Memorial service of Jesus

 When someone dies a memorial service is normally held in honour of the deceased. It usually takes place at the time when the body is disposed of. This is a custom throughout the world. I am not aware of a culture in which the death of a member is simply ignored.

The word "closure" is often used when referring to a memorial. People also talk of "last respects". I suppose the idea is that one cannot communicate with the dead person anymore and must make peace with that. Maybe that is why the song The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics is so popular. They urge us to say kind things to our loved ones "in the living years".

As a rule a memorial service is only done once. Some people do go to the grave of a loved one on the anniversary of his/her death. But this is ordinarily a very private affair and not something celebrated. I don't know of famous people of whom the day of their death is commemorated; that is anyone other than Jesus. I don't think the anniversary of the death of Confucius, Buddha or Mohammed is observed. In our day the birthday of Martin Luther King was made into a public holiday, not the day on which he was assassinated.

But every year on Good Friday the death of Jesus Christ is celebrated. It is called a good day because millions of people have found meaning through his death. This kind of behaviour by intelligent people would be highly unlikely if they did not believe he was alive. For us there is no closure with respect to Jesus. We remember him until he comes again. Not only once a year but every time we celebrate the eucharist, take communion, break bread or what ever your tradition calls the memorial of the last supper.

Easter is a tradition which predates Good Friday and even Passover. It is a celebration of new life as represented by easter eggs. Before Christianity took the world by storm Easter went together with disgusting fertility rites and idolatry as symbolised by bunnies. It coincided with springtime in the Northern Hemisphere when new life was making its appearance in plants and animals. The Church thought it good to "highjack" this day and put it to good use, remembering the resurrection of Jesus. Let us thank God for governments which still observe public holidays over Easter. It is the most important period on the Christian calendar.