Coincidence....???

As those of you who are reading my blog know, this week is Easter week, and today, being Thursday, is what I've grown up calling "Maundy Thursday". This is the day we commemorate the Last Supper, remembering what Jesus taught us shortly before He gave the ultimate Sacrifice - Himself.

This week in my classes we've been talking about Easter. It's an excellent time to share, because in telling the story of Easter, you end up telling the reason that you believe what you believe.

Incidentally, this year a Chinese holiday - according to the lunar calendar - falls on the same day as Maundy Thursday. This holiday is called "Tomb-Sweeping Festival". It's a time for families to go to the graves of their ancestors, clean them off, plant flowers, and pay their respects. It seems innocent enough, but you couple that with the fact that many of them are actually using the time to pray to their ancestors, it starts to make you a little uneasy. In fact, last night as I was walking home with a Chinese friend of mine, we saw several people lighting small fires along the street, burning large squares of paper. I said it seemed like it was an odd way to pay respects, lighting fires along the street of all places. My friend told me the reason they do that in such an odd place is that they believe that ghosts are walking along the street that night. The paper they're burning is supposed to represent (or turn into) money, which the ghosts will take to be appeased. Ideally, the money finds its way into the hands of their deceased relatives.

I was just thinking how interesting (for lack of a better word) it is that these two days would coincide.
On the one hand, you have a festival to remember/appease your ancestors. This makes me think: if I have to rely on my descendants to take care of me when I am dead, what will happen to me when I cease to have descendants? or what if my descendants forget about me, or get too busy to take care of me? I'm basically screwed.
On the other hand you have a festival to remember the sacrifice Jesus made to appease God on our behalf. Instead of relying on human beings, we rely on the Supreme God to take care of us. Because of what He did, nothing more needs to be done. We can completely trust Him because He's completely dependable. And that's a much more comforting thought than hoping that one day my rebellious teenager will turn around and want to take care of me instead of shunning me. :)

In any case, it's a reminder of the spiritual darkness that is here, and a reminder of how important it is to bring in the Light.

Is. 9:2
Matt. 4:16
Matt. 5:14-16
John 1:5
John 9:5
John 12:46
Eph. 5:8
1 John 1:5, 7