When do you crucify Him?
Two days before Easter (we celebrate It a week later according to the Greek orthodox calendar) I was browsing the Internet pages when I noticed an observation of a well known Romanian TV person. I usually don't have high expectations from this kind of shows, especially when it's about religious themes, but this observations was interesting. "When Jesus rises from the dead, the Easter Bunny gives you presents... When Jesus is born on Christmas day, Santa Clause gives you presents" then continues: ...every time this Jesus do something, somebody else gives you presents."
In the same day, we were working in the backyard of our church with a group of teenagers to build a Christ out of clay on a wooden cross. We were planning to use it as a visual prop on the Resurrection Night we organize every year at the church. While we were working there, an senior member of our church, which happened to be there, asked us, trying to make a joke: When do you crucify Him? Good question! I went back home with his question in mind. I realized that we already did it. More than that, we spit Him in the face with our attitudes and deeds, we nail Him on the cross to keep it there when we don't need Him around, we stick the false crown on His head, when we actually don't recognize Him as King, or try to relieve His pains by offering Him wine vinegar to sedate our own conscience...
What is He offering instead? Presents. The most real and the biggest gift ever. Starting from this reality, we prepared the Resurrection Night for our young people in the church. More than 200 showed up to commemorate and rejoice in the same time the biggest event in the history. A day that changed the eternity. The dedication moment at the end was an invitation to put our finger in His wounds in the way Thomas did. This time it was not a matter of faith, but a dedication, in a symbolic way. We used the Christ we made out of clay to put our fingerprints on it whispering: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
You can see more pictures from the collective sculpture and the celebration .
