Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are all happening this month. How are you celebrating Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday, as I prefer to call it?
For many years in Georgia, this is the time of year when lots of people in my church, as well as my family and I attended an annual passion play, a huge production comprising live orchestra music and hundreds of stage actors, choir, and crew. The stage play took place in the weeks before Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, and tickets were almost always sold out in the twenty-some years it was in production.
The passion play told the story of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for humankind at the cross. One of the major scenes in the passion play is when Jesus Christ rode on a colt into Jerusalem. People lined up on both sides of the road, waving palm branches as the Son of God entered the city.
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12: 12-15
Whenever I watched the scene in stage, I felt a sense of inevitability. After Palm Sunday, Jesus was going to the cross.
I remember the bittersweet scene. On the one hand, Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly. On the other hand, He was entering the last part of His mission on earth.
Goodbye was coming, or was it?
Not goodbye!
Having watched the play so many times, and having read the Bible more times that that, I knew that when Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t the end of it all. Thing is, back then, they didn’t know that. They couldn’t see the future. We, on the other hand, have the entire Bible.
Praise the Lord that the cross wasn’t a permanent goodbye either.
One of the gut-wrenching scenes (to me) in the passion play was the crucifixion. The hammering of nails echoed throughout the auditorium as three men were nailed to the cross: Jesus Christ and two thieves, one of whom would be with the Lord in paradise that day. People were crying all around the crosses, including Mary, the early mother of Jesus. Roman soldiers looked on at the tragic scene.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for the penalty of our sins.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Was that another goodbye?
Not goodbye!
Three days after Jesus was crucified for our sins, He rose again from the grave! And that alone is worth the price of pain, right? Because we serve a risen Lord! Our Lord and Savior is alive today and forever.
…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:9-13
I think about Jesus Christ all year round when I write my books. I remind myself that no matter how much work I put into the writing of my books, it all comes to naught if I forget about Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
I talk about God a lot in my books, and I hope that my readers appreciate that. In an ocean of books, I’m happy to be one of the many Christians who shine the light of Christ into a dark world.
How are you shining the Light into the darkness in your corner of the world?
Speaking of goodbyes not being goodbyes, this is my last post for InspyRomance. I’m not retiring yet, but this blog site is.
I won’t say goodbye to you even though InspyRomance is closing shop in a just a few weeks. It has been six years since Valerie Comer invited me to blog here. I’m amazed that all those months have flown by just like that.
Let’s meet again! I’m not as active on social media as I am in my newsletters. If you have enjoyed reading my books, the best way to keep in touch with me is via my mailing list: JanThompson.com/newsletter
So, no goodbyes. Until we meet again, I wish you God’s best and His many blessings for you and your family!
Serving a Risen Lord,
Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
I’m Eastern Orthodox Christian so Easter for me isn’t until the 5th of May this year :( usually we’re a week or so behind y’all, not sure what happened this time around :’)
Back when more of my family members were alive, they’d all come to our place and we’d do egg battles to find the strongest egg (my grandpa always won, after he died I became the reigning champion), share a meal together, exchange some little gifts & eggs, and just spend time together. Oh, and there’d be obligatory family pictures taken too :)
Now it’s really just me, my mum and my aunt from my closest family, so we tend to go to her place and celebrate Easter there.
I’d love to see that play, it sounds so emotional, I don’t think I’d be able to stop crying.
As for how I’m shining a light in my corner of the world, I’m just trying to be kind and polite to people, even when they don’t deserve it. Or if there’s a beggar I will give them some money if I have it on me. Just recently, I had this kindness come back to me, I gave what little money I had to a beggar, and then found a coin the next day worth even more than what I’d given :)
I also pray for my family, friends, strangers, animals, plants, the whole world really. I like to think it helps a little.
Blessings to your Milica! Since in many cultures, the egg represents the trinity (shell, yolk, and albumen), our family also does the Easter egg tradition. Egg tapping or knocking started with my Great Uncle Otto, who was born near Kyiv, Ukraine, who always won. My 3 sons love this Easter tradition and have past this tradition on to their children. Wikipedia gives the complete history of egg tapping. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_tapping
Best wishes.
Blessings this Saturday, Jan and Inspy Readers.
Your blog title caught my attention. Very thought provoking blog, especially since for Carolyn Miller’s Around the World in 50 (Minus 1) Books Reading Challenge, the group is discussing the book Sandi Robert’s book Redemption’s Promise with a Biblical Easter Setting. A devotional book I like to read during this Holy Week is Jesus’ Final Week by Cindy Bunch. As a pastor’s wife, I did a series of Sunday School lessons with this book.
How are you shining the Light into the darkness in your corner of the world? By being kind to others. Presently we are in a major house remodel. My house is in disarray. Everyday I feed the workers lunch and have snacks and drinks. When eating out, we usually leave more than a 20% tip and have a pleasant word with the wait staff. Open doors in shops with a pleasant good morning and a smile while shopping.
Goodbye- not goodbye.
Blessings to you too, Renate :) That’s so cool, I love that your sons are passing on the tradition! I’ll definitely do the same with my future kids :) I think the egg tapping is more prevalent in Eastern & Southeastern Europe, since nobody I met from other parts of the world did it if they weren’t already from here, but the Wiki article says a few other places do it too. It’s such a great tradition.
I hope you have an amazing weekend ❤️
Loved this blog!! I soooooooooo miss the Passion Plays my church used to do!! This year, for Easter, we just received our Certificate of Occupancy for our new building, so we’ll be celebrating Easter in our new building! It’s over a year late, but what a great time to have our first service in our new building!! I already get your newsletter, so I’m staking you, too! lol!!
Thanks for sharing today. TRIUMPHANT is what my mom used to always say about Easter. We celebrate with family getting together. Will miss both mom and dad this year. But they are in our hearts forever. And friends and I get together all of April for celebrating what He has done in our lives.
Thank you so much for blogging all these years! I love this blog. And Easter is a very Beautiful and very Inspirational Holiday. God is Good all of the time. I subscribed to your email. Have a Very Blessed Easter . Thank you for writing books that glorify our Lord.
That passion play sounds wonderful. I have never been to one, but it is something I would love to do someday.
We will be going to Church on Easter Sunday, I am teaching Sunday school that day so hopefully that will go OK, it’s such a great thing to be able to celebrate the joy of Jesus’s resurrection with the kids. Later we will do an egg hunt for our kids, two of them don’t like chocolate so I hide some little gifts instead.
I’m signed up to your newsletter Jan so looking forward to carrying on hearing from you, thank you for all your great blogs here at InspyRomance.
Yeah, Easter is early this year, but then again it’s at the end of March.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time with your grandpa and family at Easter.
We go to church, eat lunch, and that’s the end of our Easter Sunday celebration.
Yes, the passion play that I saw for years was a huge production involving hundreds of people, mostly amateur actors from among the church congregation. There was live orchestra music and live performances, including live animals, etc. It’s a very touching play.
That is wonderful that you are showing kindness all around you. God is good, and may His light shine through you. The world might be dark, but Jesus is the Light of the world!
Good reminder to pray for family and friends and the world around us.
Thank you for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Egg tapping is new to me but it does sound like an interesting tradition.
Thank you for your wonderful comment!
Oh that’s interesting about Carol Miller’s reading challenge. I haven’t written any novel that centers on Easter Sunday yet. However, it’s on my future bucket list.
Glad you’re reading a devotional this Holy Week. I’m reading my Bible throughout as well!
That is so kind of you to feed the works lunch and also provide snacks and drinks. When people came to help us move from GA to FL a couple of years ago, we also provided lunches and water. No snacks though bc they were all gone HAHA.
I hope you get your house renovated soon, but sounds like it’s going to be a good remodel. Have fun!
Good suggestions on how show Christ’s love to others in the community and society.
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the blog.
Congratulations on your church’s new building. Have a wonderful Easter Sunday service!
Hope your church will revive its passion play soon. My old church that did the passion play for over 25 years made a huge commitment year round. There had to be places to store props and costumes, actors to screen and audition, and they all began working on they lines months and months in advance. It also used a full live orchestra for the songs on stage, so that was a treat.
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Good word re: Triumphant!
I’m sorry your mom and dad aren’t here anymore but they’re celebrating Easter in heaven with Jesus. What a glorious thing that they can spend eternity with the Resurrected Christ!
That’s nice that your friends gather in April to commemorate Jesus. IIRC Easter is usually in April, isn’t it? Just when the flowers bloom for spring.
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Hello Alicia! Thank you very much for your comment. Yes, I agree that Easter is a lovely time. The significance of the season always makes me thankful and forever grateful for Jesus and His salvation.
Yes, we serve a Risen Lord indeed!
Thank you for subscribing to my mailing list. I usually tell a personal story or share my personal thoughts, so I hope you enjoy my newsletters.
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Ruthie – Yes, I enjoyed the passion play but they ended it after 25+ years. It was like a local Broadway play, except Christian themed. It had a full orchestra, live singing, scenes from the Bible (including when Jesus turned over tables at the temple), etc. Very well done. The church members acted very well and were impressive.
Another big scene, which I didn’t mention in the blog post, was the ascension of Jesus to the live singing of Handel’s Messiah, with a robust Hallelujah Chorus.
Some day Jesus will return! Hallelujah!
I agree about church on Easter Sunday. That’s the one thing I love to do the most on Easter: go to church. Hope you’ll have a wonderful SS class time also with the kids. Our church in FL is doing easter egg hunt on Good Friday, so they won’t be doing easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday.
Thank you so much for signing up for my newsletter. Glad you enjoyed my blog posts at IR. I’m going to miss it come April. #cry But in my newsletter, I continue to tell my personal stories. See you then!
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow!
Thank you, Jann. I enjoy your newsletter so it is not goodbye. Happy Palm Sunday and Holy Week. God bless you. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful blog.
I’m late our town did a drama of the Book of John. It was last night and another performance this afternoon. I didn’t go as I don’t cope well at night and 1 and a half hours I would struggle with all the stimulation (for migraine pain, it’s always higher at church or places where I can’t control the volume or glare).
I think I am on your emailing list but I’m not sure. I am resigning (I figure you know when there is a double up). I am on FB but the way they have now changed the notifications I am not seeing what I really want and for twitter I tweet blogposts but rarely do anything else and still not sure about instagram. Its been really good getting to know you hear and at FB. Will look out for you in your newsletter
I am Orthodox Christian too, so Easter will be on the 5th of May this year.
We have also plenty of traditions.
The Sunday of Palms, in Romania named “The Sunday of Flowers”, is considered the name’s day of all people having names of flowers. As there are many English girls named Rose, Daisy, Violet, Lily, Laura (because the laurel is also a plant), here are also lots of girls named Florentina, Margareta, Laura, Violeta, Narcisa, Camelia, etc. and boys named Florin or Viorel.
On this morning, people go to church and return with green willow branches, which were blessed by the priest. People put these branches at the main door and in the house. At country, they keep these branches until Easter.
On Good Thursday women paint eggs for Easter and make cakes (sweet buns). In Romania eggs are painted in various colours, because, besides the red signifying Jesus’ blood, they are also considered a symbol of spring, with its coloured flowers. At country, in some regions, eggs are not only painted, but there are different drawings done on them, in many colours (mainly geometrical shapes, specific for each region), with the help of wax, curly leaves (like parsley and dill, for example), feathers and other procedures. The popular superstitions say that the people who go to church and attend all this evening’s mass, praying faithfully, will have their wish granted.
On Good Friday in the afternoon, people go to church, where there is a table with a cross on it, adorned with many flowers and candles. People leave there their flowers, and they have to pass under the table for three times, having a lighted candle in their hand, because it symbolises the tomb where Jesus lay for three days.
In the evening, people go round the church for three times, in a small procession, and afterwards they are allowed to take home the blessed flowers that were on the cross, and they keep these flowers at the icons.
On Saturday night, people meet at 10 – 11 o’clock in order to go to church. Generally, the young people go in groups. At midnight, the bells ring, all the people sing, together with the priest, “Christ revived!”, and afterwards the priest invites them to take light – that means to light up the candles. The tradition requires that everybody keep their candles lighted till arriving home.
At home, the table is laid, with meals of lamb, and the first thing people have to do is to take a painted egg and to clink it with another’s, saying (the one who breaks the egg): “Christ revived!”, and the one whose egg is broken, answers: “Truly he revived!”
Unfortunately, we’re not having a Passion Play this year. Bummer, I know. The only actor our community had who looked enough like Jesus to play Him has declined the role this year. Everyone will just have to watch something on tv, I guess, if we’re going to see it. *Sigh*
Debra – Thank you so much for your kind words.
Glad you enjoy my newsletters. See you there.
Yes, have a blessed Palm Sunday and Holy Week!
Thank you for your comment. That sounds fun to see a reenactment of John. Interesting!
I agree about the potential noise and sound level. Some churches, we have to sit way back in the last row because the sound system was way too loud up front.
Thank you for re-signing up. That’s a good to confirm that you’re already on my mailing list. See you in the next newsletter.
Have a wonderful Palm Sunday and Holy Week!
Thank you, Marina, for the overview on the Holy Week celebration in your country. Interesting tradition!
Yes, Christ is risen! Praise the Lord!
I hope you will have a wonderful blessed Holy Week.
Thanks again for your comment!
Over the years, multiple actors have played the roles of Jesus in the passion play that we watched. Some stayed “in character” for months, so they did get carried away. Most of the people went back to their real lives once they got off the stage. It’s not easy to play a biblical character IMHO. I was never in the play because I’m just not talented enough in that arena. I prefer to just write my books quietly. :-)
If they had recorded previous passion plays, I hope you can replay that. The passion play I mentioned in my blog was recorded a few times and somewhere in my storage I probably have a VHS if it from their early days 25 years ago. They stopped producing it shortly before the pandemic shut down everything, and they never revived it.
Thanks again for your comment.
Have a wonderful Holy Week and an incredible Resurrection Sunday!
I’m trying to find someone who has a recording of it.
Hi Jenny, if you see this, how I tracked the IR blog was by saving a bookmark in a folder of daily bookmarks, that way every night I was able to I could see the new posts. I do the same with particular facebook pages as I too rarely see what I am interested in since fb changed the algorithm for notifications. I find instagram problematic and many friends find they are often unable to comment or innocent comments are removed as spam and this doesn’t happen in fb. Hope this helps. Have a blessed Easter.
I am late in responding due to illness so I don’t know if you will see this. From your generosity with the IR birthday celebration prizes I will be reading one of your books for the first time and I am very excited about that.
For Easter other than in my heart it is not much different to every other day as I am housebound and unable to attend most Easter celebrations. Your topic is so appropriate for both Easter and the IR blog closing and now that I have processed the shock and dismay at what has been a ray of sunshine in my life each day, I know that the Lord will open up new avenues for us all to be together, so it is a celebration that Christ is risen anew and so will our interactions become anew. Have a blessed Easter. See you around.