Reflections at Easter

Easter is the celebration of the most significant Christian mystery -- the resurrection of Jesus, and consequently this is deemed to be the most sacred holiday in the Christian calendar. It's difficult to recognise now, of course; we are swamped with chocolate, eggs, bunnies (and if you're environmentally conscious in Oz, bilbies) and very long holiday weekends. Just like Christmas, when we're swamped with millions of things wrapped up with string and somewhere in all the hype and the jolly fat man in the Coca Cola red suit is a brief mention of the birth of Jesus.

Ah well, the Christians stole the holidays from the pagans and put the Christian messages into the existing feast days. Easter was the celebration of the coming of Spring and Christmas dovetailed nicely with the Roman Saturnalia feasts. So turn about's fair play? But this misses the main point perhaps.

Somewhere in all of this, I think the essential message has been lost, which is the basis of all the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and that is the sense of fairness, justice and kindness to oneself and to one's neighbours.

Somehow in all the commercial dross and political point scoring from all the above religious persuasions, this message has been lost and we are the poorer for it.

We are all Samaritans to each other -- reviled by some as we try to make our way in the world. We have all suffered injustice and prejudice and lack of kindness by others; I suppose that at least makes us able to share our sorrows.

Perhaps we can learn from these commonly experienced woes, and as humans have over the past millenia, pick ourselves up and try to live the messages that the Old Testament prophets, Jesus and Mohammad gave to their people.

May the rule of hospitality govern our actions.

PB White