Today
I bumped into a quote I had written perhaps more than a month ago and
it stopped me short as the truth of it hit me again. “All
Israel rejoices today, except for those who don't.”
This
quote is from a fictional character caught up in the rejoicing over
the celebration of the expected Savior. She was a wise Jewish mother
in the town of Bethlehem at the time when Jesus was due to be born.
But her excited exclamation can refer to anytime that we celebrate
our God and our Lord: “Some do, and some don't.”
At
this time of Easter, which used to be a country wide celebration,
there are a multitude of people objecting to the day even being on
the calendar, let alone being celebrated. Some Christians celebrate
Palm Sunday; some Christians don't. Some Christians celebrate Good
Friday; some don't. Some Christians get up early and go to Sunrise
Services; some don't. Some Christians go to church on Easter Sunday,
even though they never go there at any other time; some don't go even
then.
And,
then, there are those Christians and non-Christians who celebrate the
day with the hiding and hunting of eggs and toys; a totally unrelated
social experience that helps explain why it is a holiday to those who
do not believe in the Resurrection of Christ.
The
point is that “All Christendom rejoices on
this day, except for those who don't.”
We
are not alone in our rejoicing and it goes on for 24 hours as the
world turns and Sunday morning comes in places around the world.
We
cannot force the world to rejoice with us. We cannot even force other
Christians to rejoice with us. And we need to stop letting this
truism frustrate, irritate, or anger us. We need to settle into
celebrating to the max and letting those who “don't,” don't. In
God's way of handling things, the “don'ts” have a purpose. It is
He who will bring about His Own Glory, in His own way.
Meanwhile,
we need to let our celebrating be known and to stand up for what we
believe by doing, not by complaining.
This
is a great time to start taking back our religious freedoms by simply
doing what they say we cannot do: that is to casually bow our heads
in prayer wherever we are and whatever we are doing. That alone will
begin to bring about change in our lives and in the lives of others
for whom we are praying.
Perhaps
Good Friday at 3:00 would be a good time to start? Stop and thank God
for the blood that was shed for your salvation and the pain that Jesus
was willing to bare for our sake. Think about it.
Then
we can move on to bigger issues that arise all around us; perhaps one
at a time, as need be.
May
God and His Wisdom be with us as we seek to live for Him.
