Easter 2020, will probably be remembered by many as the Easter that wasn't. Let me explain, Easter still happened, but not in the way that many of us Born Christians would recognize. So we have had to find some creative ways to celebrate the Greatest Holy Day of the Christian Calendar.
To that end, my husband and I have been searching for ways in order to make Easter come alive again! We don't have any problem with following services on You Tube, or Facebook, but Easter calls us (personally) to dig a little deeper into our faith.
I am a Christian and not at all ashamed or embarrassed to admit it! I'm sure I'm not alone. The thing that always surprises me is that after Easter is over, many Christians think Easter is a done deal. One day, Easter Sunday and then everything goes back to "normal". (Well 2020's normal will be different than most.)
Many people don't understand that Easter Sunday is just the beginning of the Easter season. It does NOT END until 50 days later at the Feast of the Pentacost!
That gives Christians a whole 50 days to deepen their faith and strengthen their belief system.
The trouble is that you can only read the scriptures for so long and then hopefully have a good discussion on what was read. Our God speaks to each of us through these scriptures and each of us will take away lessons that are meant just for us. Each will take away a lesson that speaks to them personally, and it may not be the same message that you get! The Bible is alive and speaks to each of us in a way that we will understand in our hearts.
Being in house arrest has given us some time to look for other ways to celebrate our faith and grow at the same time.
We are so lucky that we can search out lots of different ways to celebrate our Christian Holidays. You Tube, Facebook and the Internet offer us unlimited ways to enhance our faith journey. Alan and I were blessed to spend 3 months in the Holy Land in 2018. We were there from the middle of January to the Middle of April, which just happened to be Easter of that year. What an experience that was and it still resounds with us today. If you would like to see where we lived and worked during that time here's a You Tube video about the region and why it was so important to Christians all over the world. https://youtu.be/Jcfkn9zivis
After having spent that time in Magdala, we came back home really driven to look into our faith, deeper, so that we are well informed Christians.
Now, during this time in our lives, that has us more upside down, than right side up, we are looking again for ways in which to make our faith "come alive". To that end, both of us have been trying to figure out who the person of Jesus was and who His followers were too. We have had many lively discussions on this aspect of our faith and really haven't come to any conclusions. What we see in the Scriptures can look pretty cold and too Godly or shall we say Jesus sometimes come off as unreachable. But that is not the Jesus we want to believe in, we want a Jesus that is just like us, happy, sad, funny, serious and a whole lot more....He is the Jesus we could relate to!
Thank goodness that I found a series that really delves into the "humanity" of Christ! This series has 8 episodes and each one of them is really so well done. The series holds true to the Biblical Christ, but also opens up the Humanity of him who is known as the Messiah.
I would like to share with you a link to get to this series and I'm sure that you will be moved just as I was. This series is not available on DVD or any other media other than at the APP store. I have a link for you right here. It is called The Chosen. This is an 8 part series each one is about an hour long and focuses on the beginning of Jesus' life and ministry. While following Biblical texts, there is a lot of interpretation allowed in this series.
Not only are we treated to a "human" Jesus, we are also treated to the characters who become his Apostles and Disciples. His mother and other relatives also play a role in this series. I found it to be very interesting and profoundly moving.
My hope is that you started your Easter celebrations with Cynthia Sylvestermouses' Review of Jesus of Nazareth! And I hope you continue your Easter reflections with The Chosen.
Please come back and tell me what you thought! I know for myself personally, this series was a valuable tool in more ways than one. It brought so many characters to life that I had not connected with through just reading the Scriptures. My faith is alive and new ways of understanding that faith are always welcomed. You can watch the official trailer for The Chosen right here!
Olivia, thank you for sharing this series about Jesus and a special way to continue the celebration of Easter through to the Feast of the Pentacost!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, I do hope you watch the series. I found it to be wonderful and have gone back to watch it two more times. That's how much I enjoyed it. God Bless.....and continue to enjoy the beauty of the Easter Season.
DeleteGreat reminder that Easter begins the season :)
ReplyDeleteEaster is the start of it all and the end of a lot of things too. We had little hope before Easter and now our days are all hopeful. Glad the reminder helped you! I hope you try the series too. I've watched it 3 times in total now and still see something new each time I watch.
DeleteExcellent! Surprisingly, I have not heard of "The Chosen" series. I'll have to make sure I watch it. I've often thought how very difficult it would be to cast the part of Jesus. Clearly, that one actor will make or break any presentation.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, Jesus is the character that really can make or break a movie, series or anything else. They have done an incredible job casting not only Jesus, but also all the other characters in the bible. It's nice to see what Peter, James and John might have been like, Mary Magdalene and so many more. I really like the take on Matthew as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I and my family did.
DeleteI love that you reminded people that Easter is more than a day long. Thanks for sharing one more way people can learn more about Jesus by seeing some aspects of the lives of Jesus and his friends people may not have thought about. To his friends, Jesus wasn't someone to read about, but to share their lives with. We can still share our lives with Him today in a different way, since the whole message of Easter is that He still lives.
ReplyDeleteSo very true Barbara, He lives through us! I hope you get a chance to watch the series, it really is beautifully done and worth the time to watch.
DeleteFor the Christian, Easter is meant to be every day. We rise with the Chosen One each moment of our lives. I can appreciate your desire to fully live out your faith and to grow that faith continually. I hope I can experience the Holy Land one day. I'm so glad you got to have that profound experience. And thank you for reminding us that the Easter season is not one day.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to the Holy Land some day too. This mini-series is not so much about Easter as about the life and times and people that cross the path of Jesus as he begins his Ministry. The people that he chooses and his interactions with people in general. It really is so well done and I hope you give it a little of your time. There is even a dog in the stories.....
ReplyDeleteEven I forget that Easter is the beginning - spiritual work is good to include in our day, every day, 365 days. It's part of my routine now, and how I end my days. It makes such a difference - peaceful, calming and gives you 'bigger than myself' approach to each day. Lead with love, and the rest will fall into place.
ReplyDeleteI may once have known that Easter Sunday is just the beginning of the Easter season and that it goes on for 50 more days.
ReplyDelete