Thought for the week

EASTER, like all religious festivals, is like a bridge between the past and the present.

The Religious Education teacher in me wants pupils to explore how the past has shaped the beliefs and traditions that people hold dear today.

What is it about events that happened nearly two thousand years ago that has triggered an event ‘experienced’ by people in 2021?

For some people Easter is about the present. The child in me focuses on one of mankind’s greatest achievements… chocolate!

Easter in the present is about family, bunnies and chicks and a reminder that spring is well and truly here.

For others Easter is about the past. is about a knowledge of the original events.

This may be achieved by attending a church service, reading the accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the

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Bible or watching Ben Hur, all providing a proverbial ‘nod to the past.’ The past being about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

For me (and many others) Easter is about remembering the past and bringing it into the present.

It is because of the events that are remembered on Good Friday and Easter Sunday that many people believe that they are forgiven.

But it is because I am forgiven that I should forgive. The events of the past can provide a hope and motivation for the future.

In Religious Education, Easter is classified along with the Jewish Passover and the Hindu festival of Holi as a ‘Spring Festival.’ Spring Festivals, along with Spring itself, are a reminder that the links between the past and the present can fill us with a renewed hope for the future.