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Good
Friday and Easter Sunday
April 14, 17, 2006
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The above Festivals
are the most important in the Christian calendar.
On Good Friday millions of Christians throughout the
world will gather to reflect on the Crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. On Easter Sunday they
will gather to celebrate His Resurrection
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Jesus Christ lived in a World of Laws. The
Jewish people lived under the ancient laws of their tribe,
and there were many of them, many of which still exist today
in the area of food and religious ceremony.
They also had to live under the Laws of Rome,
the Occupying Power with its Legions to enforce them and
collect the taxes.
Jesus Christ had in many ways mocked the
ancient laws administered by the Sanhedrin and the High
Priests. He declared just two laws to be followed. In the
first He said " I am the Lord Thy God” in effect
announcing that he was the Boss and nobody else made laws.
In the Second He said" Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself" and went on to say this was not just the
nice guy across the street but that miserable devil whose
cars roared up and down the street at all hours. It is understandable
that the leaders of the Jewish communities, the wealthy
and probably on good terms with the Romans, had a great
antipathy to these teachings as they threatened their authority
and their future standing in the community.
The Romans also had serious doubts about
this man whose oratory and statement of simple facts challenged
their authority. They were much in the same position as
in our lifetime we have seen the British in India struggling
with the teachings of Ghandi, Batista with the rebel Castro
and Israel with Hezbollah. The last thing they wanted was
this Messiah, who the Jews considered another Moses come
to rid them of their bondage, to cause a significant revolt
which would engender an expensive military campaign to eradicate.
Both sides, with a lot of power, wanted
to be rid of Jesus
Jesus was in essence a pacifist. He would
not join in with the Zealots who promoted physical violence
much in the manner of the Ayatollah of Iran. Even as He
hung dying on the Cross he said "Forgive them"
a reiteration of his " Love one another"
His Resurrection on Easter Sunday is seen
to be a promise to the World that His Spirit will continue
in the hearts and minds of the people.
It seems a pity that so very few Christian
powers have followed His teachings, from the Crusaders of
old to the modern war lords.
These comments are the personal reflections
of an old man as he revues national behaviours and changes
during his lifetime.
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