 On The Line -- Issue 680 -- March 28, 2008  Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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On The Line -- Issue 680 -- March 28, 2008 Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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Holy Week, lasting from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, is the most important one in the Christian world. It celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, his betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection.
The reappearance of life stems from pagan times when the return of spring each year prompted joy and celebration with the promise of good crops and increase of livestock. Eggs, lambs and budding vines became iconic symbols. The Judean world also had festivals of new life that formed part of the later Christians' observances. Jesus himself was a Jew who observed the religion's tenets, and his philosophy was derived from it. By the time Christianity had become widespread throughout Europe. Christians and Jews were often at odds, with the former outnumbering the latter and inflicting hard laws and often injustice upon them. Some countries forced Jews to live in ghettos, and some outlawed their habitation altogether. To show contempt for the religion from which their Messiah sprung, they ate bacon or ham on Easter to demonstrate that they were not Jewish. In many places Jews were forbidden to speak Hebrew so they devised a language they called Yiddish, very close to the German Judisch, which means Jewish. It has many German-based words and some of Eastern Europe. Old Hebrew names were outlawed as Jewish families selected new names like Mandelbaum, which translates to almond tree, or Edelstein, which means precious stone. The point is that Jews continued to suffer in Europe as they had earlier at the hands of the Egyptians and later, the Romans. That they should do so under Christianity, then Islam, is ironic because Jesus, a Jew, taught that all men are brothers. More and more people of all faiths are coming to realize that. They recognize that the central figure in Christianity felt for everyone, regardless of faith, so the story of the Resurrection becomes a promise of a new life for more than Christianity. Much of the significance has been glossed over. The cross gives way to Easter egg hunts and the tomb to a display of costly apparel in the Easter parade. There is nothing wrong with those symbols but the central point of Christianity remains: the terrible death and the resurrection of a truly good man for the redemption of Mankind. The most devout Christians feel the symbolism of the Holy weekend, from Good Friday through Easter, intensely. Go to Christian churches of any sect on Good Friday and you will feel the almost palpable grief at the thought of iron spikes being driven into human flesh, of the scourging and the pressing down of the crown of thorns on the head of the kindest man who ever lived. Experience with them the keen sorrow in realizing that he has died a death that had been usually reserved for the most heinous of criminals. Then, with the foreknowledge of what will come they await the triumph of the tomb. No wonder they rejoice on Easter morning that he has been lifted to Heaven, and with him, all the sins of Mankind. The emotion is more than happiness of joy, it is exultation that He lives and that his sacrifice redeems anyone not yet born. Christian churches are full of it all through Easter day, and even before with sunrise services calling the faithful to participate as the symbolic dawn falls upon their upturned faces. Even those who only rarely attend church if at all are moved by the depth of emotion connected with the day. Whole families attend services together and invite friends to join them in their celebration of redemption. The Easter meal has come to be a big part of the day for most Christians, the other one being Christmas. The American holiday of Thanksgiving that has semi-religious overtones is still another important holiday in which family members and friends usually enjoy together.. Easter dinner usually has ham as the entrée although some families prefer lamb for that meal. Whatever the choice, it is the spirit of the day that is important, not whatever one has to eat. At the Michael Eastman home on Park Hill in Hollister, Michael and Colleen Eastman had attended a religious service that morning with daughters, Madison, 18, and Caetlin, who will be 10 n April 30. Guests were Jennifer Logue, their next-door neighbor and close friend, and an older man who has often partaken of their hospitality. Mrs. Logue, an assistant principal of San Benito High School, would normally have been presiding at her own table on Easter. However, husband Randy Logue, an athletic coach and teacher at the high school, and their four daughters had taken advantage of the Easter vacation to go to Idaho to visit relatives. When the Eastmans learned of it, they immediately invited her to their dinner. While the two older women and Madison busied themselves in the kitchen, stirring this and checking that, Caetlin watched "The Phantom of the Opera" on the large-screen television set in the living room, and Eastman and the old party talked about many topics at the kitchen counter. There was tasting of the various dishes before they were put into their proper containers and carried into the dining room, where the table had already been set with shining crystal and china. Eastman offered the grace. Ham was the entrée and scalloped potatoes, several kinds of vegetables and salads, accompanied it. Everything was done to perfection and the talk centered on many topics. There were memories of other Easters and of family members. Mrs. Eastman recalled some youthful pranks and Caetlin seemed interested in those. Madison is a young woman of quiet enthusiasm and talked of enrolling in the University of California, Santa Cruz, which she will enter in the fall. With the meal finished, everyone carried the remains of the dinner back to the kitchen. After awhile Mrs. Logue excused herself, pleading some schoolwork to catch up on, then shortly after the older man left. As he was going through the door, Mrs. Eastman handed him a bag holding generous portions of ham, potatoes and vegetables. Thus another Eater passed, with joy, and family and friends around the dinner table, and the knowledge that when one has friends, he has everything. |
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