I have never been a person to travel far from home around Good Friday and Easter. This year, family circumstances meant that I was far from home, and there was no liturgical congregation nearby. Yet, I did have a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer.
So I said Morning and Evening Prayer and read the appointed lessons from Scripture. This was more low-key than most years, but it was meaningful. I focused briefly but intensely on Jesus' passion, time in the tomb, and resurrection. And if anything, I had a greater than usual appreciation for St. Paul's exhortation in Colossians 3- "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
Such a perspective should be the goal of all our observances, elaborate or simple. We Christians think that the death and resurrection of Jesus are core historical realities. We must affirm these events, but beyond that, we need to see the application to our personal and corporate lives. As Christ has died and risen, so have we through baptism and faith. Therefore, we should set our affections on heavenly and spiritual matters and live accordingly.
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