Today is Easter. A notable Christian holiday. The important Christian holiday. I will hear a lot of “Hallelujah” and “blessings” today – both digitally on Facebook and from live people.
I don’t talk a lot about my faith. It is highly personal to me. I also have studied history – and I love church history. But it also breaks my heart.
The Church (when I capitalize like this, I mean the “organized, hierarchical groups” – NOT the church which is the “body of Christ”) has done a lot of harm over the centuries. That harm is still being committed today. People don’t like to think they are doing wrong, but that is exactly what we are supposed to do.
I am fortunate that I am able to attend a Seder every year. The Haggadah is the story of the Exodus and a reminder to the Hebrew heritage (and Jewish faith) that they suffered in Egypt. This reminder is also a call (at least at the Seder I get to attend) to remember the orphans, remember the hungry & oppressed in every form.
It is powerful to me that this could be some of the language which Jesus himself used at his last Passover. I’ve been told that christian communion is an “abbreviated” Passover – but I think churches that never follow-up with a full-length Passover lose something in the translation. Like any abridgment, the nuances of the message get lost. And over time they have been forgotten.
How can we say we offer “each other” blessings in the faith of Christianity if we only bless those whom it’s easy to like and love? How can we offer blessings only to those who are already blessed with heath, wealth, & freedom?
Today especially, I feel a call to cast a blessing on those seeking refuge in my country – my safe and beautiful country. As the children were brought out of Europe in the 1930s, how could I do less for the children of Syria? I have called my US representatives before on this matter, but I think I will begin doing so more – keep up the conversation because I believe, that I can wish blessings on those who just look like me – I must seek blessings for those who need it the most.
Dream by Day 