MAY THE DIVINE BLESSINGS OF EASTER BE SHOWERED UPON US ALL!

Mar 24, 2024 Consumer Concerns, News

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 CONSUMER CONCERNS

 PAT  DIAL

Kaieteur News – Among many Guyanese, especially children, Easter is regarded as Easter Monday.  Easter is in fact the Sunday before the Monday for it is on Sunday that the Resurrection of Lord Jesus from the dead occurs, the event which gives the Christian religion its existence and validity.  Easter therefore commemorates the Resurrection of Lord Jesus and this strong belief in the Truth and actuality of the mystery and divinity of that event prevailed over the centuries until the 19th century when various new sciences such as anthropology, sociology, history, archaeology and others emerged and began to be applied to events and beliefs of the past.

When some of these new sciences were applied to Easter, they came to several strange conclusions such as Easter was derived from a fertility Cult, manifesting death and rebirth;  that Easter was a Teutonic religious cult with its eggs and rabbits and the name “Easter” being “Eoster”, a Teutonic goddess, and so on.  These conclusions which attempted to show that Easter was a pagan cult are however deflated by hard facts.  For example, the Resurrection is only named Easter in the Teutonic languages while in the Latin languages such as French and Spanish, it is called Pascal, a name which is related to the Jewish “Pesach” or Passover.  We could therefore confidently dismiss all suggestions that Easter is a pagan cult.

In addition to the proven historical milieu of Roman Palestine and the emergence of Christianity, the authenticity of the Faith and its core event, the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus, is given strengthened validity when its basic theological assumptions and ethical teachings are seen to be congruent with those of older non-Abrahamic Faiths such as Hinduism and Buddhism.  For instance, in Christian teaching, God takes the form of a Human Being-Jesus-while in Hinduism god has done so throughout history whenever human life and conduct have so deteriorated as to necessitate the intercession of the divine in the world.  When god takes Human form, it is known as an “Outar” and Lord Krishna, an Outar, actually reiterates this propensity of god in the Bhagwad Gita. To Hindus, therefore, Lord Jesus is an Outar. The characterization of God as a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit does not negate the Oneness of God and Hinduism also has a similar Trinity which likewise does not negate the Oneness of God.  Or in Ethics; Jesus rejected the “eye-for-an- eye” for “turning the other cheek” ethic and this is seen when, dying on the cross, he asks God to forgive his murderers and tormentors rather than to punish them. This is similar to the Hindu teaching of compassion for all living beings, even animals.  The belief that Jesus was the Son of God, had conquered death and that his life and teachings are divine is now known and accepted universally.

Easter, the triumphal arising of Jesus from the dead, cannot be fully understood without its linkage to Holy Week.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday when Jesus, riding a donkey, makes a triumphal entry into Jerusalem where he is greeted with crowds waving palm fronds and proclaiming him ‘King of the Jews’. On Tuesday, Jesus visits the Temple and drives out the money changers and business groups, reestablishing it as a place of God.   The priestly class, the Sadducees and Pharisees, felt that Jesus was a revolutionary who was bent on upsetting Society and so planned his death. On Wednesday, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples, is suborned to betray him.

On Holy Thursday, Jesus knew he was going to die the next day.  He washes the feet of his disciples, has his last or farewell meal with them and then goes to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.  As he completed his prayer and during the hours of darkness, he was arrested and taken to the Priests who tried him and sentenced him to death.  Death sentences could however only be carried out by the Roman courts so he had to be sent there. In the morning of Friday, Good Friday, he was taken to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, for trial.  Pilate found him not guilty of any crime and was about to free him when he realized that the Priesthood was about to stir up widespread disorder and Pilate was forced to condemn him to death. He was then taken over by the Priesthood, made to carry the heavy cross on which he was to be crucified  and as he kept falling down under its weight , he was whipped. All the time he was mocked and a crown of thorns placed on his head with the words “Jesus Nazarethi, rex Judaicum” – Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.  He was then crucified and as he was about to expire, he prayed God to forgive his murderers and tormentors with the words “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”.  His family was permitted to take down his body and place it in the tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea.  The body was prepared for proper burial on Saturday which was a time of anxious waiting for the believers. On Sunday, when his family went back to the tomb, they found the heavy stone covering it had been removed and the tomb was empty.

Jesus was seen walking about and he visited his disciples when Thomas insisted on touching his wounds to ascertain it was indeed Jesus. Other people saw him and knew he had conquered Death.  The Christian Religion was now justified and established.

In Guyana, Easter is celebrated on Sunday and Monday.  On Sunday, there are church services by various Churches with the Catholics and Anglicans being the most elaborate and colourful with the joyous message of “He is risen” resonating contrasting with the sad and sorrowful Good Friday services where the Stations of the Cross are enacted.  Easter Monday, a secular holiday, is a time of public rejoicing. There is ubiquitous kite-flying and picnicking, cake baking, family lunches and dinners,  exchange of gifts and Easter greetings and Easter music on the airwaves and there is widespread feeling of the freshness of a new day offering peace and creativity to all Mankind.  Adherents of all the various religious Faiths in Guyana vigorously participate in this celebratory aspect of Easter and many may have even attended the Good Friday and Easter Sunday Church services.

 

 

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• Bhagwad Gita, Easter" being "Eoster", especially children, Guyanese, Jesus Nazarethi, rex Judaicum

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