A Tale of Two Marches

While in La Paz over this last weekend to attend the annual Easter Junta of our church I was impressed by a contrast between two events that happened that weekend. The first event was the Good Friday Procession that takes place each year in La Paz. This procession was sorter than in other years (the current president does not march in the procession nor does the military as was the custom in years past) but still left me with the same sad impression. Every year images of Jesus are paraded through the streets on the shoulders of the faithful. He is portrated as suffering,

dying

and dead.

the last image being Jesus in a coffin. Dead. Not able to hear or help his people. Dead. Not easily approached. Dead. The only sign of real hope in the procession came at the very end as the image of the Virgin Mary was also carried. Before she passed by by flower petals were handed out to everyone in the crowd who wanted them to be able to shower her with them as she passed by as a sign of devotion and hope. How sad, considering that the last words of Mary that we have recorded are that we should do whatever Jesus said. But he is dead. Good Friday. Holy Friday, Dead Savior.

The other event was the Sunday morning march of our own Bolivian brothers and sisters. They too, each year, have a march.

There are  floats,

bands

and lots of people marching. But this one is not a solemn procession carrying images of a dead Jesus, powerless to save. It is rather a march of celebration and proclamation afirming that our Lord is indeed risen, his sufferings behind him forever, never to be renewed. Jesus. Alive. Savior. Lord. God.