Christians, Jews and Muslims celebrate highlights of their faith today. I am filled with Easter joy | Opinion

As many of my dear readers know, I love this time of the year. I love celebrating Holy Week, and the story of how the Lord Jesus was willing to give his life as a living sacrifice for our sins.

I love the joy of Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Day, as many Christians like to call it, and the hope that it brings. For it was on a morning like this, more than 2,000 years ago when, after a long and dreary weekend, the light of God came shining through. Jesus, who had been crucified, was dead and buried. But three days later, He was found alive! He had risen from the dead, giving renewed hope to all who believe.

This amazing act of love, which happened centuries ago, is real enough in my heart today to supply me with the hope that has kept me going, even when the going got tough. The very thought that Jesus, housed in an earthly body, like me, and was subjected to earthly temptations, like me, conquered it all, including death, and rose triumphantly from the grave, lets me know that by putting my trust in Him, I, too, can be an overcomer.

Yet, this faith thing can be a bit tricky for some people. That’s because faith isn’t something that you can see. It is something that comes when you hear the word of God and let it sink down into your being. When that happens, you learn to pray. And with prayer, you learn to believe that what you prayed for will come to past. That is because faith is, as the Bible tells us, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to have faith. You just believe!

Childhood memories

When I was a child, Easter was both secular and spiritual to me. Secularly, Easter was a new outfit, complete with shiny patent leather shoes and big hair bows. It was letting Ms. Doll (one of Momma’s best friends, who was a hairdresser, as we often referred to our beauticians) straighten my kinky hair with a hot “straightening comb”, and then using a hot curling iron to give me “candy curls” or “Shirley Temple curls.”

It meant coloring hard-boiled eggs at the kitchen table on the night before Easter, and having our parents hide them for us to hunt after church on Easter Sunday.

Spiritually, Easter also meant a day of worship, which usually started with an early morning sunrise service. Later, there would be Sunday school and a Spirit-filled late morning worship service, which often included the children of the Sunday school department acting out the story of Easter in a dramatic production.

There would always be wonderful, soul-stirring music as the choir and the congregation lifted our voice so loud that it seemed we were serenading the Lord in Heaven!

It was during such activities that I learned the story of Easter and grew to love the Lord. As I grew, my faith grew. Today, as an octogenarian, I am still growing in my faith. It has become a way of life for me. It keeps me steady and focused. Yes, I have trials and disappointment. I am not perfect. But my faith gives me a deep settled peace that keeps me on the right path even when I stumble.

The Christian Holy Week carries another message: On the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, He was met with “glad hosannas” and hailed as a king. People broke off branches from trees, took off their coats, and laid them in the path as He rode into the city.

Yet a mere four days later, Jesus was arrested, belittled and tortured. The next day, He, who had done nothing wrong, was crucified — nailed to a cross between two thieves.

The other message of Holy Week is, the same folks who celebrate you one day can very well be the same people who will later do great harm to you. Knowing this helps the faithful to stay prayerful and keep a humble spirit.

An important time for Jews, Muslims as well

However today, as I write this column during the middle of Holy Week, I am remembering some of the many Easters of my life. And I am thinking, too, of the people of other faiths — Jews and Muslims — who also celebrate highlights of their faiths during this week. This is a beautiful and significant season. Let me explain:

For Jews, it’s also the time of Passover, when they reenact the story of their ancestors’ miraculous exodus from Egypt and the bonds of slavery. It is a story I understand because it’s symbolic of how Jesus delivers believers from the bonds of sin. So I celebrate Passover with my Jewish friends.

For Muslims, Ramadan is a holy commemoration that is celebrated an entire month during this time of the year. The holy month of Ramadan stated March 22 and ends April 21, which means that the celebration is still being observed during the Christians call Holy Week and the commemoration of the Jewish Passover.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is a time of worship, the study of the Quran, and prayer and fasting for Muslims. The holy time is celebrated in the month in which Muslims believe the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a joyous time for Muslims.

So while Muslims wrap up their celebration of their holy season of Ramadan, our Jewish friends will be celebrating deliverance from bondage — their Passover. And we Christians will be celebrating Holy Week and Resurrection Day — Easter.

Like I said, it’s a beautiful season.

Bea Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com