Events at Easter this year have got my mind thinking.
This may be entertaining for me and perhaps disenchanting for you, but at least it stops me writing about the government coalition and it’s very
busy wrecking ball. National, Act, and New Zealand First appear bent on eliminating every trace of any initiative shown by Labour over the past two terms, leaving a trail of rejected policies and unemployed civil servants in their wake.
The Easter reminiscing was caused by the discovery that so few people I encountered seemed to be aware of the full meaning of the celebrations. This is disturbing in a country which claims affiliation to the Christian faith which puts such emphasis on the life and death of Jesus Christ. For those who don’t know, Christians believe Easter marks the anniversary of the crucifixion, death, and return to life of Jesus as the son of God, and Christmas, the other major anniversary in the Christian calendar marks his birth.
The crosses on the hot buns served on Good Friday are a reminder of the crucifixion, and the Easter treats which seem to occur at any time during the festival are a remainder of previous pagan activities to mark the arrival of the northern hemisphere spring.
I can understand the preference for sexy new birth rituals, but mourn a little, the lack of understanding of a faith that has well served the western world for more than 2000 years and has laid down guidelines for life that are about as reasonable as any other recommendations for sensible community laws.
I would have thought that the population of such a religion would be delighted to take part in the most important celebration of their church year. On the contrary, so many seem to throw themselves into a chocolate eating frenzy with all the abandonment of total heretics, completely ignoring the fact that this was the anniversary of the days of this spiritual saviour.
Hot Cross buns, baked to mark the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, has been ignored in favour of Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies made to commemorate a much earlier pagan festival. Of course the whole thing has been jumped on by the commercial world who see major profits from marketing the popular aspects of both Easter and Christmas with its gift giving orgies. I suppose it’s logical in an increasingly secular world where science, natural curiosity, and cynicism now abound.
What is sad is the loss of the ethical and spiritual guidance that Christianity encourages. There can be no better guides to a good life than the so-called ten commandments and while there have been many sins in the name of religion, the work of the inquisition stands out as an example, however, there has also been a lot of benefit to human communities.
In the end, our life and how we lead our lives is down to us as individuals. There are plenty of devastating examples around us to remind just how nasty things can get when we move away from love and tender support, caring for our families and neighbours and just as many of how pleasant things can be when we look after each other. Just recall what great leadership and a positive response to the call to be kind to each other showed New Zealanders during the Covid pandemic.
Perhaps this is where such religious festivals do some good. They provide time in our busy lives to pause and think about what sort of a world we want to live in and what we can do to achieve the goals we decide on those looking for a little extra assistance in their contemplation could perhaps, look to the world’s best-selling book, the Bible. This amazing anthology of writings by more authors than we might think of, contains enough thought provoking ideas to keep scholars and readers going until the end of time period. What is, perhaps, most interesting is there is no defined instruction in its texts. Advice stimulates thought and encourages debate but it leaves us, as individuals to make up own minds about the meaning of its many messages.
We are still, sadly, left to make up our own mind about the meaning of life and just why we’re here in this mixed world of delight and sorrow.