Today is the first day of Easter. Easter is a 50-day season. Today is also the last day of Passover. Passover is a seven-day observance. Today is the beginning of one, the end of the other. A rare convergence for two “movable feasts.”
(Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. April 4 this year. Passover always begins on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. March 27 this year.)
Both holidays commemorate deliverance.
Passover celebrates the deliverance of the Hebrew people from bondage in Egypt. Easter celebrates the deliverance of Jesus from death, a crucifixion by the Roman Empire.
Both celebrations claim a historical, factual origin.
Moses parted the Red Sea. The Israelites crossed over safely. Pharaoh’s pursuing army drowned.
Jesus was buried. A massive stone covered the mouth of his tomb. Three days later he arose, fully alive, nail marks on his hands and feet.
Many people believe that’s exactly what happened—in both cases.
I don’t.
I can’t.
I believe in natural law. Seas don’t part with a wave of a hand. Dead bodies don’t rise up.
And yet they do.
My head doesn’t get it. But my heart does.
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t you mourn. Pharaoh’s army got drowned. O Mary don’t you weep.
Emmet Till is dead.
George Floyd is dead.
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t you mourn.
Breonna Taylor is dead.
Soon Chung Park is dead.
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t you mourn.
Martin Luther King is dead.
Gandhi is dead.
Anne Frank is dead.
Michael Collins is dead
John Brown is dead.
Sarah Good is dead.
Joan of Arc is dead.
Jesus is dead.
Moses is dead.
Hate, bigotry, and fear are not.
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t you mourn. Pharaoh’s army got drowned. O Mary don’t you weep.
I don’t believe in miracles. I believe in hope.
I believe you can take a sad song and make it better.
I believe you can take a tragedy and weave a tapestry.
I believe you can take a fallen tree and make a table.
I believe you can take a broken nation and mend it.
O Mary don’t you weep, don’t you mourn. Pharaoh’s army got drowned. O Mary don’t you weep.
I believe in hope.
I believe in good work.
And music that revives the dead.
![](https://thedevilsgift.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Mary-Dont-You-Weep-m4a-image.jpg)
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See Paula’s photo “Lenten Rose” on the home page. Posted March 21
I believe, for I have seen the miracles large & small…after hate & greed score, a kind hand reaches out; a gentle word is spoken; a song is sung that strikes the perfect chord of hope & unity once again!. Like Spring-fresh & new – again.
Some call it Faith. Some call it Hope. Some call it Love.Ever changing, yet constant…like the moon that both Holy Days are counted from. I count on them… I believe because I remember….and am reminded…thank you. Blessings. A&A💕
Thanks! A rousing way to start a beautiful Easter morning!
Today is the first day of Easter. Today is also the 53rd anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis. Two months before his death, he spoke in Washington, DC and said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Years later his words resonate across the world and inspire people to rise up and work for peace and justice. Hope, the yearning of the heart, is a song that never stops.
Thank you
Thanks. I also have a problem with the literal story. I think of Jesus’ resurrection as the rising of the Christ (Universal Spirit) within us. I thought this was a new interpretation, but have found it was only new to me. I’m studying Julian of Norwich, who says, “I saw a great oneing between Christ and us because when he was in pain we were in pain….The spiritual thirst of Christ is a love-longing that lasts and always will until we are all together whole in him…” i think she isn’t speaking directly about resurrection here, but the love that results from our understanding of his sacrifice.
I do so enjoy the music you occasionally include in your narrative. Having four children over a period of sixteen years, I progressed from my own era of Rock n Roll to the Dave Matthews Band. Now we have Lady Gaga. What a miracle in itself. And The Boss seems eternal! Happy Easter.
Thank you. I believe that, in the moment, people are imbued by Angels- Spirit, and Demons- Spirit. Spirit is another way to define the life in a being; always changing but always the same; and we are sometimes visited by another. The Spirit of these deceased remain as we each carry a small part of it.