Double chocolate Hot Cross Buns, slightly warmed, slathered with butter and washed down with an espresso. I’ve waited all year for this. Not the espresso of course, God knows I couldn’t wait a whole year to have my espresso.
This is one of my favourite Good Friday rituals, a symbol of Easter with a message for lost hope of ever being enough.
And it tastes good too 🙂
Good Friday Messages
Rituals are a tangible reminder of something that is important, something that is worthy of remembering. And my Ritual of celebrating Good Friday with Hot Cross Buns is a reminder to me of the most important message of Good Friday – the depth of God’s love for us.
Romans 5:8 explains this love more clearly, and I particularly love this translation from the Aramaic:
God has here manifested his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Good Friday is the most important day of the year for me. It’s on this day that I’m reminded of the value of my life, and it’s all wrapped up in this verse.
If I can get over the ‘while we were yet sinners‘ part, that is.
Sinner? Who is a sinner? Certainly not me! I’m a Good person. I follow the Ten Commandments, mostly. I don’t steal or gossip, (well, sometimes I might catch myself and realise I was gossiping so I stop. That’s good, right?) I’m kind, and helpful, and mostly don’t lose my patience with sales people, unless they’re those unsolicited ones who call right on dinner time (well I’m not an Angel!). I haven’t killed anyone or robbed a bank and I mostly follow the rules (when I agree with them).
So surely that bit isn’t talking about me, is it?
What is a Sinner?
We balk at the words Sin and Sinner. Most of us are good people, right? Those words are reserved for the bad people; you know, murderers, psychopaths, bank robbers, tax collectors….
But what if I told you it’s not about being good or bad? What if I told you it’s mostly about Archery?
There are over twenty different words used for Sin in the original Hebrew text, with a range of different meanings and contexts. The most common are to miss the point, or miss the mark (there’s that Archery reference). Other words have different meanings such as to stray or break away, make a mistake, and still others carry the more serious meaning of committing an offense.
At the end of the day, it’s not about how Good or Bad we are, it’s about how Perfect we are. And I think we can all agree that not one of us is perfect, nor can we ever be. We live in an imperfect world. Not the world God created; the world WE created. And we are all, each and every one of us, influenced by it. We may believe we’re not influenced, but our minds are just as susceptible to the poison in this world by seeing and hearing it, as our bodies are by ingesting it.
Does God want us to be Perfect?
There’s a common understanding that a Higher Being requires perfection before we can be in their presence. But the more I ponder this thought and the more I know of God’s Father and Mother heart, I have come to understand that it’s not about requiring perfection from us. After all, God is in our presence every day; He sees us, warts and all, and yet still loves us.
Perhaps it’s about not allowing the Imperfection of Sin to enter into the Perfect World.
The perfect world is the place where we are all free. Free from illness, physical restrictions, guilt, hurt, tears and so much more.
This has to be one of my most favourite verses. It paints a picture of Safety, Love, Freedom, Peace, Joy… PERFECTION. It’s the kind of place where I’d want to spend Eternity.
To allow Sin to enter into that perfect world would be like allowing a virus to enter into our homes. And here is where the dilemma lies, where it could be easy to lose hope. If imperfection can’t enter the Perfect World, and we all carry imperfection, with no hope of ever becoming perfect in this lifetime, then how do we get there and what’s the point of even trying?
God Reaching Out
Let’s go back to the original verse I quoted: God has here manifested his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were yet sinners...
Did you catch that? He didn’t wait! He didn’t wait for me to be worthy of entering into the perfect world. He made me worthy by taking my place.
He reached out to Me. I did nothing.
And this is why I love this day the most. Because this day is a reminder to me to stop striving, to ditch the guilt. To know that I don’t have to wait for the perfect world to be in relationship with the Creator God.
The Perfect (Jesus) took on all the imperfection of the imperfect world, for no other reason than Love. And in so doing He offered me a ticket to the best party ever. It’s not a ticket I could ever hope to afford. I can’t pay for it with hard work or punishment. I simply need to accept it. And by accepting it I’m acknowledging that I want to be at that party. And I need that ticket because I don’t really have much hope of attaining perfection in this life.
I’ve always believed in an after life, an eternal life. And I love a free ticket, so it was a no brainer for me. I did the research and no one else made the same claims Jesus did. So I’m in. And this day is a reminder of what I have to look forward to.
That Hot Cross Bun is a small symbol of the Great Banquet; the banquet which symbolises abundance, peace, relationship, joy and freedom.
The Simplicity of the Message of Jesus
There is so much good in this world, but there is also so much that is not good, not part of God’s plan. As much as I love this life, I know that there has to be more to it.
Humans are different to animals, we search for meaning. And I believe that’s because we were created in the image of God. It is Divine breath which is the source of our very existence, and many of us spend most of our lives searching for that source. It is within us, but many of us don’t find it because we complicate things. We think it’s a trick question or there’s a multiple choice answer. But it’s neither.
Jesus gave us the answer
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
And later
Come to me all who are tired from carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matt 11:28-29
Love Jesus and Rest. It can’t be that simple can it?
Even those of us who do accept the invitation find it hard to believe. So we complicate things, we create this culture that is not only an add on to what Jesus taught us, it’s often a contradiction of the example He set for us. This culture imposes a set of rules about how we must behave and what we must do before we can become a Disciple of Christ. And once we do become a Disciple, there are even more rules to follow which will somehow prove that we are in fact Disciples.
We forget that a Disciple is someone who is learning from a teacher. No one would expect me to learn everything before I’m taught by the teacher, and everyone would agree that we never stop learning in this life. So why the rules and expectations? I never saw that in Jesus’ example.
Simplicity is not one of my strengths. On the contrary, I am really good at complicating things. And complicating things leads to exhaustion. There’s too many Ifs and Buts in Complication. It seriously does my head in!
So today, today is Good. Today I am reminded to rest. I don’t need to Do, I just need to Be.
And I need to eat that double chocolate Hot Cross Bun!
About the Author
SARINA ELDER
Sarina is a Writer with a passion for Making A Difference (MAD).
As a first generation Australian who struggled with cultural identity as a child, Sarina understands the importance of Being, Belonging, and Becoming as a fundamental need in all of us, regardless of age.
As a misunderstood Creative, who was diagnosed with ADHD in her adult years, Sarina is particularly passionate about supporting others to identify and release their Creative, or the Creative in their children, and to embrace the Neurodiversity that accompanies Creativity.
Sarina believes the best way to embrace ourselves is through laughter, and is open to sharing her own stories with the hope of encouraging others.