Happy Easter...... and Hope. April 3rd. 2026

   I was raised by a practical religious man in a kinda normal house.  My dad was a veteran of the second world war.  He fought in France, Belgium, and Holland and was wounded twice.  Sometime during those days of constant fear and action, he promised God that if he was spared he would be a good Christian and raise a good christian family.  My Dad was a promise keeper.  While I am proud of his involvement with our church,  I have come to realize I am more proud of the life he led outside the church.  He put every effort into walking the walk.   And in reality,  that is what Christianity should be all about.  

   I was a pretty steady church goer while raising my children.  There was shift work and what not that made for easy excuses not to attend Mass on Sundays.   My better half, however,  was much much better at regular attendance.  Our children all attended Catholic school until it wasn't offered in high school.  

  As time went on, questions started to well up inside me.  I found the old and new testaments very contrary.   For instance, "An eye for an eye"  is a long way from turning the other cheek.  And I gotta say the whole burnt offering, pillar of salt, trumpeting the walls of Jericho down, and instructions for slaves to obey their masters doesn't really stand the test of time compared to treating others the way you want to be treated by them.    Using both testaments makes it pretty easy to rationalize some of our less than desirable behaviours.  

   Then there is the whole burning for eternity, lake of fire, Hell thing.   As I mature, it is hard to reconcile exactly how the most evil tortures can be associated to a God of Love.  And the amount of time spent on telling us to "believe or else" just doesn't seem to send gospel sent with his messenger.  

  Over and over again we are told that God has given us free will.  That doesn't really fit with Christianity and government.  Making laws in an attempt to force that free will on all of us is a pretty obvious contradiction.    Up until now I was just trying to explain my confusion and outright irritation with the modern abuses of what has always been my faith.  Judge me if you will.  Distrust me if you must.  But know that I believe in, if nothing else, the Christian ethic.  I do believe that Jesus is the example of the perfect person.  One perfect person in an imperfect world.  And look what happened to him.  

   In my whole life, I have found this day,   Good Friday, a kinda tough day.  Don't mind telling you the whole "Good" thing doesn't really fit for me.   Not sure if the disciples, or the Mary's would think it very "good".   But I have to say that although I have pretty much stepped back from organized religion for a whole host of very valid reasons, that I still feel something remorseful on this day.  

   In order for the Whole Easter thing to work, I think there has to be a belief in the humanity of Jesus.  If Jesus was a heavenly body who didn't feel pain, or fear, or temptation, or love, or hunger, or heat, or cold, then this story would be no more remarkable than Game of Thrones.  Lessons come from the strangest places.   The first time I really thought about the humanity side of Jesus was as a teen ager when the Rock Opera Jesus Christ Superstar was released.  It portrayed Jesus as a man who overcame all the crap someone like me was living,  the urges and temptations and need to be loved and popular, to be  greedy , to deliver an example to us all.   

   "God's work"  is hard work.  Well, except for judging.  Judging is the one piece of God's work he has kept for himself.  Yet judgement comes so much easier than feeding the poor,  loving thy neighbour, or not casting the first stone.    And that all boils down to the perfect thing.   I spent a good deal of my life noticing the weakness of others  in order to justify my own.  It is not an ideal characteristic, but it isn't a rare one either.  

   Easter Sunday is the day that defines Christianity.  It represents the day Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.  What should define Christianity are the things you do every day.  Putting your change in a beggars hat.  Buying a street person lunch.  Giving to establishments that serve our weakest, poorest, most lost.   I am pretty sure the poor and sick Jesus helped weren't just a bunch of good dudes who fell on hard times.  There was wine back then.  There was crime and vices and abuses and oppression that exposed those too weak to thrive or withstand life's cruelty.  

    The whole bunny thing?  I just don't know.  Never really researched it.  I do get a fair amount of joy watching my children and now their children hunt for eggs.  And perhaps it is about the hope that spring gives us all.  Easter and hope.   Not a bad combo.   And the need for a little hope these days?  Tell me about it.