Today we enjoyed a wonderful resurrection Sunday although it was very different from one we'd have back home. The whole week, though, felt quite different and not 'normal'. Partly, because we were traveling for some of it and partly because the church here does not have much tradition associated with Easter. There weren't any special services for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday and no singing today of any traditional Easter hymns. When I asked why that may be I was told it's probably due to two reasons:
1) the evangelical church in this culture tends to resist practices that are more associated with the Catholic church
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| The Catholic church organized a stations of the cross ceremony through the streets of Quepos on Good Friday |
2) the church we attend here and its denomination (Foursquare) is fairly young and doesn't share some of the traditions that older churches/denominations have
Although we had been reading through the Easter story in the bible as a family this week, it still didn't quite 'feel' like Easter does at home as we got ready for church this morning. We didn't put on any new Easter outfits, although we don't usually do that back home either. In fact, we went to church in our bathing suits which actually felt quite 'rebellious', even with dresses over them :)
So, we weren't traditionally 'dressed' for Easter. We didn't sing any typical Easter songs. It wasn't quite feeling like Easter until the message which was about celebrating the emptiness:
With the empty cross we celebrate that Christ's death has paid the price and our sins are forgiven.
With the empty tomb we celebrate Christ's resurrection and the hope of eternal life.
With the empty burial clothes we celebrate that Jesus is alive and wants to be in fellowship with us.
A great message that got at the core of what Easter is all about, and a reminder that we don't necessarily need clothes, songs or even traditions - however 'rich' they may be - to help us focus on and celebrate the promises that come with an empty cross, tomb and burial clothes.
Cultural reflections on Holy Week:
What foods would you associate with Easter or Holy Week?.......Ham? Mom's potato salad? Chocolate bunnies? or....ewww.....marshmallow Peeps?
If you walked into a grocery store here this week you'd see easy-to-take-to-the-beach items lining the aisles for easy-to-grab access: pop, beer, canned tuna and chips appear to be the most popular items. EVERYONE seems to go to the beach, river or nearest swimming hole during Holy Week and they seem to take their entire family along with them. This is especially true on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And it seems they pack for the entire day, not just a couple of hours. Many people tie tarps, plastic, or towels in the trees for shade coverings, they hang hammocks between the trees and some even line up a few tents in a row. Families relax, eat and swim together.
We were invited to go to the beach today after the service with our missionary friend Laura and her family and another American couple. No big ham dinner...or beer or canned tuna for us, but definitely an Easter dinner to remember: we grilled kabobs on the beach thanks to the grill that Larry and Carol brought along and Laura even made deviled eggs so it did feel a little like Easter dinner after all :)
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