“…For God so loved the world He, Himself, came down to earth from heaven, in the form of man with flesh and blood, and accepted in Himself the penalty for man’s sinfulness, so that any sinner who will accept Him, receive Him, believe and have faith in Him as God and Savior and as God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will not perish but will have eternal life, and will be given the right to become children of God…” –John 3:16

For the last several years, this column has consistently provided reminders on traditions and practices in observing Holy Week, the seven-day period considered to be the most holy of occasions as it commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus. For 2019, I wish to reiterate that many continues to practice useless and irreverent traditions during Holy Week, which only descends them further into sinfulness. This column’s objective is to provide information for believers to reflect upon.

Here is an excerpt of what I wrote in 2016:

“As Philippine Christians prepare to commemorate the Holy Week, I hope they would focus more on the Word of God, the Bible, rather than on vacations, traditions, and useless religious ceremonies, in keeping with the plan of God to save sinners from the eternal penalty of sinfulness through His coming to earth in human form and enduring physical mutilation and death on the cross.

Even now, many of those who profess to believe in God are leaving out God in their preparations for the Holy Week, choosing instead to plan for bunny egg hunts, beaches, food trips, high tech entertainment, movies, and a host of other activities which have nothing to do with Jesus as God and Savior, or at least remembering His great love that took away from those who believe in Him the penalty of being burned and then eaten by worms forever.

And then, even those who consider immersing themselves in annual religious activities that aim to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus on the cross are plunging into those activities purely out of traditions and practices that are in fact abominable and greatly detestable to God, and not out of understanding of what God really aimed for or intended to do.

So, my question is, why is there a ‘Holy Week?’ It is to remind everyone that God so loved the world that He Himself came down from heaven in human likeness and form to accept in Himself the penalty for the sins of man, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.

Believers have to be reminded that because of their sinfulness, inborn and acquired, there is no way for them to escape the penalty of eternal hell of fire and worms. As the Word of God says, all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. And because all have sinned, the dark future of being eaten by worms and burned in hell forever awaits us.

It is for this reason that man must be constantly reminded of what God did for them. Indeed, it is for this reason that Christians must commemorate Holy Week, or the week in which Jesus, our God and Savior, saved mankind from death in eternal fire and worms. At the very least, what every sinner—or what every man—should strive to do during Holy Week is to be acquainted with God by furiously reading His Bible.

Can man be fully acquainted with God and His great love for all of us by splurging on the beach, going on fancy vacations, indulging on physical entertainment, or even by religious practices? We all know the answer to this. Nevertheless, for those who have been touched by the Spirit, the way to commemorate Holy Week is by staying in our homes, studying the Bible, and praying to God!”

There will be more of this, God willing!

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