The week before Easter in Pampanga province in the Philippines, volunteers are crucified. Each remains on the cross for only a few minutes. The list of volunteers is so long that one must wait at least two years for a turn. The Catholic Archbishop said on national television. "Those who participate have their sins for the past year forgiven."

According to news reports, the International Journal of Epidemiology just published an article that maintains bored people die sooner than people who are excited about life. Britton and Shipley of the University of London did a study of more than 7,500 people. Those who reported that they were bored were 2.5 times more likely to die of a heart problem than those who were not bored.

The mimosa pudice plant is sometime called the sensitive plant. Found in Central and South America, it folds up its leaves in response to heat, wind or human touch. Some human beings are like that.

In The Odyssey, there is a scene that takes place near the end of the story. Odysseus returns home after many years of wandering. He is in disguise as an old man. At first nobody recognizes him, not even his wife and child. One night before bed, Odysseus' aged nurse bathes him. At first, she thinks he is just a stranger; but while bathing him, she recognizes a scar on his leg.

Recently, The Cincinnati Enquirer told the story of a man who donated 80 gallons of blood. He is the record holder for the local blood bank. According to the report, if 60 people gave every drop of blood in their bodies, it would not equal what he has given. His name is Paul Michaels, age 78. It would be notable if we could show that kind of commitment to the cause of Christ. He set the example. He gave His lifeblood for us.

Journalist Robert MacNeil once wrote, "I associate different emotions with traveling toward the different points of the compass. Going east is going back to where we all came from, toward the dawn; to the west is escape, adventure, the pull of the sunset. Going south brings an anticipation of languor, of being enfolded in limpid air. When I head north, my blood quickens-it takes a special people to live where nature makes it so hard."

When Julius Caesar came to Alexandria, he was show the coffin of Alexander the Great. He then was asked if he would like to see Ptolemy's coffin. He said, "I came to see a king, not a corpse." When we come to church, we come to see a King, not a corpse!

There is much to be learned from reading epitaphs. There is a wonderful epitaph on the grave of a Patience Holmes. It is so popular that it has been used on many other gravestones in New England. Patience died in 1845, age 24, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The epitaph says:

Years ago when Bishop Brown of the Episcopal Church came to speak in Virginia's historic St. Luke's Church, Isle of Wight County, he said, "It has been said that Bishop Brown wants to be buried in St. Luke's graveyard. That's nonsense. I'm here to tell you that Bishop Brown doesn't want to be buried anywhere."

Is it possible that what begins as a memorial can become a presence? Imagine if you stood before the Washington Monument and suddenly the father of our country was at your side. When we come around the Lord's Table, we come to a memorial of the dying Christ and find ourselves suddenly confronted with the living Christ.