On this day the Lord has acted;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Holy Days for Many Faiths
This year, April is heavy with holy days.
Islamic month of Fasting known as Ramadan is tied to a lunar calendar and this year it falls in the month of April. Muslims aged 14 and older refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset for four weeks. The extra time is devoted to prayer and reading the Quran. The nighttime meals of Iftar are celebrations of God’s abundance. Pray for our Muslim sisters and brothers as they keep Ramadan.
The Jewish Festival of Passover begins on April 15. The Passover Seder begins the festival with a meal. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explained the rationale of Passover this way: “The journey from slavery to freedom is one we need to travel in every generation. So we were commanded to gather our families together every year at this time and tell the story of what it was like to be a slave and what it felt like to go free.” Pray for our Jewish brothers and sister as they keep Passover.
Western Christians begin Holy Week this Sunday (Palm Sunday) as we recall Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Each of the following days tells another part of the story. Important services include Maundy Thursday, (as Jesus shares the Last Supper with his friends) and Good Friday, (the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus). Everybody knows Easter. From Sunrise to the Festival Celebration our Alleluias will chime. Pray for our Christian siblings as we keep Holy Week.
All these services are significant opportunities for communities to gather. In Mosques, Synagogues and Churches people of faith share the stories of interactions with God. Surely, the God who made Herons, Goldfinches and Hummingbirds; Dolphins, Buffalo and Fieldmice; surely this God delights in the variety of our prayers and our stories.
Come to church often this week. Share in the Passion and the Victory of Jesus Christ. And if you have a chance, wish Ramadan Mubarak or Chag Sameach to the people of faith around us.
God delights in diversity; so should we.
Peace,
Mark +
Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
