The "Easter According To LDub: Part I" Story

Preface:  Today seems rather surreal, since most in the United States, and perhaps the world, who are Christians, are not supposed to go to church on one of the holiest Christian days of the year due to the COVID-19.  During my lifetime I have never experienced this and pray that it will never happen again. 

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the literature that has arrived from St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where Carol and I are members.  Years ago we purchased plots in the historic graveyard that abuts the church.  Many historical people are buried there and one day, along with my Mother and Father, Carol and I will remain.  The online literature that came today tells about the Easter services that will take place on Easter Sunday.  A small story told of giving thanks for Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Christ.  Thought I would read a bit more about him and share it with you this Easter Sunday.  So...the following may shed a bit more light on what actually happened to Jesus after he had been taken down from the cross.  Read on...

Joseph of Arimathea was a biblical figure who played an important role in the burial of Jesus Christ.  The account can be found in each of the four Gospels.  He is called "Joseph of Arimathea" since he came from the Judean town of Arimathea.  This helps distinguish him from the many other Josephs in the Bible.  In Luke we can see that he was actually a part of the Council of Sanhedrin, which was the group of Jewish religious leaders who called for Jesus' crucifixion.  However, if you read more in Luke you will see that Joseph was opposed to the Council's decision and was in fact a secret follower of Jesus.  Joseph was a wealthy man, although it is not known where he may have obtained his wealth.  He is also known in Luke as a "good and upright man."  After Jesus' death on the cross, Joseph, at great risk to himself and his reputation, went to the Roman governor Pilate to request Jesus' body.  Nicodemus, the Pharisee who had visited Jesus at night to ask questions about God's Kingdom, accompanied Joseph.  Both men were granted custody of Jesus' body, and they immediately began to prepare for his burial.  They wrapped his body in strips of linen and mixed in myrrh and aloe.  Being that it was the Day of Preparation, the sixth day of the week, just before the Jewish Sabbath, they hurriedly placed Jesus in Joseph's own tomb, located in a garden near the place of Jesus' crucifixion.  What they didn't know was by placing Jesus in Joseph's tomb, it fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy spoken hundreds of years before Jesus' death. ("He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth."). This is one of many prophecies that have confirmed Jesus' identity as the Messiah and Son of God.  The day after Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus, the chief priest and Pharisees went to Pilate to request that the stone Joseph had placed in front of the tomb be sealed, and a guard posted, for three days.  They were worried that Jesus might do something, since he had said He would rise after three days.  They also claimed that Jesus' disciples might attempt to steal the body in order to fabricate a resurrection.  Didn't matter anyway for on the third day he rose from the dead just as he had predicted.  Due to all of these circumstances, Joseph has been part of many stories and legends.  Some have said that Joseph of Arimathea was the uncle of Jesus' mother, Mary.  However, the Bible makes no such connection, so the claim is unsubstantiated.  Another story says that Joseph supposedly made many trips to Britain for trade and is said to have eventually brought the gospel to that country.  Once again, there is nothing in the Bible about what Joseph did after Jesus' burial.  What we do know from the Scriptures is that Joseph of Arimathea was rich and part of the Sanhedrin, and he procured Jesus's body and laid it in his own tomb from which Jesus rose again in power three days later.  Amen.  

St. James years ago when I sang in the boys choir.

As a child who sang in the choir at St. James Episcopal, I loved the Easter services.  Mom, Dad, brother Steve and I would arise early on Easter morning, dress in our finest Easter clothes, grab a small bite to eat and head to the 7:00 am Easter Sunrise service.  Dad and I would sing in the choir and after the service would head to the Parish House for breakfast which my mother and other ladies who had children or husbands in the choir had prepared.  Great meal!  We would then visit with my Nannan on North Pine Street in center city Lancaster to search for Easter baskets and then home once more for a few more Easter baskets. Then back to church for the 11:00 am service where we sang once again and my brother Steve and mom would have a chance to participate.  At 4:00 pm we would return once again for the service where the woman and girls choirs would join the mens and boys choirs where all children would be given a flower which was allegedly from Joseph's Lovely Garden.  After being given a flower, everyone would sing "In Joseph's Lovely Garden."  Now, that was really neat with everyone holding their flower high above their head. (A few did drop and make an awful mess, but it was still fun. You would take care of your flower until the next Easter and bring it back once again to be judged as to the biggest, brightest, and oldest.  If you were the winner in one of those categories, you would be given a beautiful Lily.  I'm not sure if I ever won a Lily, but the memories of Easter's past still fill my mind.  Easter has changed over the years at St. James and there are no longer flowers given out to everyone, but they will never be able to take those memories from me!  Happy Easter to all!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.