Thought For The Day – Tuesday 23rd April 2024
Love and Kindness in Community
As previously explained, the last few weeks have seen a number of religious festivals.
All of these celebrations are unique, having their own form of life, inspiration, story and truth. Some common themes are remembrance and respect of God, and other people, especially those suffering, hope, goodness, love, peace and new life.
In the final week of last term, the colourful Hindu festival of Holi celebrated the power of goodness, light and love.
The Christian festival of Easter, involving a deep reflection on love, suffering, loss, new life and the life to come, began in the first few days of the holidays. Christians will remember Jesus’ Ascension to Heaven and the gift of The Holy Spirit in the coming weeks.
In April, in our holidays, Muslims marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan (with a focus on Allah, the Qur’an and the poor, where many in our community, and beyond, did not eat or drink in daylight hours) at the festival of Eid al-Fitr or Eid ul-Fitr with prayer at home and in mosques, giving and family, remembering loved ones who have passed away.
Last evening saw the beginning of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) in Judaism, remembering freedom and liberation from oppression, with a special Seder (meaning order) Meal, with prayers and readings, where each item represents an aspect of the Exodus and Passover Story: the lamb bone (sacrifice); a roasted hard egg (resilience); vegetables (new life) in salt water (tears); bitter herbs (suffering); and chopped apples, walnuts and wine (sweetness, hope and bricks used to build homes). In the month before, Jews clean all their house of leavened bread, and eat unleavened bread at Passover, for when being liberated from slavery, they did not have time for their bread to rise.
We send our very best wishes to all observing. At important religious and spiritual times, and always, we think of, and respect, beliefs, faiths and cultures.
These lead us to reflect on the meaning and moral purpose of our lives, for honestly and humbly striving to be a good person, being compassionate to those suffering, is the most important life examination of all, and the importance of mutual respect, with love and kindness, in community.