Sunday Messages

This Week’s Message

Easter Message of Love

There are many Easter stories that originate in ancient history. The oldest Easter story is from ancient Sumer about 2100 BCE. The Goddess Inanna, Queen of Heaven, went on a journey to the Underworld and returned 3 days later after being resurrected by the plant of life and the plant of water. The Zoroastrians painted eggs and gave them to each other for Nowruz, the new year in 2500 BCE, and the Egyptians celebrated Sham El-Nessim, which translates “sniffing the breeze,” the springtime and renewal of life with boiled eggs in 2700 BCE.

The word “Easter” comes from an ancient Saxon word “Eastra,” the name of the Goddess of the radiant dawn. She saved her bird companion by changing her into a rabbit during a spring snowstorm. The rabbit retained the ability to lay eggs, and this story became the basis of our Easter Rabbit bringing colored eggs. Jewish Passover happens at this time, which is closely tied into the Christian story of Jesus’ resurrection after three days. One of the main messages of Jesus’ life was the importance of developing a close personal relationship to the Divine. Jesus said, “I and my Father are One.” He spent a lot of time alone communing with the Divine Spirit. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the tomb where the body of Jesus was interred, is built on the ancient Roman site of the Temple of Aphrodite or Ishtar, who has her own resurrection story. In all of these Easter stories, Love is the central theme and they are all spiritual stories meant to renew our faith and hope.

Easter is not just about the renewal of life, but the cultivating of life based on Love - being Love and expressing Love. God created the world with Love and beauty and called it good. God created each and every one of us as beautiful and good beings. We are born in Love and created to express Love. The Easter stories are all about Love, the sacrifice and the resurrection of Hope that brings a deeper understanding of Love to humanity.

Love is in the white lilies symbolizing purity, rebirth, new beginnings and hope, and Motherhood. Love is in the brightly colored eggs, symbolizing new life. Love is in the eyes of the children. Love is in the joy of celebrating new life, our new life so we can see with new eyes, hear with new ears, and understand with new hearts so that one day we can make the whole of humanity one single family of Love and Light. May your Easter celebration renew you and you can see the Love of God everywhere.

This year Easter comes just before Earth Day. It is a wonderful time to celebrate our Love for Mother Earth. That is what Earth Day is really about, changing people’s minds to realize that we must Love one another and our Mother the Earth. We can change and enact all kinds of laws to protect our planet, but it is only Love that can change our minds to a greater understanding of the importance of living together with Love within the greater community of life.

Earth Day can become what it was meant to become – the first step in the return of humanity to its rightful place in the community of life – the place that God created us to fill. We have the power together to bring humanity back to the community of life and a future of peace. But we cannot do this in the midst of war and peace is not just between cultures, but peace with the rest of the community of life. We are not meant to rule the planet, but to claim our place as a contributing member of the planetary community, to honor and respect our brothers and sisters of Creation.

So on this Easter and on this Earth Day, both days of renewal and rebirth, let us dedicate ourselves to remembering and living from the foundation of our life, which is Love, and being mindful of our own unique connection to the Divine Spirit. Namaste.