Dead or Alive

I realize that it's all very mystical. But it's not too hard to make a timeline to track when Jesus died and what He did while He was dead.

Referring to what Jesus said to the thief on the cross (also known as St. Dismas), a reader asks:

I thought Jesus went to Heaven on the 3rd day, so why did he say "today"?

What makes you think that? Jesus was running around visiting the disciples and whatnot on the 3rd day. Surely you remember that? He didn't go to Heaven on the 3rd day, He rose from the dead on the 3rd day. Unless you live in Opposite World.

Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday. So He was was indeed dead that day. While He was dead, He opened the Gates of Heaven which had been closed since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.

Jesus not being dead on the third day.

On the third day, He was alive again and surprised Mary Magdelene. Later, He showed up where the disciples were still gathered in their post crucifixion cowering state. You may recall His famous encounter with Thomas. He spent the next 40 days running around in His Glorified Body, eating, appearing and disappearing, walking through walls, and going fishing with the gang.

Then he gathered them all on the beach, gave them some final instructions and ascended into Heaven. We call that the Ascension.  That's where the Gospels all end. We take up with the Acts of the Apostles to find out what happened next.

Jesus ascends into Heaven, still very much alive.

Fifty days later, the Holy Spirit descended on them and gave them the Gift of Tongues, while they were gathered together in "the upper room".  The disciples then dispersed to the four corners of the earth. We know what happened to Judas. Peter, Bartholomew, Thomas, Andrew, James and James and Philip, were all crucified, stoned, run through with poles, skinned alive and decapitated. John, Simon the Zealot, Matthew and Thaddeus lived to ripe old ages and "fell asleep", according to Hippolytus.

You seem to have the timeline completely backwards. You've just had a mental lapse that forgot that Jesus died on the cross. Perhaps you need a little coffee or a cookie.

Sometimes a bladder infection causes people to not quite be able to think.  Especially in the elderly. If an elderly person seems to suddenly have dementia, you can pretty much bet they have a bladder infection. Like clockwork.

The Case for Christmas

In our local paper this morning, here in Brisbane, there is actually an

article written by an Anglican priest, in which he is exhorting Christians everywhere to step back from Christmas altogether; he says we should just leave it to the shops and the secular enjoyment of the day, and instead reclaim the Incarnation by turning our focus to Easter instead. Not such a bad idea, really - there is never going to be a widespread resurgence of the religious significance of Christmas,that is a losing battle, and it was a pagan festival in the first place,wasn't it - adopted by the Christians in about the 3rd or 4th Century.

Oh, let's not. Let's not do that.

I understand his feelings about Easter. As a child our nuns always told us that we should celebrate Easter above all, since the Resurrection is the most important event. But I just never have been able to muster the excitement for Easter that I have for Christmas.

I know exactly why.

Christmas, celebrated in the dead of winter, is a cozy holiday. It's full of warmth and pretty lights and delicious food. Stockings are stuffed and a jolly old elf visits while we sleep, if we've behaved ourselves. Children's eyes sparkle in front of the tree.

At the heart of it all is a poor little baby, born to a poor family in a lowly place. A brand new baby who brought a new way of thinking. A baby who asked only one thing, "Love one another".   

And this also warms the heart.

It's not that Easter isn't heart warming. It's just not heart warming the way Christmas is heartwarming. For one thing, it's spring, and usually, we're already warm.  We don't need comfort food in the spring.

Christmas is sweetly miraculous, fully joyful and nurturing. Easter is mystical and glorious.

With eggs.

There is a reason those pagans threw a winter festival. We still need to stop in the dead of winter and love one another. We just have a way better reason than the pagans have.

I do think people could calm down about Christmas. There's no need to stress out so much about it. But I think that the reason that we do is because we actually do take it seriously, that we want to leave no stone unturned to send out love and greetings and cookies and toys. We don't want to leave anyone out and we sincerely want to bring joy to each other.

That's not such a bad reason for all that shopping, really. The Magi brought gifts, the shepherds came over. It was all lovely.

A poor little baby will always be at the heart of it. We're not really pagans.

And why on earth does anyone who believes there is a War on Christmas not believe there isn't a War on Easter?  I think Easter seems much more secular than Christmas, with bunnies and eggs and plastic grass and fancy hats.  And least Christmas has a saint deliver the goods, not a giant invisible bunny. I have never heard a peep from the War on Christmas crowd about Easter. What's up with that?