I'm so grieved and shocked at the annual tradition here in the Philippines during Holy Week. Thousands of Filipinos celebrate Easter every year, with some penitents following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ even up to the point of being nailed to a cross. They do it to atone for their sin, but what they do not understand is that Jesus Christ already paid for their sin ONCE FOR ALL when He defeated sin and death and rose from the grave.
Following are some pictures and info from the BBC to give you a better idea what this tradition is like. Please pray that more will choose to celebrate Easter instead and put their faith in Jesus for salvation.
Real nails are used for the crucifixions though the devotees generally stay on the cross for minutes, not days.
Hooded flagellants mimic the crucifixion before whipping themselves with chains to absolve them of their sins.
A flagellant aims to share the pain of Jesus as he is beaten by a man with glass fragments embedded in a piece of wood. Being the hot, dry, summer season, the tropical heat of the sun relects the sweat and blood as they beat their backs to a bloody pulp with bamboo "cat-of-nine tails" whips. These whips are made from bamboo. They make barely visible slices across each other's backs with homemade glass disks made from coke bottles imbedded in wooden mallots.
3 comments:
Wow, that is really moving and disturbing at the same time. Those people are so willing to sacrifice, yet the sacrificial lamb has already died and risen for us. Yet, many times, we ourselves feel not good enough or put our trust in other things. When all we need to do is look toward Jesus -- He is the beginning and the end, the King, the Bread of Life! He is truly ALL WE NEED!
Happy Easter! Love, Jess & Tim
Happy Easter to you too, Jess and Tim! N & J
Oh, how sad. Yet interesting how they are more like the ascetic hermits of early Christianity than we are - missing the point of the Gospel but so desiring forgiveness of sin that they punish their bodies severely. May God give them the light of the Gospel and may we view our sin as seriously.
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