Anniversaries and stuff: what's the point?

Is this post several weeks late? Look it's April 3, not February 14, silly. Also it's a Holy Tuesday but I'd soon get into that matter. For now, I am famished and cannot think of anything else but dinner. I have a confession to make: though I publicly swore all my life that I don't like flowers, fancy restaurants and other outward expressions of love I secretly think ex-boyfriends short-changed me in that area. And, I have fond memories of friends who take me to dinner - free!

spotted fish for you, dear

Admit it or not, we homo sapiens (I mean male and female) have a special place in our heart for anniversaries/special dates and the props that are associated with them.I can just imagine the first blush that Eve felt on her face when Adam brought the first catch of fish or mountain deer even when she has become bloated with the ninth child and suffering from a bad hair day. While there were no anniversaries then because there were no printing press to make calendar, I'm sure a lady would naturally think "oh my, he must love me; look at how lovely the tilapias are!" (Sorry I couldn't find a cuter photo).  

So- if you please, whether you're a man or a woman we can agree that it pays to have one day set aside in a year when we forget the rest of the world and just look at each other eyes - wife and husband, mother and child, friends and friends, bosses and staff. We have Valentine's Day, Mother's Day - we even have Horror Day or Halloween when we find time to talk about ghost and monsters like we're not afraid of them!

That's what love is all about, right? Don't you sometimes hate it when you get out of your way to express your affection and you are told "but, shouldn't you be doing this every day of the year!" Yes, it hurts to be told so even if it's true but you would think it would be nice to be appreciated for remembering.

Now all this talk about love and affection, gifts and the lack thereof, certainly has something to do with Lent and the Passion. Why? Because, this time of the year we are given paid holidays to go home to our provinces or stay home to to commemorate a very special series of events that is the ultimate expression of God's love for us. And I am writing this at the risk of being asked "what are you doing, are you p-r-e-a-c-h-i-n-g?"). Let's say I'm just exorcising the little demons in my head that says "who cares if it's holy week, you can be holy anytime of the year if you really want to". This is more like a contemplative exercise, the cyber version of it wherein I write a blog post but I'm not sure if anybody ever reads it aside from me).

Ah I remember not having any memory of a date like this

What's so special about special days anyway? Why do we take time to do something special? It's a pause, a hiccup or a break from the monotony of daily living. Surely, you love your spouse everyday no matter what but you don't always have the time to say that. Same with your friends, family and, of course with God. Once, I heard a friend say with the purest of intentions "you can acknowledge Christ in your life every day if you really want to." So true! Everyday is special - but some days are super special even if this is not exactly the day when the real thing happened. As I said, in the old days when there are only the moon and the stars to tell us the time, I'm sure people get it that there are days when they remember the very first sight of love, birth, and death. Remembrance!

There are also some who take issue with the sounds, activities and smells of the Holy Week. First in line is me, of course. I often asked what do candles, processions and church-hopping have to do with this week? Doesn't God love us enough already without us doing any of these stuff? As usual my kids gave me the answer when they brought home not-so-neatly hand-crafted Valentine's card that told me I am dearly loved as a mother. I could see the light shine in their eyes and it added to the awesomeness of the occasion - the joy little boys can feel when they're showing off their love to their mother. All the learning and skill they could learn in that simple activity. I can also understand perfectly the action of the woman in Matthew 26:6: 

"While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table." 

We all know the rest of the story. Would you do the same in the physical presence of God? Candles and dances are the same. If you have been to a worship service (in any denomination) you will remember that the first time was hilarious. I bet you didn't think you can bend, clap, jump, murmur, close your eyes, hum, sing aloud and say over over again "Praise God". If you stayed longer or come back often enough you will soon do all those stuff and you will really, really love it. Promise. 

Same thing happens with candles, processions, and vigils in our local churches. Surely, God who is perfect do not need any of these things. You also can sit down for hours and just pray if your heart tells you to do so. For most of us, we need some forms or expression of our faith and remembrance of God's Passion and surrender on the Cross. After all, even God had to utter the Word in Creation and gave His love in physical form - the Universe. And in the perfect act of love - the Incarnation and Death on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Surely, this very existence is an outward expression of God's love. God could have just planted that in our heads like we're being brainwashed. No!  We are to listen and pay attention to what God is sayin'. 

So- in the same manner.. all the candles that we light, the distance what we walk, the Band-Aids that we used to protect our knees from hurting when we do the Station of the Cross....all the tears that we shed out of guilt for a year gone to waste doing things against God's grace - are important to God especially if we mean everything we said in our prayers. As promised, we will be forgiven yet again. We have the rest of the year and our lives to remain faithful.