Holy Week

This week is a particularly thoughtful time of the year for me. As most people here in the United States know, this Sunday is Easter Sunday, or more appropriately, "Resurrection Sunday". I take the opportunity that this week affords and I think about what Jesus did on each day leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.

This week reminds me that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is really what Christianity is all about. It is the foundation and touchstone of who I am as a person. If Jesus of Nazareth did not rise from the dead, then my faith and my life are to be pitied.

I wish that people understood this better. I wish that "Christians" understood this better. I wish that folks who weren't Christians saw that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is our motivation for everything that we do. Our belief in the resurrection, and our subsequent allegiance to Jesus, is what determines our votes, our ethics, and our charity.

Everything the Christian does goes back to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, and that in this event, God declared him to be both Lord and Christ (Romans 1:4). Even if others disagree with what Christians do, I wish we were better at showing that all of our reasoning goes back to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This week, I hope that God will keep me focused on this essential and foundational truth of Christianity.