When I was growing up, I had a love and hate relationship for Easter. I loved it because it meant spiced bun and cheese for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks; well-seasoned and moistened roasted beef, in a special Pyrex dish, placed smack in the center of the dining table, beside its accompanying food item; – specially shaped duck bread. (Smiling at the memory). Our parents sure made Easter a time of joy.
Not only that, but schools played their part in keeping the narrative of Jesus’ Life, Death and Resurrection alive; festive songs, dramatization, concerts, and monologue speeches reminded us all of the Savior’s sacrifice. By Good Friday, as they call it, I’d watch amazing movies about the ten plaques of Egypt, and felt relief as Moses led the Israelites through the parted Red Sea.
Saturday was the most cheerful of all the days. Not just because it was Sabbath, but if memory serves me correctly, we celebrated “The Harvest” at my local church. People took in the finest bounties from their garden or fields-sugar cane, fruits, baked goods, coconut tart-coconut drops-coconut cake, and an endless amount of “harvest”.
Sunday morning was a wonder to see. I’d stand at my gate and watch almost 80% of the neighborhood members dressed in their colorful Sunday best. Husbands who never accompanied their wives to church all year, are walking side by side with wifey. The village drunkard who laid aside his Jay, Ray, and Nephew brand spirit liquor, was off to church in search of a different spirit. Little girls skipped down the hills in frilled dresses, matching hats, hair bows, and frilled socks. Men, women, boys and girls waved palm leaves on their way to Palm Sunday Service.
But the weekend also brought about sorrow. I hated it, because almost every TV or radio channel you tuned into, rest assure, had movies about the crucifixion of Jesus. Every corner store, rum bar, taxi driver speaker, and community sound system would broadcast the tale of Jesus’ crucifixion through songs, dramatization, or sermons. Sunday evening after an early dinner was the worst. It was almost routine for us children to gather in the living room, with eyes fixed on the TV watching the crucifixion story. As a child, I hated that movie. They showed Jesus being beaten, mocked, spat on, and hung helplessly to a cruel cross. How can it be called Good Friday? In my innocent, yet ignorant eyes, there was nothing good about that Friday. It sure had an impact on me though. I am forever grateful to Jesus Christ.
Back then, when you hear about Easter, pagan though derived, you’d hear about the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ.
Aww, oh how times have changed. I know we get better and more advanced as time goes by; but who would have thought that Easter would take on a new meaning. I literally left my nugget for a second and typed the word “Easter” in my phone’s search engine, and 99% of my results came back with bunnies, eggs, and food. Where is the crucifixion that made Easter so special? Where is the cross, the thorn, the soldiers, the tomb, the blood? I was totally dissatisfied in my search so I went a little farther and tapped on “images” in my search bar, and what did I find? Easter eggs galore! When did we move so far away from the mark? It all makes sense though. Its origin was questionable from the get-go.
You and I are very much guilty of being apart of this. Some of us have our children Easter egg hunting, and bunny hopping. My daughter attends a Christian academy. Everything in me told me not to send her to school this passed Thursday, but ignoring the voice, she went off to school and came back quite the exciting four year old with bunny ears on her head, hopping around with a basket filled with plastic eggs holding candy, and quite the experience of hanging with bunny and hunting eggs. We’ve got our work cut out for us there.
Today, I won’t bore you about the origin of Easter. I won’t caution you about not allowing your kids to go hunting for eggs and greeting the cute bunny. Instead, I’d like to point out this one little early morning eye opener.
Here I am in the wee hours of the morning thinking about Resurrection morning.
Resurrection morning, my friends, gets me excited! It’s not just that I serve a risen Savior. It’s not just that Jesus conquered death and the grave. Friends, I’m not only excited that He lives.
You see, in the silence of the morning, God has shown me that I can make resurrection morning personal. See, my situation pales in comparison to what Jesus faced on “bad Friday”. But truth be told, some of us are going through our version of “bad Friday”. We’re being talked about, mocked, spatted on. The enemy has plotted and planned our crucifixion. We may not be nailed physically to a cross, but we’ve been stretched thin, battered, and bruised. Our friends have denied us, betrayed us, ran sword through our hearts, and left us hanging. The cares of this world have put us on a cross, our arms are outstretched because we have nothing more to give, nothing more for them to take. We cry to our father and beg for our bitter cup of diseases and sickness to pass. Life has given us bitter vinegar to drink. In our ninth hour, when darkness falls upon us we cry “Eli Eli lama sabachthani? – That is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:45 – 46).
Hang on my friends! I said, hang on! Something powerful is about to happen on Resurrection Morning!
I need someone to understand that Sunday is coming! On Sunday, you will rise!
Hey! – I said on Sunday, listen out for the angel, look out for groundbreaking, earth shattering relief, cause “thy Father calls Thee! Come forth.” Come forth from your misery! Come forth from the disease! Come forth from the sickness! Come forth from the pain! Come forth from your brokenness! Come forth from your financial crises! Come forth from your depression!
MELODY, Come forth!
Hey – Sunday is coming!
Get your palm leaves, and prepare to wave!
And when Sunday comes, you better cry with everything you’ve got, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
They called it “Good Friday,” but there was nothing good about that Friday when that cross stood enshrouded in darkness on a hill far away. However, even though it was “Bad Friday,” something powerful happened two days later. So I just want to encourage someone who’s experiencing “bad Friday” to hold on, because even though it’s Friday, Sunday is Coming!
Merry Melodious Melody
PS… I eagerly await your comments. Feel free to like, share and subscribe.
Yes, Sunday is coming. To God we give the glory, honour and praise.
You feel like dancing, don’t? 😌
I thoroughly enjoyed the memory walk Melody but i wasnt so sure about the beef tho 😅 i remember them preparing fish, Because of the bad Friday i can shout Titus 2:13& 14 looking towards that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ…… and i have the assurance that comes what may because my life is centered wrapped up in my Savior Christ Jesus i patiently waiting for the morning. In the mean time help me sing hymn 602 O Brother be faithful
I forgot all about duck bread! Lol your nuggets are very mouth watering! You leaving me hungry for awhile. It was a dark Friday, but resurrection Sunday makes it bright for you and all of us.Praise God for His resurrection power the stone was rolled away leaving the tomb empty. Hallelujah!! Hallelujah to the Lamb Of God! “No Grave Could Hold His Body Down”!!
Thank God for my Grandmother when I was growing up all my friends on the block when Good Friday came as we used to call it would go to the beach except me when I asked my Grandmother to go she no tomorrow is God’s Holy SabbAth day so she never allowed me to go
Thank God for my Grandmother with the help of God she helped me to be what I am today she got the nonsense out of my head with this Good Friday business
I hope and pray when Christ comes back to claim his own we all with whom we have worked will hail him as our Lord and master where we will reign with forever and ever God been our helper
Thank God that he went all the way to calvary just to set me free I’m praying that through the leading of his holy spirit I may not take that for granted thanks sister melody God’s riches blessings always
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