Easter Traditions

 

"Crucifixion and Resurrection"

 

O Lord, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried.  The sepulcher calls forth my adoring wonder, for it is empty and thou art risen; the four-fold gospel attest it, the living witnesses prove it, my heart's experience knows it.

 

 

Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life, for I wish to be as dead and buried to sin, to selfishness, to the world; that I might not hear the voice of the charmer, and might be delivered from his lusts.  O Lord, there is much ill about me -- crucify it, much flesh within me -- mortify it. 

 

 

Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation, the shame of being through old-fashioned, the desire to be cultivated or modern.  Let me reckon my old life dead because of crucifixion, and never feed it as a living thing. 

 

 

Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour, to be content to be rejected, to be willing to take up unpopular truths, and to hold fast despised teachings until death.  Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.  Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will. 

 

 

Strengthen me for the battles ahead.  Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.  Help me to be a holy, happy person, free from every wrong desire, from everything contrary to thy mind. 

 

 

Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:  may it rule me, may I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence. 

~ from "The Valley of Vision"

What a joy this weekend to be able to pause and remember Christ's gift to us as we shared family traditions like dying Easter eggs and making resurrection cookies and attending the sunrise service at the US War Memorial.

 

 

Once again, when our flesh and blood family was far across the Pacific Ocean, our SITAG family stepped in to fill in the gaps and to celebrate alongside us.