Anti-tradional bias

If I declared, "I don't kiss my wife, because that is just tradition, and it isn't in the Bible. I don't have to do it." One hearing those words would have to pity my poor wife. It would show a real misunderstanding of a normal expression of love within marriage.

Real love would move a person to want to be with their partner. Real love would be demonstrated by spending quality time together, words of affirmation, touch, acts of service, and gifts. Think about the soldiers or businessmen that travel and are separated from their families. They ache inside to be with the ones they love. They carry little pictures with them, precious little mementos that helps them feel connected, somehow. All of this is quite normal in human relationships. No security guard at the airport, looking through personal property picks up family pictures or a lock of hair and asks, "Why do you have this?!" We all understand the importance of connecting with our loved ones.

So, why is it so different for some people when we approach our love affair with God? Today is Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday. It is known in the Church calendar as Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the latin word, mandatum, meaning a command. We celebrate Easter and the risen Christ, but four days before that was the Thursday that Jesus gave the commandment to "love one another." It was on that night that he celebrated that Last Supper. It was during the Last Supper that Jesus told his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me."It was on that night that he went to the garden and asked his followers to stay up with him and watch and pray. It was on that night that he was betrayed and arrested. All that brings more meaning to Good Friday, and Good Friday brings more celebration for Easter.

My research into Church history indicates the Church has "remembered" the events preceding the crucifixion since apostolic times. Remembrance for the Jewish believers was not just a cognitive process, but an experiential one, too. The Passover feast is a good comparison.
During the Passover meal, a child asks the question, "what makes this night different than every other?" The parent answers, "because we were slaves in Egypt, but are slaves no more."
The Passover is a re-enactment of the first event. The participants enter experientially into that first event, though thousands of years have passed in real time.

I have been blessed over the years by remembering Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Great Sabbath Saturday, and Easter. Remembering each day, focuses my soul on our Lord's great love for me and His world.

I was sharing this with a friend and he said, "That is just tradition. That isn't in the Bible, so I don't have to do it." I was stunned. Actually, I think a case can be made that we should do it as a fulfillment of our Lord's direction to "do this in remembrance of me."
I don't do this to earn God's love or earn points with God. It seems a natural expression of love for my God who did so much to reconcile me to Himself.

I suppose a value of anti-tradition is the legacy of the Puritans. With such abuses of tradition as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and the wickedness that makes up that celebration, I can understand the Puritan attitude against vain tradition. But throwing out all tradition is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. What a pity, when traditions can be a blessing.