Passover, Resurrection, And The Height Of Goodness

As people around the world celebrate their Easter and Passover traditions and festivities, we must ask how one easily rises to the occasion against the backdrop of the bombing of Iran's infrastructure which, according to international law, is a crime against humanity.

How can we make sense of America's Christian Evangelicals celebrating the Resurrection or the forgiveness of sins as they give thumbs up to the brutal destruction of Iran, the world's oldest continuous major civilization?

How are the Jewish people, who are now celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery, supposed to applaud their leaders for the ongoing obliteration and eradication of Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon?

With so little effort from Christians and Jews to push back, we might conclude most have lost touch with the purpose of either of these religious events or their participating in them, other than to look pious.

We can wonder, did a loving God sanction this cruelty? Or using logic, we can ask, if it rules the universe, would God suddenly decide no other culture or religion should exist on this planet other than Jews and Christians? Would that not be the essence of evil?

During this time of reflection, it's important to ask ourselves who we've been, who we've become, and who and what we choose to believe in. The real resurrection, the lasting liberation, begins and unfolds in one's heart.

So, to celebrate the holidays, we offer this truth to consider from Lord Shaftesbury, who lived in the late 17th century.

"To love the public, to study universal good, and to promote the interest of the whole world, as far as lies within our power, is the height of goodness, and makes that temper which we call divine."

—Lord Shaftesbury

Illustration by Pariplab Chakraborty