By VERNA BROCK
I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and Passover. It has been a really busy month or so, but taking moments to reflect on life’s deeper questions is helpful. Part of preparing for Easter includes taking time to contemplate Christ’s journey to the cross.
The age-old observation of Ash Wednesday and Lent helps us focus on sacrifice and mortality. We are called to remember the meaning of Christ’s life and death, and our chance to be redeemed from death and sin. Maundy Thursday recalls Passover and the Last Supper, when Jesus foretold his coming passion. Good Friday helps the faithful focus on Jesus’ suffering, death and coming resurrection. Easter Sunday is the centuries old celebration of renewal and salvation.
Christians around the world join together to rejoice in the promise of grace, eternal life, and the risen Lord. After 40 days of contemplation, Christians can proclaim the mysteries of faith with genuine joy every year, as they have done for millennia.
Our Jewish brethren continue to celebrate the great holy days of Passover, proclaiming God’s power to bring them out of slavery in Egypt. Exodus is one of the most riveting origin stories of any nation on Earth. All the symbolism and ancient traditions that venerate the journey of a chosen people continue to be practiced around the world.
These very same traditions permeate Christian faith and appear in the Biblical account of Christ’s life and death. Two faiths, inextricably joined by history and belief, celebrate God’s power and love. God’s message of grace is a source of hope, now and forever.
This Easter, I awoke to the news of a tragic death on Sunday. Tallahassee Police Department Officer Cody Terranova was killed in a boating accident over the weekend. It is always difficult to hear of the loss of a public servant, and it is especially hard when they grew up with your children.
Cody graduated with my daughter and was an interesting young man even then. Please keep his family in your prayers during this very sad time.