Happy Easter

Saturday, March 30, 2024

It's a low-key day without social media. W and I meditate on the long Sabbath endured by the disciples of Jesus, between Good Friday, when Jesus was executed, and Easter Sunday when he was raised from the dead. It's an impossible story, even after 2000 years.

But you could have asked any eyewitness at the time the gospels were written: "Did this happen?" and they would have confirmed it. On the other hand, the political and religious leaders wouldn't have raised such opposition if hadn't been so revolutionary and earth-shattering. The tomb of Jesus remains empty and the resurrection changes everything.

We split a box of kids' blocks and each create a little something. Our personalities show even in simple things. Guess which is whose!

We lay down a maroon rug that I'm rehoming. The colors make me feel like I'm in a lollipop shop.

PakG takes the stage bouquet (last week's palm fronds crammed with yellow flowers from the garden) and a dozen table arrangements to the hall. I spend the evening cooking 3 sauces (curry, spaghetti, and black pepper); air-frying 200 sausages; and boiling, marinading, and baking 260 meatballs. Not a lot of people have signed up to bring food but every potluck seems to work out in the end. [Yes it does, as usual.]

I spray on Deet insect repellent as I always do. While I am cooking, I get 14 bites on one ankle and 10 on the other. My wrists are bitten, too. Not even the minyak gosok (a smelly anti-bite oil) soothes the itching.

Sunday, HAPPY EASTER! 

I get up at 5:00 to cook 3 kg of spaghetti and heat the other dishes. W wraps the food in blankets and hauls it to the hall to keep it warm.

"He is risen," we proclaim at IES Bandung.

"He is risen indeed," we respond to each other. Titik has assembled 2 floral sculptures for the hall. Her husband Chandra has made a stand for the flower pot so the arch doesn't hit the floor. Clever man.

The table centerpieces are casual.

To last week's leftover bouquet, I add the spare roses after the table arrangements are done.

The hall is ready. This day is the highlight of the year for followers of Jesus, when we celebrate his death and resurrection. You can read eyewitness accounts from scripture here: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

We enjoy time together, discussing 2 questions at our tables: 1) what value does the sacrifice of Jesus have for us? and, 2) What are you looking forward to after death, when we experience the eternal life he won for us?

The answers are interesting and personal. We have no fear of death because the chasm of sin and failure that separates humans and God was bridged at the cross of Jesus. There is no long purgatory or post-death torture for those who accept God's solution. Our salvation is assured, though "we work it out with fear and trembling," says the apostle Paul (Philippians 2:12).

Three women, Laurel and Sayaka (below) plus Alice work hard to make the Easter Potluck a success. It's a feast of tastes - Western and Indonesian. Afterwards, lots of people stay to clean up. The food is dispersed and the pots are emptied.

We are delighted to meet Ruth's family: she was part of the IES team before marrying and moving to Jakarta. We're happy that she found a sister community the family loves to attend: #IESWest.

I choose one bouquet for our living room and rehome the others. W and I head for bed: after unpacking and a morning of speaking, we are exhausted. 

We were looking forward to attending the wedding of a friend's daughter in the afternoon but it's a "no-go."This flu would be a lousy gift for bride, groom, and their families. I'm disappointed when we have to stay home. We send treats for the family with other friends.

Monday

We cough our way through one loop on the morning walk. These bright weeds bloom along the street. Typically, someone has dumped their garbage. Without regular garbage pickup in some neighborhoods, people just throw it out in other's areas.

Along the Porch, the guava tree has fruit again.

While W and I check in with our moms (yay for FaceTime), PakG gets mangosteens from a tree at the back of the yard. We knock the fruit off when it's green before the critters get them. He finds almost 20 that are already purple. We plunge them in hot water and cold, washing away swarms of busy black ants.

I butter and bake small yellow potatoes for lunch, along with lentils and yogurt. Yum. Our helper volunteers at a posyandu (neighborhood clinic for pre-schoolers and moms) the first Monday morning of the month. It's nice to cook what we're hungry for instead of planning the schedule for the day at 6:00 a.m.

The Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix is 1 1/2 years after its expiry. A sniff (no, the oil hasn't spoiled) and a mix, and they're baked and delicious. I munch a few with a cup of tea on the Porch, while W eats his with his feet up in his office.

And how many more "resting" days can we bear? The e-newsletters are sent on schedule, the class reading is underway. I'm most of the way through an insightful book: Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I'm generally uninterested in American history but Goodwin presents an exceptional look at 4 leader who shaped governance: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Those guys would be horrified by the politics of today.

Wait, she's won a Pulitzer? No wonder her writing is so well-researched and easy to read. (My complete review here.)

I write a few reviews before turning to next Sunday's talk. It's my turn to write it.

Read more:

*Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. Genesis 35:15

*Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Matthew 27:54

*At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:33-39

*For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16

Moravian Prayer: O crucified Lord, as we gaze upon the cross this day, may we not be too tempted to see it as a place of defeat, but as the place in human history where God’s love and power triumphed. May we add our voices to the confession of faith of the centurion, “Truly this man was God’s son.” Amen.