I had to stop halfway through. I will come back to finish this brilliant and important piece but I just wanted to say once again how much power your words have. Thank you for continuing to put them out there although I know it must be exhausting. You have been in my thoughts constantly. ❤️
Thank you so much for writing this--I'm not sure I can fully imagine how difficult it must have been to wrestle with rage and still produce something so profound and moving.
Those of us who think about Easter at all tend to skip over the murder part and go straight to the more palatable redemption. But I'm never going to look at my silver cross necklace quite the same way again. (Not sure I'll wear it again, either.)
Thankyou for summing up how I have felt about Easter since I could think about it. I like the idea of Jesus but the hypocrisy of organised faith is really not what Jesus came for.
Madam, in my country, Spain, a Catholic country, we all get golden chains and crosses for our Communion. I have never worn mine in public, since I respect it too much. Your words are brave and just. Wishing you the best
Sending you love as you & your family navigate a sudden, tragic loss. (Also: your line about Easter being about a middle-aged mom seeing her son brought up before the courts -- powerful!)
Thank you for sharing! I did not see it last yr & I'm so glad you shared it with me now. I left a comment over there -- suffice it, here, to say that you moved me and that I will forever think about you & Mary on Good Friday and during Holy Week, moving forward.
This is what you do that no one else does — you take your own broken-open heart and use it to crack the rest of us open too. And somehow you do it with a sharpness and wit that makes the truth land harder than any sermon ever could. The clarity you bring to something this dark, this personal, is a gift. The soul tax is real. I see it, and I hate that you're forced to pay it. And also — thank you.
Gosh, I just got the biggest boost and goosebumps from your response. All I can say is thank you so much for being here to witness— and for being so kind to me.
I’m in complete agreement Black Sheep Mom. I’ve written about the mythology of Easter before, but just from the POV of history and all the “saviors” who predated Jesus and the way their myths were included and incorporated. Hence the bunnies and eggs. But your experience skewers Christian hypocrisy better than anything I’ve ever written. Heartbreaking.
What I can't quite figure out is that 68% were in favor of the death penalty for women in 2002. Maybe I am slow on the uptake or something. It has long been proven that the death penalty has never acted as a deterrent.
Thank you for your opinion. I have no idea how hard it would be to have your son in jail. Chocolate crosses are marketing gone gaga. I feel for you. I agree with you too. You are right. It was women who stood beneath the cross as Jesus died. Not the Apostles, not men, the women he was always closest to. Oh, and they have proven that Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute. It was just another lie spread by the Church to keep women 'pure'.
I'm an Australian. New Zealand and us haven't had the death penalty for a very long time. I tend to give a wide berth to those crazy people I hear yammering now and then that they should bring it back.
I appreciate your sharing. I agree, wearing a cross is like wearing a miniature electric chair. God did not order the local government to hang the Son. Atonement theology is incorrect.
So, what is there to be rageful about if sin just needs more compassion? Is there no compassion for the sinners who throw folks in prison and implement the death penalty? You are just throwing the stones back.I agree with you, wearing crosses and practicing Easter ARE NOT Christian. He died on Passover and rose again, on First fruits. He died with mine, yours and your son's sins strapped to his back, but he got up, without them. He made it possible to find redemption, to become something new. I think the system is TERRIBLE. What do you do with horribly damaged people who horribly damaged others? Turn a blind eye? What about the victims? Where is the rage for them? Chocolate torture stakes are just the flip side of asking for Barrabas. If anyone has any compassion, any love, any sense of justice, they will justify and protect the innocent. Jesus was innocent yet he died a cruel death. God's justice made Him alive. Loving your neighbor as yourself means at times rendering mercy and at times rendering justice. Only in Jesus do mercy and justice kids- don't blame the innocent for what the guilty do. Jesus never asked for chocolate and jellybeans on a pagan holiday. His compassion pays for the sin while holding the sinner accountable. It is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement. That is a court date no one will miss. He is a judge that no one will shuck and jive. His sentence, for those that will not repent, is just. It is worse than the death penalty. Because to flip the finger at the innocent judge who died to pay your debt of sin and guilt is a crime that deserves punishment.
I had to stop halfway through. I will come back to finish this brilliant and important piece but I just wanted to say once again how much power your words have. Thank you for continuing to put them out there although I know it must be exhausting. You have been in my thoughts constantly. ❤️
Thank you, friend. 🖤
🖤We need restorative justice for the low hanging fruit, our kids.
Yes, and if we're technical, we could write a volume on what Jesus said about children. 🖤
Your writing just gets better. Very compelling. Rage on the page. Thank you.
I shall continue on then. Thank you for this encouragement. 🖤
Thank you so much for writing this--I'm not sure I can fully imagine how difficult it must have been to wrestle with rage and still produce something so profound and moving.
Those of us who think about Easter at all tend to skip over the murder part and go straight to the more palatable redemption. But I'm never going to look at my silver cross necklace quite the same way again. (Not sure I'll wear it again, either.)
Wrestling with rage, that's such a great way to put how I feel. Thank you for seeing us and for sharing your heart.
Thankyou for summing up how I have felt about Easter since I could think about it. I like the idea of Jesus but the hypocrisy of organised faith is really not what Jesus came for.
Sending you love in your darkest times.
Jesus was awesome. We'd be a lot better in this world if we actually followed his teachings. 🖤
Madam, in my country, Spain, a Catholic country, we all get golden chains and crosses for our Communion. I have never worn mine in public, since I respect it too much. Your words are brave and just. Wishing you the best
Sending you love as you & your family navigate a sudden, tragic loss. (Also: your line about Easter being about a middle-aged mom seeing her son brought up before the courts -- powerful!)
Thank you, Jennifer. Here's the piece that I wrote last year about that (not sure if you saw it)
https://www.blacksheepmom.com/p/black-sheep-friday
Thank you for sharing! I did not see it last yr & I'm so glad you shared it with me now. I left a comment over there -- suffice it, here, to say that you moved me and that I will forever think about you & Mary on Good Friday and during Holy Week, moving forward.
All I can say is wow. You have significant thoughts to consider.
Thank you for reading, Jim, and for sharing. 🖤
This is what you do that no one else does — you take your own broken-open heart and use it to crack the rest of us open too. And somehow you do it with a sharpness and wit that makes the truth land harder than any sermon ever could. The clarity you bring to something this dark, this personal, is a gift. The soul tax is real. I see it, and I hate that you're forced to pay it. And also — thank you.
Gosh, I just got the biggest boost and goosebumps from your response. All I can say is thank you so much for being here to witness— and for being so kind to me.
wow. thank you for articulating the thoughts that many of us have, myself included. I like the way you think!
Thank you for reading, and for commenting here. It's so nice to know we can share in our pondering and not be run out of town. 🖤
So powerful. Thanks for sharing this hard-won wisdom. You’ll have me thinking, as I see people in crosses.
Thank you for being here, Mary.
I’m in complete agreement Black Sheep Mom. I’ve written about the mythology of Easter before, but just from the POV of history and all the “saviors” who predated Jesus and the way their myths were included and incorporated. Hence the bunnies and eggs. But your experience skewers Christian hypocrisy better than anything I’ve ever written. Heartbreaking.
Amazing post.
What I can't quite figure out is that 68% were in favor of the death penalty for women in 2002. Maybe I am slow on the uptake or something. It has long been proven that the death penalty has never acted as a deterrent.
Thank you for your opinion. I have no idea how hard it would be to have your son in jail. Chocolate crosses are marketing gone gaga. I feel for you. I agree with you too. You are right. It was women who stood beneath the cross as Jesus died. Not the Apostles, not men, the women he was always closest to. Oh, and they have proven that Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute. It was just another lie spread by the Church to keep women 'pure'.
I'm an Australian. New Zealand and us haven't had the death penalty for a very long time. I tend to give a wide berth to those crazy people I hear yammering now and then that they should bring it back.
"What are the Chances" sent me here. So glad she did.
I'm grateful for you both! Thanks for following the rabbit trail, and for reading. 🖤
Quite an essay. Congratulations on writing it.
Thanks, David.
You are welcome!
I appreciate your sharing. I agree, wearing a cross is like wearing a miniature electric chair. God did not order the local government to hang the Son. Atonement theology is incorrect.
🖤🖤🖤
So, what is there to be rageful about if sin just needs more compassion? Is there no compassion for the sinners who throw folks in prison and implement the death penalty? You are just throwing the stones back.I agree with you, wearing crosses and practicing Easter ARE NOT Christian. He died on Passover and rose again, on First fruits. He died with mine, yours and your son's sins strapped to his back, but he got up, without them. He made it possible to find redemption, to become something new. I think the system is TERRIBLE. What do you do with horribly damaged people who horribly damaged others? Turn a blind eye? What about the victims? Where is the rage for them? Chocolate torture stakes are just the flip side of asking for Barrabas. If anyone has any compassion, any love, any sense of justice, they will justify and protect the innocent. Jesus was innocent yet he died a cruel death. God's justice made Him alive. Loving your neighbor as yourself means at times rendering mercy and at times rendering justice. Only in Jesus do mercy and justice kids- don't blame the innocent for what the guilty do. Jesus never asked for chocolate and jellybeans on a pagan holiday. His compassion pays for the sin while holding the sinner accountable. It is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement. That is a court date no one will miss. He is a judge that no one will shuck and jive. His sentence, for those that will not repent, is just. It is worse than the death penalty. Because to flip the finger at the innocent judge who died to pay your debt of sin and guilt is a crime that deserves punishment.