THE TRUE MEANING OF EASTER

Although many view the Easter weekend as a time for rest and social activities, this is ostensibly a highlight on the Christian calendar, depicting the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So many questions have arisen regarding Jesus, one being related to His diet, whether He was a vegetarian. This being rather complicated as the feeding of fish to the masses was quite common, which could support the view that Jesus may have been a pescatarian.

Jesus spoke of animals with compassion, was deemed “ the lamb of God” and played no role in animal sacrifice.

Another question arises whether Jesus was pure spirit manifested in flesh and bone. According to the scriptures not only did he appear many times in flesh and bone during his life, but certainly after the resurrection.

It is interesting to bring up the topic of how other religions view Jesus, many of whom view Christ as an important religious figure.
In Islam He is highly ranked as a most beloved prophet, in Buddhism a supreme being having reached a high state of enlightenment.
In His time, Jesus himself approached other religions differently as we might.

Burials with rituals in the time of Jesus are in some beliefs significant to this day. Certain differences occurred in those times as after one year the relative would collect the bones of the deceased and place them in a funeral box, an ossuary which was returned to the tomb. This would re-occur with future generations of the family who had passed on.

In our times, funerals differ and guided mainly by tradition. However, sky burials have arisen interest recently, significant in areas like the Himalayas whereby the deceased is placed on a stone slab, left to decompose and be eaten by scavengers, the reasoning being that the body is an empty vessel, the spirit having been released.

Now in this Holy period with the world in turmoil, prayer is desperately needed to stop the destruction of the planet, put an end to terrorism, poverty and grief and honour the works of Jesus.

Whatever points of view readers may have on this content, the writer would like, in these difficult times, to wish all a happy and safe Easter with family and friends.

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