|
Greetings Beloved,
Easter blessings to all who celebrate this Holy Day!!!
This is the second year in a row that the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are experiencing a rare convergence of their holy days - Passover, Easter and Ramadan. Amazingly, this will not happen again until the 2050's! This offers us a rare and beautiful opportunity to share our prayers for peace, hope and new beginnings.
My own prayers for peace are rooted in my belief that just as Jonah was "spewed" out of the belly of the whale on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave on the third day - and in so doing assured us of the promise that death has lost its sting!
Christ is risen! Alleluia and praise be to God!
Even amidst our celebrations and hallelujahs; however, there are plenty of places in our own lives and world where it feels as though death still has plenty of "sting." So, on this day of celebration, I invite us to hold especially tight in prayer those who are suffering in many different ways...
We pray for peace for victims of gun violence and war.
We pray for healing for those with broken bodies, minds and spirits.
We pray for freedom for those who are incarcerated.
We pray for justice for those who are caught in systems of oppression.
I pray fervently that on this Easter Day, the world will awaken to the miraculous blessing of new life, persistent peace, dogged hope, and abundant love.
It has become an Easter tradition of sorts for me to share a very special Easter poem that my dad wrote the year before he died. Below, you will find the words of the poem as well as a video of my dad reading it aloud. I recorded this during the last week of his earthly life back in 2018. His voice falters a little as he reads, but that only adds to the power of the poem for me.
Even in the face of death, poetry can be read, beauty can be found, holes can be filled and a future of hope can be embraced.
With strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Sharon
Sharon Seyfarth Garner, Director
Belly of the Whale Ministries
sharon@bellyofthewhaleministries.net
| 
