Easter, Passover 2023

Along with the first daffodils nodding in the breezes and the bright bursts of forsythia glowing against the gray landscape, have come the movable feasts of the two great western religions, Easter and Passover.

One commemorates resurrection and renewal; the other celebrates the principle of forging ahead into freedom through the powers of community, faith and justice. These concepts are so deep within most of us that we can’t give words to them, but they are present in our appreciation of the changing seasonal light and trees in bud.

Hebrew scholars have identified three things, among others, that keep civilization progressing — truth, justice and peace, with the latter seeming to take the top spot in affording us the possibility of becoming better. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, asked us to remember that “blessed are the peacemakers.”

This spring, no matter our religion, or if we have none, we should take comfort in what we hold dear, whom we love, and hope for peace in our community, in our country, in Ukraine, and within ourselves.