Orville W. Taylor, Contributor
FINALLY LENT (not length) is over and it is Easter. For some, it is "bun and cheese time." Now 'bun' is sweet unless your partner calls you another person's name. It is also a common Jamaican food. Cheese is full of cholesterol, urea and fat but it is a good source of calcium and protein. For others, Easter means chocolate bunnies, eggs and a return to 'flesh' eating. Tomorrow will be the regular Easter Monday fairs, many of them on church grounds. At most of these fairs, the object is about pure pleasure. But what do these have to do with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ?
Some aspects of Easter are pagan celebrations carried into Christianity. The second century Saxons in England used to worship a fertility Goddess called Eastre (Ostare), whose sacred animal was a hare. The reproductive hormone 'oestrogen' bears her influence. This celebration of spring, usually around the latter part of March, was a 'flesh fest'. Think about it! What is the rabbit most known for? Breeding! Spring is the time when animals in colder climates thaw out their frozen oils, get in 'estros' and mate. Perhaps because it roughly coincides with the solemn Jewish Passover or Pesach, which translates into Paschal, the two feasts became melded into one.
Possibly because Easter comprises two opposite traditions, there is so much ambivalence and hypocrisy during this period. Easter is celebrated close to spring break. Now if you want to see wanton looseness, drunkenness, and semi-naked women check it out. OK, I admit some look really nice.
Still, on Good Friday some people become suddenly religious and squeeze into every little church. Of course the scriptures say that all are welcome but I bet that many of the pastors are flabbergasted by the flood of 'visitors'. To the chagrin of the reverend, a 'large' number of them, mostly women, also squeeze into their little sisters' or daughters' dresses because those outfits could not possibly have been made for women of their sizes, shapes or skin textures. Ladies, if you have it flaunt it, but not in church or at funerals. Jesus was half naked on Good Friday but he was being crucified. Well, maybe the skimpy undersized outfit is crucifying you. To make matters worse, I bet that those who wear these clothes don't even give pastor a decent 'chumps' for collection.
CREATING GLOOM
It always seems to rain on Good Friday, creating gloom and stimulating reflections on the life of Christ. Christianity tells us that he was God, the son of God and man all at the same time.
If he were fully man could he have possibly sinned? Well no, since he was God. Why then was he tempted by the devil in the wilderness? That temptation episode for me is difficult to understand. Why would he even blink when Satan, the loser offered him anything if he were to jump down off the mountain? After all he was God and had all the power of God. Therefore, Satan was offering him what was already his. Me, there is no way that Satan could tell me to literally jump off anything unless it is a burning building and it had better be the ground floor. This is the mystery of being fully God and fully man.
Another question regarding Jesus' humanity arises during his agony leading up to his crucifixion. Was Jesus losing his faith? Why did he ask for the cup to be taken from Him? Did Jesus come close to blaspheming when He asked, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" Isn't this the same loss of faith for which He chastised his disciples? Mysteries of faith.
MARY MAGDALENE
Speaking about disciples, in the aftermath of International Women's Week, I have to place Mary Mag-dalene into perspective once again. The scriptures say that she had seven demons driven out of her but theologians have attempted to depict her as a harlot. Yet, even the edited King James Version (KJV) does not say this. Rather, her own Gnostic gospel, which of course the early church excluded, shows her as the disciple who was closest to Jesus. I am not basing this argument on Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of the last supper, which places her closest to Jesus' right hand.
Rather, the KJV and the 'Gospel of Mary' indicate that Magdalene was the first to visit the tomb and she along with Mary, mother of James and Salome, was told by the angels that He was not there but had risen. Still, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Obviously, she was the most special disciple. The 'Gospel of Mary' shows that she had knowledge not possessed by the other disciples and they accepted this, although after some initial resistance.
By the way, did you know that no one is sure who wrote the Gospel of Matthew? It was written without an author's name and the early church leaders assumed it was him. Also, neither was the Gospel of Mark. Even so, Mark was not an eyewitness to what he wrote and is believed to have written from second-hand accounts from Peter. Luke's name does not appear in or on his account but again the church, by process of elimination pointed to him. Of the four, only John's account seems to have been by an eyewitness one even though his name does not appear on the manuscript either. Yet interestingly, Mary's gospel did not seem to qualify for inclusion in the KJV. Women are still paying for Eve's transgression. Eh!
I prefer the quiet reflections instead of spring break. Some will watch dramatisations like Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. I don't think that I will be watching it though, not just because it is not in English, but I already read the book.
Blessings!
Dr. Orville Taylor is lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
