Easter

Easter

This Sunday, Christians around the world celebrate Easter. But, Easter is more than just a Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, Easter symbolizes both rebirth and renewal. We urge people of all religions to join Christians on Sunday in a celebration of faith and a renewal of spirit. Regardless of your religious beliefs, Easter is the perfect time to rekindle your spirituality.

The world is becoming increasingly cynical, blindly material and increasingly faithless. We have murderers, “religious fundamentalists” – quasi-religious leaders who seek not to spread the word of God; but to use religion to gain power, exert control, and achieve dubious notoriety. Those who follow these false leaders are trained to kill in the name of God. These followers then become the puppets of bogus prophets and self-proclaimed, but fake “men of God”. Their followers are taught that glory comes not from doing righteous things, but from the killing of innocents; whose measure of success is the number of innocent people slaughtered. They are attempting to forge a vast, global empire of darkness that creeps like an endless night across the face of our world. Their goal is clear: To extinguish the light of truth and the hope and promise of faith.

All of us, Christians, Jews and Muslims, should designate this Easter Sunday as a day to celebrate our faiths and rejuvenate our own spirituality. A single candle can push back the edges of the darkest night. Too many times we hide our spiritual light and allow the darkness in the world to prevail. None of us should ever be ashamed of our beliefs or our faith. Whatever your religion, let the Light of your faith be a beacon to all around you.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus brought His Light to the world. That light still beckons us: a call to faith, love and hope. Regardless of your religion, His teachings of love, charity, forbearance, compassion, and forgiveness, are just as meaningful and important today as they were two thousand years ago. His message was clear and spoken softly. His words, whispered in the wind, took the whole world by storm. The world was forever changed by His words and His deeds. Mighty empires crumbled in the light of His Truth and great things were accomplished by faith.

The prophet Isaiah said:

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah, Chapter 53)

This Easter Sunday, take time to celebrate your own faith, whatever it may be. Use this special day to rejuvenate your spirit. By the renewal of faith we can push back the dark, ominous curtain of evil. When you shine the Light of Truth on evil, it will wither and dies. Evil cannot exist in the Light of Truth.

Use the Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus to rekindle your own faith, whatever it may be. Light a candle in the darkness and let the Light of your faith change the world.

Two thousand years ago, one Man lit a candle in the darkness and brought Light into the world. And the glow from that Candle changed the world forever.

Celebrate your faith this Easter.