Best
wishes to all of my friends and relatives for Easter and its
particular relevance for today——a time when many American view the poor
with contempt and some say they want America to be a”Christian”
country.
Jesus told his
followers to help those in need. I remember visiting Assisi many years
ago, the home of St. Francis in Italy. In Assisi, there is a large
Cathedral below the cliff. Inside the grand Cathedral is the little
church which St. Francis built. It is said in Assisi that he would have
wanted the money spent on the Cathedral to have instead be spent on the
poor.
And the message of
Jesus about helping “the least of mine,” is also a very Jewish belief.
Rabbi John Rayner, a leader of British Reform Judaism, who as a child
left Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport and emigrated to England,
states that everything Jesus preached, from the Lord’s Prayer to the
Sermon on the Mount
was thoroughly Jewish.
Now,
in our country, contempt for the poor and those in need is growing.
U.S. aid programs that help those around the world who are victims of
earthquakes and other national disasters are coming to an end. America,
which previously led the world in humanitarian efforts is now focused
on narrower concerns. What, one wonders, would Jesus think?
Easter,
for believers and the rest of us as well, should cause us to focus our
attention on what kind of country we want to be. The founding fathers
had a vision of a free society, with limited government, separation of
powers and maximum individual freedom. Sadly, some of those now in
charge of our government, have contempt for these ideas.
Happy Easter to all.
ALLAN BROWNFELD