A long, long time ago, on the first day of Passover, three men were crucified. The life and words of one of those men changed the world. He was a Jew. The night before he died, following the tradition of his people, he celebrated Passover with his friends, his disciples. At that Seder, some of the words he used, in a ritual tied to tradition, but not necessarily tied to it strictly to the letter, became the basis of a new ritual, the Eucharist celebrated by Christians around the world.
Passover is a ritual of spring, of being spared by death, of exodus, of being freed and saved, which is therefore also a rebirth. Jesus was a Jew and saw himself as a Jew. He spoke to his fellow Jews, but as he also made abundantly clear, he spoke to all people, not just the Jews. Easter, the celebration where Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is a celebration of rebirth. Spring is the earth’s celebration of rebirth. New bunnies hop around the hill behind my bedroom window. The Easter Bunny will soon be scattering brightly colored eggs for small children to seek out and find. Bunnies and eggs are also powerful symbols of birth and rebirth.
There is a reason we celebrate the transition from winter into spring, from slavery to freedom, from darkness to light, from death to rebirth. Part of my family is celebrating Passover. Easter falls in the midst of Passover this year, and some of us are focused on the rituals and celebration of Easter. Still others will be content to contemplate bunnies and eggs painted bright colors, perhaps chocolate eggs as well. These traditions may intermingle and overlap. We are all one family and as such we can embrace and accept each other’s traditions.
It seems sad that far too often we humans focus on our differences rather than our similarities. Good Friday, and the events it commemorates, is a reminder of how we let our differences divide and separate us. It is a reminder that we all suffer at times from isolation and pain. But it is also a prelude to rebirth. Perhaps in this season of spring, of rebirth, of awakening, we can all share a moment of joy. There is room for all. We are all one family.
