Semana Santa

Apr 13, 2009 02:35




Making sure Jesus is dead, originally uploaded by blmurch.
Semana Santa is coming to a close in Buenos Aires. I hope you are having a good Easter and/or Passover.

I'm not a very religious person, but I like to observe what people believe in and have faith in and study it, but I don't follow "the word of God". I was brought up in the Anglican Church - baptized as an infant and confirmed when I was twelve. I like to think that there is a higher power, but have trouble with organized religion and cannot see the Bible as anything more than a collection of historical myths and allegories. I understand the need for a higher power, and for an external authority to help guide the morals of one's tribe. However, I feel like I am a good person without the help of someone saying I'm going to hell for x or y. I do try to live by the Golden Rule, but that's because I think it is a good way to lives one's life. One of my own personal allegories I often tell people is that I have a picture in my mind of the different faiths. I see Muhammad, Christ, Moses, Buddha and other prophets all as individual passengers in a small boat headed downriver through dangerous waters. They all have their own ideas, own personalities, but ultimately, they all have the same goal of being a good person, living in faith and treating each other with kindness and love. To me, the journey is the important part, not the characters and foibles of the individuals along the path.

That was quiet the tangent. I really wanted to talk about what I did on Saturday. I had seen adverts for Tierra Santa and the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross. I had seen the Big Picture's photo essay for holy week and was inspired to go take photographs of the re-enactment. (Whole set up on flickr!) I glad it was just a re-enactment. I think I would have had a hard time watching real whippings and real nails being pounded into hands and feet as they do in the Philippines. The show at Tierra Santa was quite good, but still just a show.

Most, but not all the stations of the cross were represented and a woman told the story alongside the actors portraying their respective roles. There was Jesus, of course, Judas, the Rabbis - Sanhedrin and others, Pontius Pilate, Roman Soldiers, Peter, townsfolk, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalen and other followers. Jesus was kissed and betrayed by Jesus Judas (oops), judged by Sanhedrin, denied by Peter, judged by Pontius Pilate, whipped by the Romans and given his crown of thorns, bore the cross to the "hill", crucified, shouted out to God, died, and the Marys weeped over his body. People were transfixed by this show, followed Christ through the street of "Jerusalem" and raised their hands in faith at the end.



Candlelight Mass, originally uploaded by blmurch.

After sunset, people migrated back to the central plaza for a candlelight mass. This was beautiful and calming and very wonderful to watch. People were generous with each other and the children cried and fussed as their parents hushed them. The priest and his assistant walked through the crowd, sprinkling holy water over the believers. At the end of the service, Christ rose from the mountaintop, as he does every hour throughout the day in Tierra Santa (except on Saturday when he only rose once) and fireworks burst in the sky behind him. The whole experience was quiet surreal for me as an outside observer. People took this very seriously and believed in what was going on as the gospel's truth. They watched the torturing and suffering of Christ. I saw people crying and taking comfort in his dying for their sins.



Fireworks over Resurrected Christ, originally uploaded by blmurch.

I just realized something I should have known *a long time ago*. The last supper is the passover seder dinner. I honestly didn't know that. It occurred to me this year that Passover and Easter are always near each other and I wondered why. At the show, they talked about the last supper and how they ate unleavened bread and it finally clicked. For some reason, when I was learning my Christian history, both in bible study and also in Art History, the fact that the last supper is seder isn't really talked about. The whole "king of the jews" and the fact that he was Jewish is kind of downplayed to increase the importance of Christianity and try to divorce the two religions. Also, it wasn't until University that I learned that the Torah was the Old Testament. Sometimes, I'm just slow... but eventually, the lightbulb does turn on.

Hope you had a good weekend whatever you religion you observe or don't. Happy Monday!

religion, buenos aires trip, easter, semana santa

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