In the spirit of Easter

Then, accompanied by the disciples, he left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, ''Pray God that you will not be overcome by temptation.'' He walked away, perhaps a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed this prayer.'' 'Father if you are willing, please take away this cup of horror from me. But I want your will, not mine.''
Luke 22:39-42
One thousand nine hundred and ninety nine years ago, according to the Ethiopian calendar, a seminal event in world history was about to take place on an execution ground ominously called ,''the Skull. The Passover week and its climax in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has defined the course of human events ever since that first Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Easter is a Christian holiday that is the very essence of the faith and it is celebrated by all denominations to varying lengths but none perhaps, as fervently as Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Easter, much more than Ethiopian New Year or even Christmas, is eagerly anticipated for several important reasons.
Easter is a time of re-newal. True to ancient Passover tradition, a thorough house cleaning is conducted. Renovations are made and splurging on household goods, clothes and other holiday goodies adds to the feeling of a fresh start-a new beginning. This is Easter's magical attraction.
What does this symbolic yet profound act of cleansing teach us of how we may deal with problems larger than a dirty house or peeling paint?
What is the condition of the national psyche? Are we to celebrate Easter in the comfort of our super clean homes with the cob webs of gluttony, selfishness and conspicuous over- consumption at a time of severe economic hardship facing so many families? Not only was Jesus the epitome of charity, he was also an ascetic who advised moderation in worldly pleasure. Let us think twice when on this most holy of weeks, a mendicant or two solicits us and we brush them off with a hypocritical ,''Egzabehair Yistelegn''. Hypocritical because an Easter celebrant must have read in their Bible:

Then if the King shall say to those at my right, 'come, blessed of my father, into the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me: I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me. into your homes; naked and you clothed me, sick in prison, and you visited me.
Mathew 25:34-36

The monumental events on the cross of Calgary also signify a supreme exercise of forgiveness- a spirit that is in short supply in our Ethiopia. This sense of forgiveness is required at all levels, be it among family members, business associates, or indeed, between opposing political camps.
Peace is the theme of all religions and it is free for the taking if only more of us would concentrate on the many things we have in common instead of on scant differences. Only through an atmosphere of universal compassion can we surmount the physical challenge of poverty. Today, let us also not forget those among us who are stricken with illness, broken of spirit and wallowing in despair. Let us take a moment and mentally, if not in person, visit with our prayers, the innocent compatriots who were abducted recently. We pray that the same spirit of forgiveness shall touch their captors' hearts so that they may return to their loved ones.
The path ahead of us as we approach the new Ethiopian Millennium is not all a bed of roses. It is feared that the ever escalating cost of living will skewer any gains made in the economy. Much needs to be done if we are ever to guarantee that each family has the means to celebrate their various holidays and not be onlookers while the haves lord it over them. There is a social responsibility that makes our duty to share the blessing we have with the less fortunate and in the process teach our children to be charitable citizens.