denied? Have you ever suffered at the hands of fools who were unaware of what they were doing? Then this day is made for you. Because this day reveals that these realities are not the only reality. They are not the only thing you have to live with for the rest of your life.

For Jesus, the one who also experienced all of these things has not died. He is alive and present with you; with the power of God’s love; the persistent, enduring, healing, restoring love which outlives and lives again. Jesus lives, and you

get to live with him for the rest of your life.

Can you bear to abide in this vulnerable, powerful love? Then this day is made

for you. And we are the people to whom this hidden and present truth has been made known, and in whom this hidden and present truth is needing to be experienced and lived. May this day of resurrection be a day of new life for us and all of creation. Christ is risen! Hallelujah!

Readings Easter Sunday B

Readings Easter Sunday B

Acts 10:34-43

34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone. 37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him. 39-43 “And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.” The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Or Isaiah 25:6-9

^6-8 But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
    a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
    the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
    Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
    He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
    Yes! God says so!

^9-10 Also at that time, people will say,
    “Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
    This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
    God’s hand rests on this mountain!”

The Message (MSG)

Psalm 118:1-2; 14-24

^1-4 Thank God because he’s good,
    because his love never quits.
Tell the world, Israel,
    “His love never quits.”
And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world,
    “His love never quits.”
And you who fear God, join in,
    “His love never quits.”

The Message (MSG)

^5-16 Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
    from the wide open spaces, he answered.
God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;
    who would dare lay a hand on me?
God’s my strong champion;
    I flick off my enemies like flies.
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in people;
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in celebrities.
Hemmed in by barbarians,
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Hemmed in and with no way out,
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in;
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt.
I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall,
    when God grabbed and held me.
God’s my strength, he’s also my song,
    and now he’s my salvation.
Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs
    in the camp of the saved?
        “The hand of God has turned the tide!
        The hand of God is raised in victory!

The hand of God has turned the tide!”

^17-20 I didn’t die. I lived!
    And now I’m telling the world what God did.
God tested me, he pushed me hard,
    but he didn’t hand me over to Death.
Swing wide the city gates—the righteous gates!
    I’ll walk right through and thank God!
This Temple Gate belongs to God,
    so the victors can enter and praise.

^21-25 Thank you for responding to me;
    you’ve truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
    is now the capstone!
This is God’s work.
    We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
    let’s celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
    Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

The Message (MSG)

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

^1-2 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you’re in this for good and holding fast.)

^3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.
^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.

The Message (MSG)

Or Acts 10:34-43

Mark 16:1-8

^1-3 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”

^4-5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
^6-7 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
⁸ They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.

The Message (MSG)

Or John:20:1-18

Resurrection!

20 ^1-2 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

^3-10 Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.

^11-13 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”

^13-14 “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.
¹⁵ Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?”
She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”
¹⁶ Jesus said, “Mary.”
Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!”
¹⁷ Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’”
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went, telling the news to the disciples: “I saw the Master!” And she told them everything he said to her.A

Your holiday cheat sheet to Easter

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BY Wendy Thomas Russell  April 3, 2015 at 1:50 PM EDT

Members of the brotherhood of Santa Lucia participate in the Via Crucis which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as part of Holy Week celebrations in the town of Izalco, El Salvador. Christians celebrate Holy Week the week before Easter Sunday. Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters

I once read a story written by Jim Morrison, who teaches World Religion at a Minnesota high school and has a blog called Teach Not Preach. (Great title, right?) In the story, Morrison recalled that, nearly 20 years ago, a student of his — whose name he’ll never forget because it was Angel — approached him after class. She was a junior at the time and glanced around the room sheepishly as she said: “I have a question.”

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“Let’s hear,” he said.“Is Jesus dead?” she asked.
Morrison answered the question with a straight face and played it off warmly, but, inside, he was dumbfounded. “How odd it was that a kid her age, living in Minnesota, would not know if Jesus was alive,” he wrote. Still, he was glad she asked.
“Obviously, we should not fault Angel for being ignorant,” Morrison wrote. “Her parents, friends and elementary school teachers taught her nothing about religion. The fault lies with the American educational system and its almost total reluctance to teach about religion.”
The moral of the story? Jesus is dead. He died 2,000 years ago. It’s why we have Easter. And if our kids don’t hear it from us, they might never hear it at all. So let’s do this thing, people!
Holiday: Easter
AKA: Resurrection Day
Religion Represented: Christianity
Celebrates: The resurrection of Jesus
Date: The first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. In 2015, Easter falls on April 5.
On a Scale of 1 to 10: Easter is a Perfect 10.
Star of the Show: Jesus
Back Story: During his lifetime, Jesus of Nazareth never called himself the Messiah or Christ, at least not publicly. But by the time he and his disciples made their way to Jerusalem for Passover in the year 33 AD (or thereabouts), many people believed he was both. As legend has it: Jesus caused a ruckus at the temple in Jerusalem by overturning the tables of some dishonest merchants there — an event that likely raised the hackles of Roman leaders that may already have felt threatened by Jesus’ growing religious (and political?) popularity. After hosting his Last Supper (famously depicted by Leonardo da Vinci), Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas, and condemned to die. He was crucified on a wooden cross (which is now the symbol of Christianity) beneath a crown of thorns. His famous last words: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” On the third day after his crucifixion, according to the Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. Christians believe Jesus’ death brought forgiveness of sins and reconciliation between God and humanity.
Associated Literary Passages: There are many in the New Testament: Matthew 27:50-53; Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-19; Luke 24:1-53; John 11:25-26; John 20:1-22:25; Romans 1:4-5; Romans 6:8-11; Philippians 3:10-12; and 1 Peter 1:3, among others.
Easter is a Week-Long Affair: The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday (marking the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem). It also includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper with Jesus’ disciples, Good Friday, honoring the decidedly not good day of Jesus’ crucifixion, and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. Then there’s the happiest day of the year: Easter. In a sense, says my Catholic-raised friend, Tim, every Sunday of the year is meant to be a mini-celebration of Easter.
The Food: Some of what Christians eat on Easter harkens back to the Passover Seder: Hard-boiled eggs and lamb, among them. Ham is also an Easter staple, along with chocolate and sweets.

Although Easter is the most sacred of Christian holidays, there’s a whimsical side, too, celebrated with chocolate bunnies. Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters

The Fun: In addition to dressing in their “Sunday best” for Easter church services, Christians give to charity, share feasts with family and give Easter baskets full of chocolates, jelly beans and other goodies to children. Much like the Hindu celebration of Holi, Easter conveniently falls at the beginning of spring — so lots of the activities are symbolic of fertility and new life. Eggs, which also are said to represent the empty tomb of Jesus, are central to Easter, with celebrants hard-boiling them, painting them and hiding them. The Easter Bunny, although secular, also has become an Easter mainstay — the equivalent of Santa Claus to Christmas.
Conveying Meaning to Kids: Ironically, secular parents often have an easier time explaining Easter (without religion) than many Christian parents do (with it). The Passion is just such a darn mystery. Why did Jesus have to suffer? Why didn’t God intervene? How, exactly, did Jesus’ death bring about forgiveness of human sins? And if Jesus rose from the dead, why can’t we? Secular parents are lucky they don’t have to try to make sense of all this. Still, it’s important to let kids know this story is the single most important one in all of Christianity. If your kid knows this one, the rest is icing.
Recommended reading: “The Easter Story” by Brian Wildsmith
Editor’s note: Wendy Thomas Russell’s book, “Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You’re Not Religious,” came out this week.

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  Wendy Thomas Russell

  Wendy Thomas Russell is an award-winning journalist, secular-parenting blogger, and author of "Relax, It's Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You're Not Religious" — which is due out March 31, 2015. Russell lives in Long Beach, Calif., with her husband and daughter, and writes a blog called Natural Wonderers at Patheos.com.

Marks of Faith

Marks of Faith

Weekly Prayer
Light of the world, shine upon us and disperse the clouds of our selfishness, that we may reflect the power of the resurrection in our life together. Amen.

Focus Reading
John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Reflection by Kate Matthews (Huey)

"Overwhelmed" might describe the disciples after Jesus died, huddled together in their fear and confusion, not knowing where to turn or what to do next. Their leader and teacher who had held them together all those months was dead, executed like a common criminal, and lying in a tomb (or so they thought). With Jesus into that tomb went their hope and their sense of purpose. They were left only with an overwhelming sense of failure, loss, and shame, because they had deserted Jesus in his hour of need. Then, one of the women, Mary Magdalene, was saying things that didn't make sense, that she had actually seen Jesus and talked with him, that Jesus was alive, that he had risen from the dead just as he had promised. They didn't believe Mary's words, of course, because she was only a woman, and here they are, behind locked doors, still waiting to see what will happen next. Suddenly, astonishingly, quietly, there he was, right there, in their midst, before their very eyes. Jesus was alive. Isn't it reasonable to assume that the disciples might have been just a little bit afraid that this was not all good news? That Jesus might be understandably angry with them for abandoning him? It's frightening enough to see someone who was dead suddenly alive, but what if he had every reason to say, "Where were you when I needed you? What kind of faithful disciples are you, anyway?" But that's not what happened. There were no recriminations, no anger, no condemnation. Instead, Jesus offered them peace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, sending them out into the world just as God had sent him.

For Further Reflection

David Housholder, The Blackberry Bush, 21st century
"If anyone or anything tries to curse or kill the Goodness at the Center of all things, it will just keep coming back to life. Forever Easter."

Paul Tillich, 20th century
"Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith."

C.S. Lewis, 20th century
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it we see everything else”

Readings Maundy Thursday B

Readings Maundy Thursday B

Exodus 12:1-14

12 ^1-10 God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it—the entire community of Israel will do this—at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread, made without yeast, and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water; make sure it’s roasted—the whole animal, head, legs, and innards. Don’t leave any of it until morning; if there are leftovers, burn them in the fire.

¹¹ “And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; it’s the Passover to God.
^12-13 “I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
^14-16 “This will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always. You will eat unraised bread (matzoth) for seven days: On the first day get rid of all yeast from your houses—anyone who eats anything with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. The first and the seventh days are set aside as holy; do no work on those days. Only what you have to do for meals; each person can do that.

The Message (MSG)

Psalm 116:1-2; 12-19

^1-6 I love God because he listened to me,
    listened as I begged for mercy.
He listened so intently
    as I laid out my case before him.
Death stared me in the face,
    hell was hard on my heels.
Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn;
    then I called out to God for help:
“Please, God!” I cried out.
    “Save my life!”
God is gracious—it is he who makes things right,
    our most compassionate God.
God takes the side of the helpless;
    when I was at the end of my rope, he saved m

^12-19 What can I give back to God
    for the blessings he’s poured out on me?
I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!
    I’ll pray in the name of God;
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
    and I’ll do it together with his people.
When they arrive at the gates of death,
    God welcomes those who love him.
Oh, God, here I am, your servant,
    your faithful servant: set me free for your service!
I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice
    and pray in the name of God.
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
    and I’ll do it in company with his people,
In the place of worship, in God’s house,
    in Jerusalem, God’s city.
Hallelujah!

The Message (MSG)

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

^23-26 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,

This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.

After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:

This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.

What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

The Message (MSG)

John 13:1-7; 31b-35

Washing His Disciples’ Feet

13 ^1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

^3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

The Message (MSG)

A New Command

^31-32 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!

³³ “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I’m telling you: ‘Where I go, you are not able to come.’

^34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

The Message (MSG)

Maundy Thursday

Ford Maddox Brown, Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, 1856.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday begins the Three Days (or Triduum), remembering the new commandment that Christ gave us in word and deed as he taught us how to love one another, washing our feet as a servant. We also celebrate the Lord’s Supper, remembering the meal Christ shared with his disciples before his death.
Historically, this was the traditional day in which those who had undergone a period of public penance under church discipline would be restored to full communion.

A new commandment

An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 113-116, 131-132)

The name is taken from the first words sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet, “I give you a new commandment” (John 13:34); also from the commandment of Christ that we should imitate his loving humility in the washing of the feet (John 13:14-17). The term mandatum (maundy), therefore, was applied to the rite of the footwashing on this day.
The opening service of the Triduum is not inherently mournful. The penitential acts of Maundy Thursday have celebratory aspects as well: restoration through the bold declaration of pardon; the act of footwashing connoting humility and intimacy; the celebration of the Lord’s Supper embodying the mystery of Christ’s enduring redemptive presence. Maundy Thursday’s acts provide the paradox of a celebratively somber and solemnly celebrative service.
Footwashing. A powerful symbolic response to the Word, representing the way of humility and servanthood to which we are called by Christ, is the act of footwashing, practiced within the church since at least the fifth century. The practice of footwashing in first-century Palestine may have been as common as when today a host helps guests take off their coats, a waiter seats diners, or a driver holds the taxi door open for passengers. Hospitality underlies all such welcoming gestures. …
What is startling if not jolting about the footwashing story in John is not the act of footwashing, but the identity of the servant who washed others’ feet — Jesus, God-with-us, the least likely person. Following the footwashing, Jesus took on himself the humiliation of the cross, the ultimate symbol of his selfless love for others. …
In the priesthood of all believers (not hierarchies of power), all members of the body of Christ can “kneel” before each other and wash one another’s feet as did our Lord and Savior himself — neighbor to neighbor, perhaps even stranger to stranger. More important, as the priesthood of all believers, our corporate kneeling before others for the earthly task of footwashing symbolizes our servanthood within and beyond the body of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper. Though on this night we remember and celebrate the final supper Jesus shared with his disciples in the context of Passover, we are neither celebrating a Seder (“order of service”), nor reenacting the Last Supper, but sharing with our risen Lord a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. …
The term “last supper” suggests that it was only one of many meals shared by Jesus and his disciples, and not the meal. The Eucharist is rooted not only in the Last Supper but also in Jesus’ eating with sinners, and in his feeding the crowd with the loaves and fishes, and it foreshadows the meals after his resurrection. All together they constitute the multiple meanings of the Lord’s Supper. To reduce the Lord’s Supper to the Last Supper is to cut off the Sacrament from its eschatological significance (that is, as it relates to the unfolding of God’s purpose and in the ultimate destiny of humankind and the world).
Stripping of the Church. The final act of this service is the evocative stripping of the worship space. This is most effectively done in absolute silence, and in an unhurried, orderly fashion. Designate several people to extinguish the candles, strip the Lord’s table of all cloths and vessels, and remove all textile hangings, candles and candelabra, flowers, and so forth, carrying all the items out of the room. The stark, bare, unadorned church now reflects Jesus’ abandonment during the night in Gethsemane. The visual aspect of the transformed worship space gives people a dramatic depiction of Christ’s desolation. The church remains bare until the Easter Vigil when the process is reversed and the worship space is “dressed” again.
Ordinarily, neither a blessing is given nor a postlude played on this night, as the services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (the Great Vigil of Easter) are actually one unified ritual. … The church remains in semidarkness, and all depart in silence, thus making the transition from the eucharistic celebration to Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Symbolically, Christ, stripped of his power and glory, is now in the hands of his captors.